Mochima

Mochima National Park was established in 1973 in north-eastern Venezuela, between the states of Anzoátegui and Sucre, and protects some 949 km² combining a stretch of Caribbean coast with the foothills of the Coastal Range.

It is a landscape of contrasts: the mountains fall directly to the sea forming deep, narrow bays of an almost fjord-like appearance, and off them is scattered an archipelago of arid islands and islets surrounded by clear water. The land vegetation is xerophytic scrub and dry forest on the coast, with cloud forest at the higher altitudes of the range.

The seabeds preserve coral reefs, seagrass meadows and rocky-bottom communities, and the waters are a passage area for dolphins and a feeding ground for marine turtles. The islands hold seabird colonies, with pelicans, boobies and frigatebirds. The park is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Venezuela, and the pressure of visitor numbers, unregulated fishing and the discharge of wastewater from the coastal towns are its main conservation problems.