Margarita Island Guide
Margarita "The Caribbean Pearl", is an island of relaxation and love where
nobody leaves completely because of the best feelings stay behind.
Margarita Island (Spanish: Isla Margarita or Isla de Margarita) is the largest island
of the Nueva Esparta state in Venezuela, situated in the Caribbean Sea, off the
northeastern coast of the country. The state also contains two other smaller islands:
Coche and Cubagua. The capital is La Asunción, located in a river valley of the
same name. Primary industries are tourism, fishing and construction. Its population
is about 420,000.
Margarita offers lots of sunshine, a tropical climate, multiple colour surfaces
with zones of leafy green mountains, xerophyte vegetation, wonderful weather, miles
and miles of intense blue beaches, solitary places where you can find yourself again,
very cosmopolitan cities and quaint villages with their customs and traditions still
intact.
ost of the island's 420,000 residents live in the more developed eastern part, especially
in the city of Porlamar and adjoining city of Pampatar. Others are found in the
much smaller city of La Asunción, the capital of the region or Juan Griego. Direct
flights from Caracas and other Venezuelan cities, as well as scheduled or charter
flights from a number of North American and European cities, ferries from Puerto
La Cruz, Cumaná, and La Guaira also travel to the island.
The Macanao peninsula to the west has a central mountain range in the east-west
direction. The highest altitude is 760 m at Pico de Macanao. Several smaller ranges
derive from this axis following a north-south orientation with deep valleys between
them. The most notable of this valleys is San Francisco in the north-central part
of the peninsula. The Paraguachoa peninsula to the East is formed by a mountain
range in the north-south direction from Porlamar to Cabo Negro. The highest peaks
are San Juan or Cerro Grande (920 m) and El Copey (890 m). Both peninsulas are connected
by La Restinga, an isthmus of low altitude with a lagoon called La Restintiga.
Some of this information has been provided by
Wikipedia.