Henri Pittier National Park

Henri Pittier National Park
IUCN category II (national park)
Location of Henri Pittier National Park
Nearest city	Maracay
Coordinates	10°22′48″N 67°37′08″W / 10.380°N 67.619°W / 10.380; -67.619Coordinates: 10°22′48″N 67°37′08″W / 10.380°N 67.619°W / 10.380; -67.619
Area	1078 km²
Established	13 February 1937
Governing body	INPARQUES
http://www.inparques.gob.ve/index.php?parques=view&codigo=pn_0001&sec=1

Henri Pittier National Park is the oldest national park in Venezuela, originally created in 1937 under the name of Rancho Grande by decree of President Eleazar López Contreras. In 1953 the park was renamed in honor of Henri Pittier, a distinguished Swiss geographer, botanist and ethnologist, who arrived in Venezuela in 1917, classified more than 30,000 plants in the country and devoted many years studying the flora and fauna in the park.

Henry Pittier National Park has the honor of having started the history of national parks of Venezuela. Its 107,800 hectares, located in the north of Aragua state, comprise most of the Araguan coast and mountainous area of Carabobo state. It also borders San Esteban National Park. Henri Pittier National Park is the largest among the national parks of the Venezuelan Coastal Range.

The park consists of two geographic systems: a steep mountainous interior where there are more than 500 bird species and 22 endemic species and a coastal area with bays, beaches and resorts with huge tourism potential. There is a great diversity of flora and fauna. The park is an Important Bird Area. and is an Alliance for Zero Extinction (AZE) site.

With its nine major rivers, the park is an important source of water for surrounding cities and towns. It also contains land where some of the best cacao in the world is cultivated, especially in the village of Chuao.

Decreed National Park on February 13, 1937 and originally christened with the name of Rancho Grande, under the chairmanship of General Eleazar López Contreras, became the first national park status in the country.