Maracaibo

At the western end of Venezuela, in Zulia State, is Maracaibo, Venezuela's second largest city and together with the East Coast Lake, is a major oil center. Maracaibo is located on the shores of the lake that bears his name and which was discovered on August 24, 1499, by the sailor Alonso de Ojeda, companion of Columbus on his second voyage. It is a very important city because of its proximity to the East Coast of Lake Maracaibo and Paraguaná Peninsula, where it is extracted and processed much of Venezuelan oil, respectively, and also the second commercial, cultural, educational Country .

The Zulia State Government and the Institute for the Conservation of Lake Maracaibo Basin (Iclam) initiated a dialogue to establish joint projects towards the recovery of the main basin located in the western entity.

 In the center of the city are kept traditions that are reflected in its local architecture, with narrow streets and colorful houses, old theaters and churches, plazas, museums and other colonial sites of interest.