Laguna de Urao

It is a wonderful place, unique in its kind, it is sad to know that its natural state has not been maintained, it was a monument, today it is part of the symbol of the neglect in which Venezuela has fallen

Because it is the natural monument with the mineral of Urao there are only 2 in the world the lagoon of Urao lagoons Mérida Venezuela and the other in Africa

Laguna de Urao, Lagunillas, Mérida, Venezuela: The lagoon of Urao or Yamuén (indigenous), is a natural salt water reservoir, of tectonic origin located in the Sucre municipality, west of Mérida state; It is a natural, tourist and recreational resource, whose name originates from the presence of the mineral known as Urao (Sodium Sesquicarbonate), produced by the concentration of salts provided by groundwater and sediments. It constitutes an exceptional natural landscape within a semi-arid general framework. The lagoon is about 870 meters long and an average depth of 5 meters. In the past it was a valuable resource for Amerindians, indigenous inhabitants of the region, who submerged and extracted some salt rocks from the bottom of the lagoon and then pulverized them and mixed them with dried tobacco leaves, to produce the chimó. It was declared a Natural Monument by Decree No. 172 of June 18, 1979 published in Official Gazette No. 31,760 of June 19, 1979. At the end of 1558, Juan Rodríguez Xuárez, ordinary mayor of Pamplona, ​​Colombia; obeying a royal edict, which appointed him as head of an expedition to placate some indigenous people who prevented the approach to a gold mine in sectors of the Sierra Nevada La Arboleda and Chicagua, as well as populate and till these lands, he headed for the north of Santander which allows you to discover and found a large part of the state of Táchira and Mérida, also in this transcendent expedition discover a salty lagoon in the Venezuelan Andes, later called the URAO lagoon, and whose indigenous name was Yohama, around it had several tribes, where this conqueror baptized this settlement as the population of Lagunillas, just before founding the city of Merida.

A good alternative to be outdoors, this site has ideal grills for stews and roasts (FOR this last is advisable to carry the grid). Lamentably lack of maintenance and absence of personnel of inparques or another entity of protection, protection and security.

Beautiful tourist place in the town of Lagunillas.