Acequias ruined village, Merida

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A lonely ruined village, lost in the middle of mountains. The trip is also the occasion of a great car tour on impressive tracks.

My experience, Explo description:

The ruins are constituted by a group of ruins which are vestiges of an old "doctrine village" (i.e. village for evangelized Indians) dating from the year 1620. It has been funded by the Spanish Alonso Vásquez de Cisneros.

Unfortunately, during the 19th century, earthquakes and land slides divided the village in 2 parts, with a 40m large gap ! It is really impressive, when you visit the ruins, to see that one part of the village is 40m lower than the other one ! Thus, the inhabitants have been moved to Santa Juana (actual village of San Antonio de Acequias).

The abandonment of the village of San Antonio de Mucuñó allowed the conservation of various architectural structures until nowadays : this is the only “pueblo de doctrina” (doctrine village) that we can observe now in Venezuela, as the other ones disappeared under new constructions and buildings.

These ruins are also sometimes called San Antonio de Mucuñó.

Now, there is only one family who lives in a farm close to the ruins.

You will visit the vestige, accompanied with the horses and the pigs of the farm : this brings a friendly touch to the lonely aspect of the vestiges.

Have a look at the impressive ruins of the church, on the upper side of the village.

The houses were built with a wooden casing that was filled and then piled on with several layers of a binder of mud and gravel. You can still see the layers. This construction technique is said to be very resistant.

Unfortunately, there is a power line close to the vestige, which alters the view.

My personal recommendations:

Do not hesitate to make a stop in the pleasant Acequias village on your trip to the ruins. You can also walk to the El Morro village, on the other side of the valley, but it is 3h to go...

How getting there:

You can’t go there on your own : the access track is in a very bad shape. You will need a 4*4 car, and good driving skills. From Merida, the drive to the ruins is 2-3h long.

I advise you to organise your trip with a travel agency in Merida. I did go with Guillermo "El Grillo" from Xtreme adventure tours. He is very nice. Av. 8 con Calle 24, Parque Las Heroinas, Local 8-45, Merida. Cel : 0424 702 34 64

You need a whole day to go and visit the vestige. Price (guide+car) = 50 dollars.

A tip to eat:

No place to eat (except a little food shop) in Acequias. Need to eat in the valley of Merida.

A tip to sleep:

I advise you to sleep in Acequias, where there are 2 guest houses.

Useful information:

Visit duration:

1/2 - 1 day.

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