El Banquito (literally:small bench) owes its name to the characteristic rock formations at its beach which -with a little use of imagination- recreate a small bench. A Century ago, Cocoa & Coffee where the basis of the Venezuelan economy till the arrival -at the beginning of the XX century- of oil exploitation, many agricultural production areas were then abandoned. What was then an economic catastrophe for Venezuelan agriculture, was a blessing for preserving the natural richness of the area. The creation in 1954 of El Avila National Park -just next to it- furthered restrictions on surrounding land, thus protecting El Banquito from voracious developers during the construction fever that re-shaped most of the country from 1953 till the mid 90s'.

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