Tepuis, or lonely islands of table top mountains, are found deep within Venezuela’s jungle. The table top mountains are some of the Earth’s oldest geological formations, dating back over two billion years.
These “islands above the rainforest” include a significant variety of rare plants and animals that are found nowhere else on the planet since they are completely isolated from the ground. Table top mountains are also known as mesa, tuya, butte, amba, or simply table mountain in other parts of the world.
1: Table Mountain – South Africa
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Table Mountain, which towers over the city of Cape Town, is the most famous of the world’s table top mountains. The major feature is a level plateau that stretches for about 3 kilometres (2 miles) on either side and is flanked by towering cliffs. Table Mountain’s highest peak is 1,086 metres (3,563 feet) above sea level. A cable car transports passengers to the summit of the mountain, offering views of Cape Town and Table Bay to the north, as well as the Atlantic coast to the west and south. The first European to land in Table Bay was António de Saldanha. In 1503, he climbed the massive mountain and christened it ‘Table Mountain.’
2: Auyantepui – Venezuela
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The most visited tepui in Venezuela is Auyantepui, which means “Devil’s Mountain” in the native Pemon language. Angel Falls, the world’s highest waterfall, cascades from a crevice on Auyantepui’s top. Pilot Jimmie Angel, who found the falls by accident in 1933, was given the name Angel Falls. Angel crashed his little plane on top of Auyantepui during a return trip in 1937. He and his team spent 11 days to descend the mountain. Also, read Best Italian Restaurants Near Me.
3: Mount Roraima – Venezuela
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Mount Roraima is Venezuela’s highest (2,772m/9094ft) and most well-known tepui. Due to the mountain’s full isolation from the ground forest, about a third of Roraima’s plant life formed there and is unique to the plateau. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s fictional work The Lost World, published in 1912, made Mount Roraima renowned. It chronicles an expedition’s ascent of a Roraima-like mountain in search of prehistoric vegetation and dinosaurs thought to have lived alone and unmodified on the mountain’s summit for millions of years.
4: Heroubreio – Iceland
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Herubrei is a flat-topped, steep-sided volcano in Iceland’s Highlands that was formed when lava burst through a thick glacier. Tuya is the name for this type of flat-topped mountain. Despite centuries of knowing of the mountain’s existence, the first ascent took place in 1908 due to the mountain’s steep and unstable flanks.
5: Canyonlands – USA
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Canyonlands, in eastern Utah, is a national park with a colourful landscape carved out by the Colorado and Green Rivers into many canyons, mesas, and buttes. The park is divided into many districts by rivers. The Island in the Sky, for example, has a vast and level mesa with spectacular views of the surrounding countryside. Also read romantic hotels near me.
6: Kukenan – Venezuela
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Kukenan is a tepui with a height of 2,680 metres (8,793 feet) and a length of around 3 kilometres (1.9 miles). It is close to the more well-known tepui Mount Roraima. Because Kukenan is more difficult to climb than Mount Roraima, it is climbed far less frequently. Cuquenan Falls, the world’s second tallest waterfall, is located at the tepui’s southern extremity.
7: Brown Bluff – Antarctica
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Brown Bluff is an ice-capped, flat-topped 745 metre (2,444 ft) high volcano with a distinctive reddish-brown bluff located at the northern extremity of the Antarctic Peninsula. Thousands of Adelie and Gentoo penguins live on the seashore in front of Brown Bluff. Also read Breakfast Near Me.
8: Mount Conner – Australia
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Mount Conner is a horseshoe-shaped peak with a flat top. When approaching from Alice Springs, it is commonly confused with Uluru because it can be seen from the route to Uluru and Kata Tjuta. The mountain, which the region’s Aborigines refer to as Artilla, is thought to be the home of icemen who bring chilly weather.