Sierra de Perijá National Park, also known as Perijá National Park, is a protected area in Venezuela. It is located in the Serranía de Perijá mountains on the border with Colombia,^[1] to the southwest of Zulia state and Lake Maracaibo. The park was established in 1978 with the objective of protecting the hilly regions.^[2]

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Sierra de Perijá National Park Perijá National Park
IUCN category II (national park)
Perijá National Park
Location in Venezuela
Location	Venezuela
Nearest city	Maracaibo
Coordinates	9°32′0″N 73°0′0″W
Area	295,288 hectares (729,670 acres)
Established	1978
Governing body	Instituto Nacional de Parques(INPARQUES) ’’National Park Institute’’

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Sierra de Perijá National Park is situated in the Perija and Colon municipalities of Zulia State. The park is accessible by road from Maracaibo.^[1]

The park includes a portion of the Serranía de Perijá mountains,^[3] which rises above the southwestern area of Lake Maracaibo, a large brackish bay connected to the Gulf of Venezuela. The highest elevation is Pico Tétar at 3,500 metres (11,500 ft).^[1] It covers an area of 295,288 hectares (729,670 acres).^[4]

The vegetation in the park consists mainly of rainforest, cloud forests, highland moors and sub-alpine and alpine tundra.^[1] Some typical trees include Anacardium excelsum, wax palms Ceroxylon, Cecropia, Gyranthera caribensis, Tabebuia chrysantha, T. billbergii, T. chrysea and Podocarpus oleifolius and there are many herbs, flowering plants and bromeliads.^[5][6]

The wildlife in the park includes spectacled bear, as well as capuchin and howler monkeys.^[1] Dolphins in Lake Maracaibo are proposed to be brought under a protection programme through the South American River Dolphin Protected Area Network.^[2]

Birds may include parrot species such as the endangered military macaw (Ara militaris).^[7] An endangered bird species found in the park is the Perija metaltail hummingbird (Metallura iracunda).^[8] It is also the habitat for another hummingbird, Coeligena consita, an endemic species of the Sierra de Perijá found on its southern slopes.^[9] A newly discovered species of tapaculo found in the park is the Perijá tapaculo (Scytalopus perijanus) which was first described in 2015.^[10]

Uncontrolled fires and deforestation are major threats to the natural ecosystems in the park.^[11]