One of the last bastions of urban life before southern Venezuela is claimed by the sweeping vistas of the Guiana Highlands, this charming state capital has long been the favoured gateway to the majestic natural wonders of the Canaima National Park and Jaua-Sarisarinama. There are hence Ciudad Bolivar tour guides aplenty, to lead travellers out to bucket-list sites like the cascading cataracts of the Angel Falls (the tallest on the planet) and the chiselled bluffs of Mount Roraima (the highest table top mountain in all of Venezuela, Brazil and Guyana) to name just a few.

But a mind-blowingly beautiful backcountry is not the only thing going for riverside Ciudad Bolivar. No sir, this town is also imbued with a kaleidoscopically-colourful conglomeration of little colonial cottages; single story, flat-roofed homes that have sat in the streets above the winding Orinoco for countless decades. There’s also the Bolivar Square, fielding the town’s iconic buildings like the Cathedral, Town Hall, the Casa Piar and the Angostura Congress House, each telling its own story down the annals of history. Visitors should also pen in the Jesús Soto Museum of Modern Art into their itinerary, before heading to the clusters of folksy food stalls at Calle de Hambre for the local guyanese spread.