Colombia

Quick Facts

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Capital

Bogotá

Government

Republic

Nationality

Colombian

Population

40,350,000

Languages

Spanish

Religions

Christianity (Catholic)

Currency

Colombian Peso (COP)

Calling Code

+57

Time Zone

UTC-5

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Introduction

Vulkan

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Colombia offers travellers sandy beaches, majestic snow-capped mountains, vast rainforests and lovely colonial cities. In every respect, it is a great destination; except for the violence which has submerged the country in a frightening reign of terror. The U.S.A., Australia and the U.K. all recommend their citizens to avoid travel to Colombia. And while trips to the major tourist spots may be safe, we must warn travellers that any trip to Colombia is risky and dangerous and should be conducted only if absolutely necessary.

Brief History

Geography

Colombia shares international borders with Panama, Venezuela, Brazil, Peru and Ecuador.

Regions

• Andean Highlands
• Caribbean Lowlands
• Colombian Amazon
• Eastern Plains
• Pacific Lowlands
• San Andres and Providencia - Caribbean islands

Cities

• Bogota
• Manizales
• Pereira
• Cartagena
• Santiago de Cali is also known as Cali
• Medellin
• Barranquilla

Sights and Activities

Los Katios National Park

Los Kation National Park is located in the west of Colombia close to the border with Panama and is a park with forest and hills with an extremely rich and biological diverse ecosystem found within the park. Many endangered species of flora and fauna call this park home.

Cartagena

Cartagena de Indias

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Cartagena is probably the most pleasant and beautiful city in the country, located along the Caribbean coastline in the northwest of the country and is on the UNESCO World Heritage list. Fortifications, cathedrals and churches, plazas and colonial style buildings are fantastic and there are great guesthouses to stay. Many people decide to stay much longer than they intended to stay.

Amazon Basin

Colombia is one of those countries where you can visit parts of the Amazon Basin and your best place to base yourself is Leticia in the southwest corner of the country, on the border with Brazil and Peru.
From here you can visit the National Park of Amacayacu and enjoy the rich life of plants and animals in the forests and lakes, including the famous pink dolphins. Other activities are more of the cultural kind and you can visit indigenous tribes like the Tikunas, Yaguas, Huitotos and Boras people living in the Amazon Basin.

Playa Blanca

Playa Blanca, Colombia

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Playa Blanca is a beautiful, isolated, 3.5 kilometre long beach located on Barú Island which lies along the Caribbean coast of Colombia, off Cartagena and near Las Islas del Rosario. It is a laid back place with no running water or electricity, so accommodation and facilities are basic, but it represents what many expect and dream Caribbean beaches should look like. Playa Blanca Guide

Isla Gorgona

Isla Gorgona and its national park are located in the Pacific Ocean about 30 kilometres out of the Colombian coast. Formerly it was a prison island and now it is a major tourist destination with a national park, dense forests and wildlife includes poisonous snakes, whales, monkeys, lizards and turtles. Even the blue footed boobies which you can find on the Galapagos Islands are found here as well. If you want to see the massive humpback whales it is best you visit from July to October which has the best chances. Getting here is best organised from the coastal city of Buenaventura where there are scheduled boats as well as (diving) tours to the island.

Archeological sites

The main archeological parks in Colombia are located in the southwest and include San Agustin which is the largest group of religious monuments and megalithic sculptures in South America and the National Archeological Park of Tierradentro.

This last one contains several monumental statues of human figures and huge underground tombs (some burial chambers are up to 12 m wide) beautifully decorated. Most date back around 1000-1500 years ago. Popayan functions as the main gateway to these sites but is a very attractive town of its own with whitewashed buildings and a big Easter festival.

Malpelo Fauna and Flora Sanctuary

Malpelo Island and the surrounding marine environment are located 500 kilometers west of mainland Colombia in the Pacific Ocean. This is a no fishing zone and a perfectly undisturbed environment where snorkelling and diving is perfect with clear waters and many species of fish and other sea creatures including whales, sharks and turtles.

Other Sights and Activities

• Ciudada Perdida: a pre-colombian city in the jungle near Santa Marta in the north of Colombia. Santa Marta is a beautiful city along the Caribbean coast with nearby beaches. Simon Boliviar has died here.
• Historic centre of Santa Cruz de Mompox: a typical Spanish colonial city playing a vitale role in colonisation.

Events and Festivals

• Carnival in Barranquilla
• Easter Festival in Popayan

Weather

Much of Colombia enjoys a tropical climate with hot and humid weather. Temperatures along the coastline of the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean are normally around 30 °C or more during the day and well above 20 °C at night. Inland temperatures might be somehwat lower at night. This applies to the southwestern part of the country as well which lies in the Amazon Basin.

Rain is possible during every month but is a bit lower between June and September. On the other hand, cities like Barranquilla and Santa Marta in the north are drier from December to April. Bogota in the centre of the country is located on the central high plateau above 2600 metres and never gets really warm. Average temperatures here are around 20 °C during the day and 10 °C at night but it can freeze sometimes.

Getting There

By Plane

Avianca is the national airline of Colombia, based at El Dorado International Airport (BOG) near the capital Bogota with another hub at José María Córdova International Airport (MED) near Medellín. From Medellin, flights include those to New York, Miami, Panama and Aruba, with more flights from Bogota to countries in Latin America, the Caribbean and the United States and Madrid. To the latter, Iberia has flights as well. Air France flies to and from Paris.

By Train

By Car

By Bus

There are several options of getting to and from Venezuela. There are direct buses between Caracas, the capital of Venezuela and Bogota. If you want to visit the northern Caribbean coast of Colombia from Venezuela, there are direct buses from Caracas all the way to Santa Marta and Cartagena. These buses also travel to and from Maracaibo in Venezuela. It is often cheaper to use only domestic services in both countries and cross borders on foot.

Between Colombia and Ecuador, crossings are at the Ipiales (Colombia) border along the Panamericana. To and fro Ipiales you can travel by bus or take flights to Cali and Bogota.

By Boat

Colombia can be reached by boat from both Brazil and Peru. From Brazil, there are slowboats all the way from Belem, via Santarem, Manaus and Tefe to Tabatinga where you can cross borders into Colombia at Leticia. Once a week there also are fast boats between Manaus and Tabatinga via Tefe. From Peru, both slow and fast boats travel the Amazon River to Tabatinga as well.
In the east of Colombia there are several river crossings to and from Venezuela, but they are mostly used by travellers that want to visit Colombia on a daytrip from Venezuela. The most used crossing is from the Venezuelan town of Puerto Ayachucho in the Amazon/Orinoco area of Venezuela. Onward travel further into Colombia is either impossible by land or not recommended due to drug traffic and other hazards. Best to fly onwards.

Getting Around

By Plane

Colombia has a very good airport system with total of over 980 airports, which 100 have paved runways. Although only 20 of these airports can handle jet aircraft. The most important and larger airports are located in the cities of Bogota, Medellin, Cali, Barranquilla, Bucaramanga, Cartagena, Cucuta, Leticia, Pereira, San Andres, and Santa Marta. All of these cities airports have regular connections with each other. Many of the other airports are quite small and only have regional service with non jet planes.

By Train

Colombia has 3,034 km (1,885 miles) of rail although only 2,611 km (1,622 mi) are still in use. Most of it is used for freight and passenger-rail use was suspended in 1992 and not started again until the end of the 1990s. The passenger rail system is very poor and is reflected in use, in 2005 there were 160,130 passengers while 5 million people used the rail system in 1972. Currently only 7 of the 10 major cities in Colombia are linked by rail and are under utilized because of security concerns, lack of maintenance and the strength of the road transport union.

By Car

There is an extensive network of paved highways in Colombia right now. Although most of these roads go into areas that might be dangerous for a foreigner driving a car on their own.

By Bus

Colombians, like most South Americans, travel by bus. The country has an extensive domestic bus system that connects almost every single city and town in the country. The only places that don't have buses going to them are places that don't have roads, such as cities located on the banks of major rivers.

By Boat

In Colombia there are over 11,000 km of inland navigable waterways that are easy to access. There is a well developed transport system for passengers on these rivers. Remember that the more remote areas of the south and east of Colombia are controlled by rebels.

Red Tape

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Language

Related article: Spanish: Grammar, pronunciation and useful phrases

Spanish is the official language of Colombia. English is the second most spoken language.

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