The Llanos is a fascinating area as it is home to the country's main cattle ranches, known as hatos and the Venezuelan cowboys, llaneros. Situated to the east of the Andes and to the north of the Orinoco, these vast grasslands are drained by a tangle of tributaries which run into the great river.

In the rainy season (May to November) the area floods to become a huge expanse of wetlands, and when the waters subside, the area becomes one of the best places in the world for spotting wildlife. Monkeys, anaconda, river dolphin, caiman, iguanas, capybara as well as a huge variety of exotic birds including tiger herons, scarlet ibis and the black skimmer inhabit this vast flood land.