Colombia

Land of Diversity, Culture, and Adventure

Colombia is famous for its arepas and specialty coffee, as well as the kindness of its people. It’s known for its diverse landscapes and culturally rich heritage where art, music, and theatre mix. Colombia’s huge size, combined with its stunning landscapes, means that there is a great variety of things to see and do. Every destination has several attractions, from colonial villages to the magnificent cities of the Caribbean coast.

Top 10 Highlights

River of Five Colors

Colombia is home to the Caño Cristales, often called the "River of Five Colors" or the "Liquid Rainbow." This unique river transforms into a vibrant display of colors, including red, green, yellow, blue, and black, during a short period between the wet and dry seasons. The mesmerizing colors are the result of a unique aquatic plant species that flourishes in the river's clear waters, creating a breathtaking natural spectacle.

Gold Artifacts

Colombia boasts the world's largest collection of pre-Columbian gold artifacts, with over 55,000 pieces housed in the Gold Museum (Museo del Oro) in Bogotá. This remarkable collection offers visitors a glimpse into the rich cultural heritage of Colombia's indigenous peoples, showcasing intricate gold work that dates back over 2,000 years. The museum provides a fascinating journey through Colombia's ancient history and craftsmanship.

Trek through the lush jungle of the Sierra Nevada mountains to discover the ancient ruins of the Lost City (Ciudad Perdida).
Relax on stunning Caribbean beaches surrounded by lush rainforest and crystal-clear waters in Tayrona National Park.
Wander through the colorful streets of Cartagena, a UNESCO World Heritage Site filled with colonial architecture and vibrant culture.
Descend into the depths of a massive underground cathedral carved entirely out of salt at the Salt Cathedral of Zipaquirá.
Learn about the coffee-making process, visit coffee plantations, and enjoy breathtaking landscapes in the Coffee Triangle.
Explore the world's largest tropical rainforest, encountering diverse wildlife and indigenous communities on a boat ride in the Amazon.
Trek through the stunning landscape of towering wax palm trees, lush cloud forest, and rolling hills in Cocora Valley.
Experience the vibrant nightlife and learn to dance salsa in Cali, the salsa capital of the world.
Witness the majestic humpback whales breaching and playing in the warm waters of the Pacific Ocean on the Pacific Coast.
Soar above breathtaking landscapes, rivers, and canyons in one of the best paragliding destinations in the world, San Gil.

Bogotá
GMT -5
Colombian Peso
Catholicism
52 Million
Spanish
Bogotá, Medellin
Most parts of Colombia are affected by tropical climates, this is characterized by quite high temperatures throughout the year and fairly high amounts of rainfall, especially along the western coastal areas. On the high plains to the east of the mountains there is quite a bit of rain, especially in the western part. As you move more eastwards, the amounts of precipitation decreases significantly. The far northeast of Colombia is the driest, here there is a combination of a warm desert climate and a warm steppe climate.

Top Places to Visit

Cartagena

A city full of culture, history, enchantment and mystery. The UNESCO has expressed several times its love for Cartagena, defending it as one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Cartagena is a jewel in an opened sky and every angle breaths history and poetry, especially at the city’s historic center, rich city of coloring buildings, balconies and windows with cornices of a lit white.

Caño Cristales

For many people, this river is considered as the most beautiful river in the world. A wonderful place that has been discovered few years ago, becoming into a worldwide wanted destination for travelers who are willing to visit and to dive in the clean waters of Five Colors River. Between June and November, this place is the proper scenario for those who love to experience the wild and nature outdoors.

Tayrona National Natural Park

The mountain range of Santa Marta is the source of a unique and complex network of ecosystems and preserves the mystery and archeological remains of the Tayrona’s culture: the places known as “Pueblito” and the “Lost City” with their enigmatic terraces and paths. These places are still inhabited by the natives “Koguis” and the “Arhuaco” community. The beaches of Tayrona Park are surrounded by a virgin and lush nature, and considered among the most beautiful and unspoiled in earth. The rain forest and the mountain are crossed by several rivers and inhabited by a variety of unique animals in the world.

Bogotá

The capital of Colombia reflects the cultural diversity of the country; it is the most important cultural center and a rich place for visiting and doing several activities. Declared world capital of book by UNESCO and Latin American capital of culture by the UCCI in 2013, Bogota has turned into one of the most important cities of the South America continent, with big public places, squares, streets and modern routes.

Ciudad Perdida

An archaeological place located at the mountain range of Santa Martha where in ancient time this city was built. It is known that this city was founded around the year 800 B.C., nearly 650 years before Machu Picchu was built. The place was rediscovered in 1972, when a group of treasures looters found a series of stone stairs that lead to the mountain, and is considered one of the largest pre-Columbian settlements discovered in the Americas.

Providencia Island

A paradise with crystalline waters, blue skies, tropical jungles, pirates’ histories and mystical starry nights. With isolated beaches of white sand and uncontaminated landscapes it was declared by the UNESCO as a World Reserve of Biosphere and named as the “Seaflower”, this island turned into a place where you can enjoy the nature, the aquatic sports or simply for relaxing. The island offers the most uncontaminated coral reef of the Caribbean. For this reason, it attracts lovers of underwater sports who come to visit the cracks, caves and walls that form the coral reef.

La Guajira

Out of the common touristic destinations of Colombia, La Guajira is truly a wonderful paradise. A desert surrounded of green waters of the Caribbean Sea and characterized by wide extensions of salt lagoons constantly visited by flamingo’s colonies. This region is ideal for those seeking for adventure and natural. Here, one has the possibility to relax at the desert beaches, hike along magnificent meadows, changing colors lagoons and wild giant cactus, or to kitesurf at the sandy beaches of “Cabo de la Vela”.

Santa Cruz de Mompox

A magical Colombian town that arises on the biggest fresh water island of South America, the Margarita Island, placed in the intersection between Magdalena River and Cauca River. The town is located 6 hours car trip from Cartagena, crossing landscape and unique towns. Mompox is a real and proper jewel of colonial architecture, perfectly preserved and proclaimed by the UNESCO as World Heritage Site.

Tatacoa Desert

Also known as the Valley of the Sadness, this is one marvels of Colombia’s southern center. This particular arid zone does not have anything similar with the traditional image of sand dunes. Its 370 km2 are a vast extension of dry semiarid forest, with cactus and wild cotton plants and rare and beautiful geological formations: truly and unique sculptures formed by soil erosion, different color schemes that go from ochre to mole shades.