At Timotes, the first town on the north side of the pass, the tropical plants begin again to make their appearance, but the valley is chiefly occupied by grazing land, as far, at least, as the boundary of Trujillo. The most northerly State of the trio is far more temperate in its general aspect than Mérida, though in Trujillo also there are páramos as well as tropical lowlands. The chief products are coffee and sugar, and while Mérida has its metallic ores, the most notable minerals here are coal and petroleum. The capital dates back to 1556, and has been the scene of many notable events in the history of Venezuela, while its commercial prosperity tempted Gramont to march from La Ceiba and sack the town in 1678. It stands in a valley alone, surrounded by coffee plantations and canefields, which provide the principal articles of commerce in its markets. As is the case with San Cristobal, a ford on the main road to its port makes communications uncertain, although there is a second but difficult track over the hills which can be used in emergencies; either route means about twenty-five miles to Motatán and the same distance on a branch road to Valera, an important town on the road to Mérida. [Illustration: THE SIERRA NEVADA AND CATHEDRAL OF MÉRIDA.] Although Trujillo is the capital of the State and Motatán the present terminus of the La Ceiba Railway, it is in Valera that most of the important commerce of the State is carried on, a fact due, on the one hand, to the more advantageous position of the town in regard to the fertile valley of the foothills, on the other, to its age in comparison with Motatán, regarded as only the temporary terminus. Sugar and coffee estates, bearing evidence of prosperity in their appearance, occupy the valley in which the town of Valera lies, and the produce of these, as well as that from the regions around, passes through the hands of the merchants of the place on its way to Maracaibo. There are some hot springs near by, but so far Valera has acquired no fame as a health resort. There is a good water supply from mountain streams far up the valley, brought to the town through cisterns and mains, arranged by its energetic citizen Señor Antonio Braschi, who, like many of the prospering merchants and professional men of Trujillo, Zulia, and Mérida, claims Italy as his mother country. The La Ceiba Railway was built with the aid of Venezuelan capital, and is controlled by a local board of directors, though the actual construction of the line was carried out by French engineers. It is proposed to replace the wooden bridges by those of iron and to effect other improvements in the permanent way which will tend to avoid the occasional stoppages of the past.