Mélange Travel & Lifestyle Magazine April 2017 | Page 294

PLACES OF INTEREST
As Margarita Island is only about 48 miles long and 12 miles wide, any one place on the island can be visited
on a day trip. For this reason Jeep tours are very popular with visitors especially as the tour guides can speak
several languages. Four of the most interesting and popular places to take a Jeep tour to are La Asunción
and the Santa Rosa castle, El Valle with the Virgin of El Valle Church, Laguna de la Restinga National Park and
the beaches at Punta Arenas.
La Asunción
Although La Asunción
is the capital of the
Venezuelan state of Nueva
Esparta and has plenty
for visitors to see such
as the municipal palace
and churches and has
some streets which are
for the exclusive use of
pedestrians, it is perhaps
the Castillo de Santa Rosa
(Santa Rosa Castle) that is
of most interest to them.
Now fully restored and
accessed by a short but
steep set of steps, the
castle was originally built
in 1651 to ward off pirates
so it provides great views
of the coast and the sea
but now also provides
excellent views of the
town.