The capital of the state, Ciudad Bolivar was founded on December 21, 1595 by Antonio de Berrío, who had come from Nueva Granada (present-day Colombia) with the mission of populating Guyana.

The town, originally called Santo Tomás de Guayana, was a fortified port that had to move three times, since it was the target of constant assaults by Caribbean Indians and European corsairs, among whom Sir Walter Raleigh stood out in 1617.

In 1800, Baron Alexander von Humboldt and Aimé Bonpland visited Angostura and from there they went through El Pao to Barcelona and then to Cumaná, thus ending the tour of Venezuela.

On 21 July 1903, in the vicinity of Ciudad Bolivar, the last battle of the Liberating Revolution was fought where the government army under the command of Juan Vicente Gómez defeated the opposition forces of General Nicolás Rolando.

The defeat of the Liberating Revolution marked the end of the 19th century in Venezuela, which was characterized by political instability and great civil wars, giving way to a period of consolidation of the central government under the rule of Andean leaders.

The state gained more autonomy in 1989 when the first elections for governor and legislative assembly were held and the practice of appointments from the central government in Caracas was ended.

On 13 November 2006, the Orinoquia Bridge was inaugurated, the second largest in the country, which facilitates communications between Ciudad Guayana and the opposite bank of the Orinoco River in the states of Anzoátegui and Monagas.

Almost all of the state is occupied by the Guiana massif; this suffered epirogenic movements that reactivated the basal rock of the shield, cut by fluvial erosion, reached it and gave rise to a staggering of jumps, originating tabular reliefs known as tepuis.

The highest point is Mount Roraima (2,875 metres or 9,432 feet), located in the Pacaraima Range, which continues south with those of Parima and Tapirapeco.

In the northeast, the Nuria and Imataca mountains stand out, as well as plateaus and hills over 500 metres or 1,640 feet high drained by the Yuruari River.

All of them dig their courses through a rugged topography in the hard rocks of the Guiana shield, giving rise to rapid valleys and waterfalls.

The Guri Reservoir and the Simón Bolívar Hydroelectric Plant (formerly Raúl Leoni), which covers more than 80,000 hectares, is the most important center for electricity generation in Venezuela.

The climate is tropical, although it varies according to the zones; thus, the low areas present high temperatures, which reach an average of 27 °C or 80.6 °F, and abundant rainfall.

The Governor is elected by the people through direct and secret vote for a period of four years and with the possibility of being reelected continuously, being in charge of the state administration.

Bolívar State is sub-divided into eleven municipalities (municipios), given below with their administrative centres, areas and populations:[6] In the State of Bolivar there are great energy sources that are very important for Venezuela (the Guri Dam, among others), famous agricultural products (Guiana cheese, cotton, yucca, cassava, white and brown catalinas, naiboa, among others), and many minerals in great demand (iron, gold, bauxite, among others).

Bolivar State has the Siderurgica del Orinoco (SIDOR), which is in charge of steel production with Direct Reduction technologies and Electric Arc Furnaces, with natural resources available in the Guayana region.

The state of Bolivar has some of the most important tourist attractions in Venezuela and South America among which the Angel Falls (the world's largest waterfall) and numerous characteristic mountains called Tepuis such as Mount Roraima, as well as many natural wells, caves, rivers, fluvial islands, forests, rock formations, waterfalls and lakes of all types.

30 km from San Félix on the road to Piacoa in the State of Delta Amacuro, you will find Los Castillos de Guayana, buildings built on rocky hills on the right bank of the Orinoco River during the colonial era to protect Santo Tomé de Guayana from attacks by pirates and adventurers who feverishly sought El Dorado, the most fabulous of our indigenous inventions that would drive the feverish minds of the conquistadors mad.

The first of the castles, San Francisco de Asís (Fuerte Villapol) was built on the banks of the Orinoco in the 17th century between 1678 and 1684, as referred to by Gerónimo Martínez-Mendoza, by order of the Governor Cap.

These castles were restored in 1897 by the then President of Venezuela, Joaquín Crespo, who renamed them Fuerte Campo Elías al Castillo de San Diego and Fuerte Villapol al Castillo de San Francisco, in honor of these heroes who, despite being born in Spain, fought in the Republican ranks during the war of independence.

It exemplifies a magnificent building belonging to the colonial architecture, finally built with stones, bricks, tiles, wood and mortar, which gave it a structure strong enough to be preserved through the centuries.

A notable figure of the carnival groups and its main sponsor was the popularly called la Negra Isidora, who gave much importance to this spectacle.

[citation needed] Fishing for the toad takes place exactly in front of the dock where the boats that transport the inhabitants of Ciudad Bolivar and Soledad arrive.

One of the dishes prepared with the sapoara, is the gilthead, baked, stuffed and the morrocoy cake cut in wheels, in sancocho and the rest remains in the imagination of the housewives or the great chefs of the gastronomic field that abound in the State.

Thus, the recipes of the specialists who have been cooking for years for the demanding national and international palates, suggest that the fish can be prepared fried (dorado), having salt and garlic as main ingredients.

If the preference is to eat it baked, do not forget to open it from the back and cover it with salt, applying various condiments such as chopped seasoning (chili, onion, paprika), mustard, etc., and fill it with vegetables and egg and then wrap it in aluminum foil, placing it in the oven until it browns.

Sancocho de sapoara, is undoubtedly also a delight of the culinary art of the State of Bolivar; it is prepared like any soup and you add the vegetables and seasonings you want.

Mineros, along with the third division club Minervén Bolívar is based in the Cachamay Stadium in Ciudad Guayana with a capacity for 41 players and 600 spectators.

Bolívar also has the largest baseball stadium in the country, the Estadio La Ceiba in Ciudad Guayana (Venezuela), recently restored and with a capacity of 30,000 spectators.

The Macagua Dam, also known as the Antonio Jose de Sucre Hydroelectric Plant, is part of the Bolivar State Electricity Generating Park.