Flying over Canaima National Park, I have my first glimpse of tepuys or tepuis, giant flat-topped sandstone mountains rising out of the jungle dating back two billion years. 'Tepuy' is the local Pemón people's word for mountain. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle based 'The Lost World' on these structures after reading an article on the discovery of unique ecosystems that have managed to evolve independently on the summit of these monoliths. Each tepuy has developed its own characteristic plant life and consequently the area has the highest percentage of endemic flora to be found anywhere in the world.
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