Guanare, Portuguesa State, Central-Western Region, Venezuela

🇻🇪 Guanare is the capital and most populated city of Portuguesa State, Venezuela. It is where la Virgen de Coromoto is said to have appeared to a Coromoto Indian.

Guanare was founded in 1591 by João Fernandes de Leão Pacheco, a Portuguese captain from Portimão.

Located at the edge of the South-western flood-plains, near the Andes foothills, Guanare is in a region known for livestock and agricultural production. Guanare is also the location of one of the campuses of UNELLEZ.

Economy The main economic activity in Portuguesa State is agriculture: crop farming as well as livestock. Recently tourism as well as oil exploration are gaining momentum.

In the cities of Guanare and Acarigua-Araure industry has grown as a sector, especially sugar, rice and corn processing. This conurbation has for the last 10 years had a huge growth in the housing and commercial sectors, with the construction of large urban projects in the area north of the city, among the largest urban projects include: • Urb. Bosques de Camoruco • Urb. Llano Alto • Villa Antigua • Plaza Antigua • Plaza Colonial • Agua clara • Parque residencial miraflores.

The main commercial projects are: • Guanare Mall (under construction) • Llano Mall Shopping City • Buenaventura Mall.

Economy: Tourist Industry The Quebrada de Araure spa is one of its main attractions. It is a ravine with clear and clean waters, located on the Araure-Acarigua road, where tourists can enjoy a pleasant time. It also has a recreational park where the whole family can have fun.

Among the historical sites that stand out is El Túmulo, a monument to the Battle of Araure, which is located on the side of the Pan-American Highway. This fight was special because it was one of the only two hand-to-hand battles that Simon Bolivar fought.

The church of Nuestra Señora del Pilar in Zaragoza, located in front of Plaza Bolívar, is another obligatory stop in Araure. Its architecture preserves the colonial style, typical of the 18th century, mixed with the baroque style that gives it great majesty. It is the only colonial church in Venezuela that has a choir independent of the main entrance doors of the temple. José Antonio Páez was baptized there, and it was here that in 1813 the Liberator Simón Bolívar prayed before the triumph of the Battle of Araure. It was declared a National Monument in 1955.

Another outstanding place is the Mittar Nakicenovic Park. He was an environmental engineer of Yugoslavian origin, who arrived in this area in 1949 with the noble task of reforesting vast areas, found until then in a deplorable state. This park was created to protect the hydrographic basin where the Araure Gorge begins.

Natural heritage • Chorro de San Miguel • Balneário Quebrada de Araure, This is a ravine of clear and clean waters, located on the road Araure-Acarigua, where tourists can enjoy a pleasant time. It also has a recreational park used by many local families. • Balneario Sagas River, located on the Biscucuy - Chabasquén road • Balneario Acarigua River Natural, and Fishing Site, (in Winter Time) • Sabanetica Spa. • Balneario Estación (Ospino Municipality) • Balneario Quebrada de Leña • Balneario El Mamón • Balneario Los Arroyos • Balnearies Quebrada de Araure, known as "El Dique". • Balneario Cupra (Municipality of Paez) • Balneario Quebrada de Williams Rumbos, known as "La Loba".

Parks • Dinira National Park • Samanes Park, was built in 1983. Tradition has it that under the leafy samans that currently make up the park, the army of the Liberator Simón Bolívar camped out during the Admirable Campaign of 1813. • José Antonio Páez Park, south-west of Guanare, is this fair complex that has 13.8 developed hectares. The 5% of the land has facilities such as the Exhibition Pavilion, the Convention Center and the Museum of the Plains. It was inaugurated in 1993 and is considered the vegetable lung of the municipality of Guanare. • Mittar Nakicenovic Park • Musiu Carmelo Park, located next to the Acarigua Araure Passenger Terminal • Curpa Park, popularly known as José Antonio Páez Park, a place where there are many leafy trees and a river that borders the east of the city of Acarigua, is also a huge natural lung and a must for all locals. • Musiu Carmelo Park (future Acarigua Zoo) • Park "Mano" Nerio Duin Anzola Zoo. • Raul Leoni Park. • Acarigua Recreational Park I. • Las Majaguas Recreational Park • Algarrobo Park, headquarters of Indera (Municipality of Paez) • Los Samanes de Guanare Park.

Built heritage • Sanctuary of Our Lady of Coromoto • Los Llanos Museum in Guanare • Our Lady of the Pillar Church • Our Lady of the Bark Cathedral • Inés Mercedes Gómez Álvarez de Guanare Museum • Doll Museum • Former Guanare prison • Monument The Tumulus • José Antonio Páez Museum • Casa de la Cultura "Guillermo Gamarra Marrero" • Argimiro Gabaldon Convention Center • Old San Francisco Convent in Guanare.