There are hundreds of tepuis in the Guiana Highlands, ranging from relatively modest formations to the massive plateau mountains of which Roraima is one of the most spectacular examples.

They include Auyan-tepui, the enormous plateau from whose rim the world’s tallest waterfall — Angel Falls / Kerepakupai Merú — plunges nearly a kilometer.

They include Cerro de la Neblina in the far south, whose summit was so remote that it was only confirmed as Venezuela’s highest point in the 1950s.

They include the Chimantá Massif, a complex of interconnected summits covering hundreds of square kilometers.

What these formations share is the basic shape: vertical or near-vertical walls of resistant rock rising from surrounding lowland terrain, topped by a flat or gently rolling plateau.