The source of the Manzanares is at the 2,200 metres (7,200 ft) high Turimiquire Range in Sucre State.

The river flows roughly northwards for about 80 km (50 mi) by Cumanacoa.

Finally it flows by City of Cumaná into the Cariaco Gulf of the Caribbean.

[2] Alexander von Humboldt praised the pleasant atmosphere of the river banks in his travelogue Personal Narrative of a Journey to the Equinoctial Regions of the New Continent (1814–29)[3] In 2012, Hurricane Isaac caused heavy rain in the area and the Manzanares overflowed its banks in the town of Cumanacoa inundating approximately 1,200 homes many of which were damaged and a few destroyed.

[5] This river is the subject of Rio Manzanares, a famous Parang song composed by José Antonio López in Cumaná in 1958.