The sandstone mesas of Venezuela are called tepui. You may have seen images of them in the Pixar movie, Up (2009); a widower retiree attaches balloons to his house and floats from the United States to a tepui in Venezuela, where he’s always dreamed of traveling. We saw the movie for the first time this week and enjoyed the unique landscape, the art, and the story.
The art in the movie was based directly on an on-location expedition to Venezuela. A special feature showed a handheld video of a Pemón guide taking the PIxar artists hiking to the top of Mount Roraima so they could draw and paint watercolors of the spectacular geology. The Venezuelan portion of this tepui has the only non-technical ascent (accessible to non-climbers), and that is the route the artists chose.
The tallest point of the tallest tepui mesa, Roraima, is 9222 ft. (2810 m). This tepui borders Venezuela, Brazil and Guyana. The Pemón People live in this great plains area of Venezuela in the Canaima National Park, and still speak their indigenous language. Their stories talk about the mesas as the place where the gods or spirits dwell. That is the meaning of tepui. Their legends say Mount Roraima is the stump of an enormous tree that produced all the vegetables and fruit in the world, until the trickster Kukenán chopped it down.
The spirit of Kukenán is said to inhabit the tepui next to Roraima that bears his name. The Pixar group flew from Roraima to Mount Kukenán by helicopter. They spent several hours drawing. As they were about to leave, half the group was able to fly out to their campsite, but a sudden storm stranded the second half of the group on top of Kukenán.
For hours they huddled in a small indentation covered by rock as rain pelted down; like six people in a closet. The trickster spirit relented just before sunset, the skies cleared, and the helicopter could safely pick them up. The paintings they made that day are an important contribution to the look of the film, with rock structures similar to those in the photo below.
Have you seen the movie Up? Have you traveled to South America?
Please tell us your thoughts in the comments.
¡Olé! –Rebecca
Fake Flamenco 
I haven’t seen the movie but I’d love to see those rock features. Venezuela has so much beautiful nature to see. Hopefully some day…. Thanks for information on these tepui. Maggie
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Thanks for your comments, Maggie. I’d like to see the tepui and Angel Falls! Meet you there. : )
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Sounds good 🙂
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‘No’ to both your questions. So thanks for letting us join these virtual travels.
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Thanks for visiting, Margaret. I liked the movie, and liked what I learned about the geology of South America from it even more!
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Yes, I have spent time in Brazil but unfortunately didn’t have too much time to site see. Lovely friendly kind people and wide open spaces.
Sandra Pilmoor ________________________________
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Thanks for your comments, Sandy. I found Brazilians to be generous and warm also. We were in Sao Paolo, in a town more inland, and a little in the south.
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I haven’t seen the Pixar movie, but I’ve seen a video of a British team climbing the Guyana side of Mount Roraima. Very tough terrain.
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Thanks, Rosaliene. I will look for the video. The ascent of Roraima from Guyana is expert climbers only from what I’ve heard. Much wiser to watch the video than try it myself!
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Another piece of fiction that features a Venezuelan mesa and a steep, treacherous climb is Isabel Allende’s ‘La Ciudad de los Bestias (The City of the Beasts), which has much of its action set in the mysterious region surrounding Angel Falls.. https://cartoslibrary.wordpress.com/2011/11/13/allendes-tale-of-el-dorado-a-lost-city-in-the-venezuelan-rain-forest/
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Thank you, Carolyn! Time for me to reread Ciudad de bestias! Perhaps this time with Eagle.
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I’ve seen Up twice, and I didn’t know exactly where in South America they went to…but now I know! Such a beautiful part of the continent that I’ve yet to explore someday. 🙂
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Thanks, Rebecca. So many wonders to see in South America; architectural, cultural and natural. Look forward to seeing your photos and hearing your stories when you go!
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Up will always have special place in my heart<3
Thank you for this insightful post. Makes me more grateful of the movie.
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Thank you for your comments! The landscapes in the movie were so beautiful.
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WOW this is amazing…and yes I love UP as well!
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Cool, Teresa! I’m amazed that I like the Pixar films as well as I do. This one had good themes about not letting age get in the way of traveling!
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True 👍🏼
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