Mount Roraima: Venezuela’s “Avatar Tree”?

In the Pemón language, spoken by the indigenous peoples of southeastern Venezuela, the term for Mount Roraima is Roraima tepui. Roroi means “blue-green,” ma signifies “great,” and tepui translates to “house of spirits.”

Mount Roraima is one of 115 tepuis in the Gran Sabana region. It is the highest in the Pakaraima Tepui chain in South America and marks the tri-border point of Venezuela, Brazil, and Guyana. Located in the southeastern corner of Venezuela’s Canaima National Park, which spans 30,000 km², the mountains in this park are considered some of the oldest geological formations on Earth, dating back approximately two billion years.

The highest point of the mountain, El Maverick, stands at 2,810 meters above sea level, and its 31 km² summit is surrounded by 400-meter cliffs. The landscape atop resembles a rocky labyrinth with gorges plunging hundreds of meters deep. At the base, the climate is humid and tropical (~30°C), while the plateau summit is temperate (~10°C) with variable weather conditions. Rain falls almost daily year-round.

The Lost World

Mount Roraima hosts a variety of flora and fauna found nowhere else. Its summit is home to diverse forests, including a wide array of orchids, bromeliads, and carnivorous plants. Among the fauna are insects, birds, toads, small reptiles, and mammals like mice. Reports from the renowned explorer Sir Robert Hermann Schomburgk inspired British physician Arthur Conan Doyle to write his 1912 novel The Lost World, depicting the discovery of a living prehistoric realm of dinosaurs and long-extinct plants.

Macunaíma and the Legend of Mount Roraima

Long before European explorers arrived, Mount Roraima held profound significance for the region’s indigenous peoples. It remains a central element in their myths and legends. One such story is that of Macunaíma and the Tree of All Fruits.

In the Roraima region, a towering mountain rose above the forest canopy, its summit cradling a crystal-clear lake. Each day, the lake’s waters bore witness to the unfulfilled love between the Sun and the Moon. The two lovers could never meet, forever chasing each other across the sky: as the Sun rose, the Moon hid, waiting for nightfall. When the Moon returned, the Sun was gone.

This sorrowful dance persisted for centuries. One day, however, nature devised a special gift for the sky-bound lovers. A solar eclipse offered the chance for the two to finally meet.

The plan succeeded: the paths of the Moon and Sun crossed in the sky. Beams of sunlight, filled with love, encircled the Moon and reflected in the lake’s pristine waters, nourishing it. From this union, Macunaíma was born—a joyful boy of Mount Roraima.

As time passed, Macunaíma grew into a warrior among the Macuxi people. Near Mount Roraima stood a tree known as the “Tree of All Fruits,” from which came bananas, pineapples, tucumã, açaí, and other delicious fruits now known worldwide. Only Macunaíma could harvest these fruits and distribute them fairly among his people.

For many years, the tribe gratefully accepted the fruits, marveling at their sweetness and juiciness. But human nature eventually surfaced. A day came when ambition and envy overpowered the tribe’s gratitude for these gifts.

A few bold men attempted to climb the tree. After days of effort, the tree bent and broke under the weight of those grasping its trunk. The falling fruits scattered across the world, multiplying to provide sustenance for people and animals. The felled Tree of All Fruits died. Devastated, Macunaíma resolved to punish the culprits. In an act of vengeance, he set the forest ablaze, turning the trees to stone. Today, the stump of the Tree of All Fruits is known as Mount Autana. The tribe descended into chaos, and its members scattered. It is said that Macunaíma’s spirit still resides on Mount Roraima, weeping for the death of his beloved tree.

In another version of the tale, the tribespeople climb the tree, stealing fruits and branches to plant more such trees. Upon learning of this, Macunaíma punishes the greedy by cutting down the massive trunk himself. The tree falls into a river, causing a flood.

Local indigenous communities have never attempted to climb Roraima tepui.

‍