Cocoa producers in different states of Venezuela have turned their plantations and processing plants into tourist destinations.
On these Easter holidays, visiting a cocoa farm in our country has become an alternative option to enjoying our paradisiacal beaches on our coasts, keys and islands.
Our cocoa is produced in almost all the states of the country, and many of these plantations have incorporated tourist activities that we will mention below:
San Cayetano Farm
La San Cayetano Farm, located in the central region of the country, in the Valles Altos of Carabobo state, in the town of Canoabo, Bejuma municipality of Carabobo state, has its doors open on weekends and holidays such as Semana Mayor, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 pm to show his cocoa plantation.
The owners of this farm offer this visit as the opportunity to experience an encounter with nature while learning about the magic of Venezuelan cacao.
At the San Cayetano hacienda, visitors will be able to enjoy a guided tour of the cocoa plantation, Creole dishes offered in their restaurant, and their delicious chocolate bars and bonbons made by themselves.
Last year, Hacienda San Cayetano was nominated for the National Tourism Award, in its first edition, in the category of Tourism Innovation, Sustainable Tourism category.
Hacienda La Ribereña
La Ribereña Hacienda, located in El Guapo, Páez municipality, Miranda state, has become an option for organic since July 2022.
This farm and its chocolate processing plant, Cacao Lanaseso. They opened their doors to show the most curious and scholars of cocoa how this fruit is produced, the types of pods they grow and enjoy the flavor of the mucilage, the meat that covers the cocoa bean and whose flavor is close to that of soursop.
The Cocoa Route is a full day plan that the owners of Hacienda La Ribereña and the Cacao Lanaseso chocolate plant offer once or twice a month so that their visitors learn about the entire theoretical and practical process of cocoa production and chocolate, enjoy a day of traditional music from the region, Creole food and tastings of their chocolates.
Luna Clara Farm
The Luna Clara Hacienda, located in the Mantuano farmhouse, in the Goaigoaza parish of Puerto Cabello, Carabobo state, has become a cocoa theme park.
Its owners offer a guided tour of the plantation with the accompaniment of the theater group Raíces Escénicas, who play the slaves of the country's cocoa haciendas, built by Spanish settlers more than 400 years ago.
Another of the attractions of this farm is the realization of a sensory tasting with chocolate made with cocoa from this plantation.
small town Guaquira
El Pueblito Guaquira is an ecological reserve where cocoa is grown and processed to make chocolate from seed to bar located in Yaracuy.
This place has an inn with a swimming pool where its visitors can spend a weekend surrounded by rivers and cocoa fields, as well as tasting the best traditional food in the area.
Among its activities are chocolate making workshops, where you learn to prepare infused chocolate, the tempering technique, how to make filled chocolates and chocolate candies, among others.
Cocoa plantations in Chuspa
In La Guaira, the government of the entity together with cocoa producers activated the Chuspa Cocoa Agrotourism Route at the end of last year, an alternative to beach tourism that is concentrated in this entity.
On this tourist route, attendees, in addition to learning about the type of cocoa grown in the Caruao parish, will also have the chance to make chocolate accompanied by the chocolatier chef Gustavo Escobar, founder of the Chocolate Chuspa brand.
The tour begins in the Los Caracas Vacation City, where after breakfast in front of the sea, we leave for the Los Morenos cocoa farm, where cocoa experts explain the types of cocoa grown in the area and give you a taste of his mucilage.
The third stop is in the town of Chuspa, the last coastal settlement in the Caruao parish, on the border between the states of La Guaira and Miranda, and ends at the Costa La Linda inn, where chef Escobar has his chocolate factory.