Colombia
Edited by:
Massimo Martini
Access
Colombia can be reached from Europe by air with direct or stop-over flights to Bogotá's El Dorado International Airport, the country's main airport and one of the busiest in Latin America. International flights also serve the airports of Medellín (José María Córdova), Cali (Alfonso Bonilla Aragón), Barranquilla, Cartagena and Santa Marta. Access from Panama can be gained by air or, with considerable difficulty, by crossing the Darién, an impenetrable jungle that interrupts the Carretera Panamericana: the land crossing is not practicable for security reasons. The internal road network is developed, but in many mountain areas the roads are winding and prone to landslides. The intercity bus system is extensive; the smaller centres in the mountainous hinterland are sometimes only accessible by off-road vehicles or small regional planes. In the central Andes, the main centres for mountaineering activities are Manizales (Parque Nacional de Los Nevados) and Santa Marta (Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta). The territory has suffered the consequences of internal armed conflict for decades, which restricted access to many mountain areas; the progressive pacification post-2016 has reopened many areas to tourism.
Introduction
Colombia occupies the north-western corner of South America, the only country on the continent that faces both the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. It borders Panama to the north-west, Venezuela and Brazil to the east, and Peru and Ecuador to the south. The territory is traversed by the Colombian Andes, which branch into three parallel cordilleras - Western, Central and Eastern - separated by deep river valleys. The Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, an isolated massif along the Caribbean coast, reaches the Pico Cristóbal Colón at 5,775m, the highest peak in the country and the highest point in the world so close to the sea. The eastern regions slide towards the great plains of the llanos and the Amazon rainforest. Colombia is the country with the greatest biodiversity per unit area in the world, with over 1,900 species of birds.
Description
The three Cordilleras of the Colombian Andes shape the landscape and determine the climates. The Cordillera Central is the highest: it is home to a series of active volcanoes in the Parque Nacional Natural de Los Nevados - including the Nevado del Ruiz (5,321m), notorious for the 1985 eruption that destroyed the city of Armero and claimed more than 20,000 lives, and the Nevado del Tolima (5,616m) - and their band of páramos, high-altitude grasslands typical of the tropical Andes between 3,000m and 4,000m. The Cordillera Oriental, the largest, is home to Bogotá at 2,600m and the Sabana plateau of Bogotá. The Cordillera Occidental is the least elevated and runs parallel to the Pacific. The Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta is an isolated massif on the Caribbean side, with the highest peak in Colombia - the Pico Cristóbal Colón (5,775m), shared in altitude with the neighbouring Pico Simón Bolívar, both peaks of the world at an extraordinarily close altitude to sea level.
The Colombian territory has been inhabited for millennia by the Muisca peoples on the Andean plateau, Tayronas on the Sierra Nevada, Zenú on the Caribbean plains and dozens of other groups. The legend of El Dorado - the mythical king covered in gold - arose from the Muisca ceremonies on Lake Guatavita. The Spanish conquest began in 1499 with the explorations of Alonso de Ojeda and was consolidated with the founding of Santa Marta (1525), Cartagena (1533) and Bogotá (1538). New Granada became the main viceroyalty of the continent. Simón Bolívar led the War of Independence, culminating in the victory at Boyacá in 1819. The Republic of Gran Colombia (1819-1831) briefly united Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador and Panama. Colombia's twentieth century was marked by bipartisan violence (1948-1958), the drug trafficking emergence of the '1980s with the Medellín cartel led by Pablo Escobar, and the long armed conflict with the FARC, ended by the 2016 peace accords. Progressive stabilisation has transformed Colombia and particularly Medellín into one of the most internationally cited stories of urban renaissance.
The Colombian economy is the third largest in Latin America by GDP. Oil, coal, Arabica coffee from the mountainous areas (Colombia is the third largest producer in the world after Brazil and Vietnam), cut flowers (the world's leading exporter after the Netherlands), gold and emeralds from Muzo and Chivor are the main export items. Medellín has turned into a technology and design hub. Colombian cuisine varies greatly by region: bandeja paisa from Eje Cafetero, with beans, rice, meat, chicharrón, arepa and egg, is considered the national dish; ajiaco from Bogotá is a chicken soup with three varieties of potatoes and guascas.
Colombian protected areas cover about 15% of the territory. The Parque Nacional Natural Serranía de la Macarena is home to Caño Cristales, the river of the five colours, dyed by red algae (Macarenia clavigera) in specific seasons. The Cinturón Andino UNESCO Biosphere Reserve includes Los Nevados, Puracé and Las Hermosas Parks. The Parque Nacional Natural Tayrona, on the Caribbean coast, combines tropical forest and beaches at the foot of the Sierra Nevada. The Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta is considered one of the most important mountain systems for biodiversity on the planet: more than 600 endemic or threatened bird species, including the Andes condor (Vultur gryphus), Baird's tapir (Tapirus bairdii) and the spectacled bear (Tremarctos ornatus), the only bear in South America.
Colombian hiking is mainly in the Eje Cafetero and the Central Andes. The Parque Nacional de Los Nevados offers treks between 3,000m and 5,000m with views of ice-covered volcanoes; the ascent to Nevado del Tolima (5,616m) from Salento is one of the most challenging treks in the country, taking 3-4 days. The Ciudad Perdida (Teyuna), in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, is only accessible by a 4-day trek from Santa Marta through dense tropical forest, and is considered one of the most significant routes in Latin America for its combination of nature and archaeological heritage. The Ruta Cafetera traverses the landscapes of the Coffee Cultural Landscape, inscribed in UNESCO in 2011. The Colombian Caminito del Rey - not to be confused with the Spanish Caminito del Rey - is a canyon route in the Santander region.
Colombia's mountaineering history is centred on the nevados of the Central Andes and the Sierra Nevada. The first documented ascent of the Sierra Nevada dates back to 1939 (Wood, Bakewell and Praolini). Nevado del Ruiz has been the subject of constant volcanic monitoring since the 1985 eruption; climbing is possible at certain times with permission. Nevado del Huila (5,750m) and Ritacuba Blanco (5,410m) in the Parque Natural de la Sierra Nevada del Cocuy are classic Colombian mountaineering destinations, although access has been restricted in recent years due to conflicts with indigenous U'wa communities.
Colombian trail running is growing rapidly. The Ultra Trail Colombia, with distances from 42 to 100 km through the páramos of the Eje Cafetero at altitudes between 2,500m and 3,500m, is one of the most popular events. The Huellas de Los Andes and the Salento Trail Race use the paths of the Quindío. The Vuelta a Los Nevados offers multi-day traverses between the volcanoes of the Central Andes.
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General Data
Capital: Bogota
Area: 1.141,748 km²
Minimum elevation: 0m (Pacific and Caribbean Sea coasts)
Maximum elevation: 5,775m - Pico Cristóbal Colón [to be verified slug]
Number of inhabitants: 50.372,000 (2020 estimates)
Official name: República de Colombia
Name of inhabitants: Colombians
Bordering countries: Panama - Venezuela - Brazil - Peru - Ecuador
Institutional website: https://www.colombia.co