Merida cable car
The Mérida Cable Car Tourist Transport System or simply Mérida Cable Car (also known as Mukumbarí) is a cable car system that operates in the city of Mérida, in the state of Mérida, Venezuela. It is the highest cable car in the world, reaching a height of 4,765 m. no. m., and the second longest, with a length of 12.5 kilometers, which makes it a work of engineering that was traditionally the only one of its kind with more than 60 years of history.
It goes from the city of Mérida to the top of Pico Espejo, inside the Sierra Nevada National Park, in the Venezuelan Andes, specifically in the state of Mérida, Venezuela. It was closed in 2008 for its modernization and was reopened on April 29, 2016, in a pre-commercial stage, to finally open to the public on October 7, 2016.
History
20th century
The first cable car in Mérida was designed in 1952 by a group of Venezuelan climbers called The Venezuelan Andean Club, during the government of General Marcos Pérez Jiménez, in order to build a system that would facilitate ascent to the Sierra Nevada of Mérida. The proposal was taken into account and the topographical survey was carried out in order to develop the project in 1955.
By 1956, the final route was traced and by the following year the cargo cable car to La Aguada Station was already in operation, which would serve as transport for the materials necessary in the construction of the stations.
The cable car was built largely with French, Swiss and German support. By 1958, it was 50% built. The work was completed two years later thanks to the support of the Venezuelan workforce and the foreign technical team, led by the French specialist Maurice Comte. The work was inaugurated on March 5, 1960 and had a cost of 70,000,000 Bolívares at the time of its construction, which at the time was equivalent to about 16 million dollars. Over the years, the Mérida cable car system has been updated, ensuring and guaranteeing its continuity through time.
21st century
In December 2008, the Mérida Cable Car was inspected by the Austrian company Doppelmayr, an inspection that revealed advanced wear in the system's cables and recommended to the Government of Venezuela the definitive closure of the Cable Car. The Cable Car was closed at the beginning of that month, for reasons of public safety, and the authorities asked the inspecting company for a budget to completely renovate the system, together with the estimated time of execution of the work.
Case of operations 2008-2016
In August 2008, the Swiss expert Hily Manz and a technical committee from that country carried out a general inspection of the system, in which investigation it was determined that the cables carrying the wagons were about to turn 50, that is to say, its useful life. Similarly, it was discovered that one of the system's towers had a fissure. On the recommendations of this group of European experts, the Mérida cable car was closed that same month to protect the safety of users.
New Mukumbarí Cable Car
Starting in 2010, the Venezuelan government contracted the services of the Doppelmayr company to fully modernize the Mérida cable car system, in order to solve the problems presented in the guayas and in some of the system's towers. This modernization process is carried out with an investment of more than 106 million euros and includes the installation of new cables, wagons and safety devices. It was then decided to build a completely new system.
It was projected that the first three stations (Barinitas, La Montaña and La Aguada), of the most important tourist attraction in the region, should be ready by the end of August 2012. From that moment, the period would begin. regular tests, guaranteeing all the necessary security for the enjoyment of the snow in Pico Espejo, by its own residents and by visitors from all over the continent.
Reopening in 2016
In September 2014, Andrés Izarra, manager of the ministerial portfolio for tourism, started the tests of the new cable car system, which from then on would be called Mukumbari, ensuring that would be in operation, for commercial operations, at the end of 2015. Meanwhile, the inhabitants of Mérida who are around the cable car, would be preparing to host tourists again.
On April 10, 2015, the new system was opened, partially in a test period. During this phase, it received more than 100,000 visitors. In June of the same year, inspections were carried out at the five cable car stations.
The reopening date was successively postponed. Similarly, it was reported that the new cabins would have a capacity of 60 people plus the cabinero, unlike the old ones that could only carry a maximum of 40 occupants. On April 29, 2016, the pre-operation system was opened. commercial, intended for children, the elderly and people with disabilities. Finally, on October 7 of the same year the cable car was opened to the public, with hours from Wednesday to Sunday, from 08:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. m. to 04:00 p.m. m..
Closed for maintenance (2020 - 2022)
In mid-2020, according to the authorities of the Ministry of Tourism, the cable car was inoperative due to repair work, which would last two years without information on the maintenance of the system. It was not until the end of August 2022 that the cable car would have a partial reopening of the first two stations of the system (Barinitas and La Montaña), which were open to both local, national and foreign tourists.
While the first stations were operational, the others continued under maintenance for their progressive operation. The La Aguada station became available again in October 2022. The Loma Redonda station, located at 4,058 m s. no. m. It was available again in December of the same year, while the Pico Espejo station restarted its operations in January 2023.
Sections and stations
The Mérida cable car is a system of four (4) cable cars, with a total length of 12.5 km, which go from the Barinitas station, in the city of Mérida, at about 1640 meters above sea level; up to 4,765 meters above sea level, at the Pico Espejo station. Each stretch has two sides, one for each direction; in each direction there is a wagon or cabin, with capacity for 60 passengers. The cabin moves at an average speed of 5 m/s, thanks to a cable, which is moved by the thrust of an engine. In the Mérida Cable Car, there are two motors in each motor station (La Montaña and Loma Redonda), the first serves the section between the La Montaña and Barinitas stations, and the second motor the section between the La Montaña and La Aguada stations. The third and fourth engines are located at the Loma Redonda station and serve the remaining sections, that is, the third that goes from La Aguada to Loma Redonda and the fourth that goes from Loma Redonda to Pico Espejo.
Sections
It is made up of 4 sections that together complete the 12.5 km route. The sections are:
First stretch
- Barinitas Station (1,577 m)
- Mountain Station (2,436 m)
From the Chama River Canyon, displacement from above and in pursuit of the highest. The Meseta de Mérida together with its neighboring towns – Tabay, La Parroquia and Ejido.
Second section
- Mountain Station (2,436 m)
- La Aguada Station (3,452 m)
High Andean cloud forest to the high páramos, where Pico El Toro emerges (4,756 m). The Sierra Nevada National Park and, to the north, you can see the Sierra de la Culata National Park, in the heart of the Venezuelan Andes.
Third leg
- La Aguada Station (3,452 m)
- Loma Redonda Station (4,045 m)
The moors. Here you can see more than 86 species of frailejón, an exclusive plant of the Andes mountain range. In front we see the northern flank of Pico Bolívar and, below, we can see the road that leads to the Los Nevados village, on the other side of the mountains.
Fourth leg
- Loma Redonda Station (4,045 m)
- Pico Espejo Station (4,765 m)
Pico Bolívar (4,980 m s. n. m.).
Rates
Rates for Venezuelans
- "general entrada" or "Entry of adults": This entry has a price of 20 USD (or its equivalent in 482,2 Bs).
- "Entrada V.I.P.": The V.I.P. entrance has a value of 50 USD (1.205.5 Bs), this cover is valid for two people and a cocktail is given to each one.
- "Entry for older adults and children": This entry is exclusively for older adults and children aged between 3 and 12 years old, whose price is 12 USD (289.32 Bs).
- "Entrada de niños pequeños": Children under 3 years of age are exempted from the entrance, but they can only go up to the Loma Redonda Station, for precautions with the weather.
Rates for foreigners
Foreigners have the ticket for foreigners, whose value is 40 USD (964.40 Bs).
Other services
- Persons wishing to use the cable car with morrals or backpacks must pay USD 15 (361.65 Bs) extras.
- The cable car park has a flat rate of 2 USD (48.22 Bs).
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