Barinas, city, capital of Barinas estado (state), western Venezuela. The city lies along the Santo Domingo River and is situated on the Llanos (plains) at the foot of the Cordillera de Mérida in the northwestern part of the state.
Barinas’s cathedral, museums, and other cultural and educational institutions are set among the colonial-era buildings at the centre of the city. Barinas is the regional centre for a large cattle-raising area, and livestock products are its main commodities. The cultivation of tobacco and cacao also was once an important component of local agriculture, but now the main crops include corn, sorghum, coffee, rice, and bananas. Barinas lies along the highway that skirts the southern flanks of the Andes, 170 miles (270 km) northeast of San Cristóbal, capital of Táchira state, and 60 miles (100 km) southwest of Guanare, capital of Portuguesa state. The city has an airport. Pop. (2001) 227,762; (2011) 300,455.