1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Caripe

CARIPE, a small town of Venezuela in the state of Bermúdez, about 53 m. E.S.E. of Cumaná. It is the chief station of the Capuchin missions to the Chayma Indians, founded toward the close of the 17th century, and stands 2635 ft. above sea-level, in a fertile valley of the Sierra Bergantín, long celebrated for its cool, invigorating climate. The locality is also celebrated for the extensive system of caves in the limestone rocks found in its vicinity, which were described by Humboldt in his Personal Narrative. The principal cave, known as the Cueva del Guácharo, extends inward a distance of 2800 ft. with a height of 70-80 ft. These caves are frequented by a species of night-hawk, called guacharo, which nests in the recesses of the rocks. The young are killed in great numbers for their oil. Caripe itself has a population of only 580, but the valley and neighbouring stations have about ten times that number. Caripe should not be confounded with Rio Caribe, a town and port on the Caribbean coast a short distance east of Carúpano, which has a population of about 6000.