GUAYRA, LA, or La Guaira, a town of Venezuela, in the province of Caracas, about 8 miles from the city of Caracas, in 10° 36' N. lat. and 71° 46' W. long. It is situated on a low-lying strip of coast, but at the same time has a certain amount of picturesqueness as seen against the background of the Cordilleras. Being one of the four principal ports (puertos habilitados') of the country, it enjoys a degree of commercial prosperity; but its trade, which is mainly in the hands of Germans, is almost exclusively of the transit description. Its imports are principally from Hamburg and Bremen. There is regular steamboat communication with Puerto Cabello, Maracaibo, and St Thomas. The population is about 4000. The railway to Caracas, though contracted for, has been stopped. The municipality maintains 19 schools, in which 370 boys and 260 girls are educated free of expense.