Tropical Colombian beaches attract tons of tourists.
Colombia’s Cultural riches
This complex process of mestizaje is not only expressed in the country’s traditions, handicrafts and cuisine, but also in its arts, from architecture, painting and sculpture to literature, film and photography, and including music, dance and theater.
Colombia is proud of its history. Since 1988 and up to 1995, UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee of has declared as world heritage sites Cartagena de Indias, Los Katíos National Park, the archeological parks of San Agustín and Tierradentro, and the historical center of Santa Cruz de Mompox. In addition, there are towns and villages throughout the country with historical centers that are well-preserved from colonial times, such as Ambalema in the Department of Tolima, Popayán in Cauca, Barichara in Sentander, Concepción and Santafé de Antioquia in the Department of Antioquia, and even Bogota, the nation’s capital, among many others. Their houses, churches and squares bear loyal witness to the way of life during the XVII and XVII centuries.
Human diversity
Such is Colombia’s ethnic, linguistic and cultural wealth that it has over 87 Indian ethnic groups that represent 1.5% of the country’s total population and speak 64 native tongues that belong to 22 linguistic families; several million Afro-Colombians who represent nearly 16% of the population; over 30 million mestizo inhabitants with an immense variety of cultural expressions; nearly 12.000 gypsies who descend from Colonial times, and several immigrant groups in different regions of the country. In the archipelago of San Andrés and Providence, the population is principally of African origin and speaks English.
Arts in Colombia
Colombian handicrafts are appreciated all over the world: the shoulder bag made by the Arhuaco Indians of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, the sombrero vueltiao of the plains of the Department of Córdoba, the hammocks of San Jacinto, in the Department of Bolívar, the figures decorated with barniz de Pasto, in Nariño, and the pottery of Ráquira in Boyacá, are just a few examples of homespun handicrafts that compete in beauty with so-called cultivated works of art. Colombian music is enormously varied. That of the Andean region, undoubtedly of Spanish origin, is based on stringed instruments such as the guitar, mandolin and tiple, but to the south of the country it is enriched with the flutes and drums of the chirimías. On the Caribbean coast the vallenato has imposed itself over ancestral rhythms such as the cumbia and bullerengue, and in Santa Marta, Barranquilla and Cartagena the champeta and reggaetón are dominant. The Afro music of the Pacific regions, with its currulaos and alabaos, is based on the strong beat of drums and the marimba, together with a melancholic accent of Indian origin. The Indian communities of the Amazon employ the sacred yuruparí flute and maguaré drums.
The majestic Las Lajas Cathedral
Tourism
During the most famous festivals (such as the Cali Fair, the Barranquilla Carnival, the Iberoamerican Theater Festival and the Flower Festival is when the most tourists come to Colombia. Many people visit Colombia during Christmas time and the celebrations surrounding the Independence of Colombia. Even though Colombia has been plagued with Travel advisories because of FARC and other guerrillas groups, it has continued to attract more tourists in recent years. The apparent cause appears to be the current hardline approach of President Álvaro Uribe called democratic security to push rebels groups farther away from the major cities, highways and tourist sites that may attract international visitors. Since President Uribe took office in 2002, he has notably increased Colombia’s stability and security by significantly boosting its military strength and police presence throughout the country. This apparently has achieved fruitful results for the country’s economy, particularly international tourism. In 2006, tourism officials are expecting approximately 1.5 million international visitors to visit Colombia, an astonishing increase of about 50% from the previous year. Even Lonely Planet, a world travel publisher, has picked Colombia as one of their top 10 world destinations for 2006. The World Tourism Organization reported in 2004 that Colombia achieved the third highest percentage increase of tourist arrivals in South America between 2000 and 2004 (9.2%). Only Peru and Suriname had higher increases during the same period.
Places for Ecotourismin Colombia
* Colombian National Coffee Park (Montenegro, Quindío)
* Nevado del Ruiz National Park (near Manizales)
* Bogotá Botanical Garden (Bogotá)
* PANACA Park
* Tayrona Park (Santa Marta)
* Desierto de Tatacoa
* Chicamocha Canyon National Park
* Gorgona and Malpelo islands
* Gold Museum (Bogotá)
Transportation
Colombia has a network of national highways maintained by the Instituto Nacional de Vías or INVIAS (National Institute of Roadways) government agency. The Pan-American Highway travels through Colombia, connecting the country with Venezuela to the east and Ecuador to the south.
Colombia’s principal airport is El Dorado International Airport in Bogotá. Several national airlines (Avianca, AeroRepública, AIRES and SATENA), and international airlines (such as Iberia, American Airlines, Varig, Copa, Continental, Delta, Air Canada, Aerogal,TAME, TACA) operate from El Dorado. Bogotá’s airport is one of the largest and most expensive in Latin America. Because of its central location in Colombia and America, it is preferred by national land transportation providers, as well as national and international air transportation providers.
Religion
Based on various estimates, a very large part of the population, between 81% and 90%, practices Roman Catholicism. 1% of Colombians practice indigenous religions. Under 1% practice Judaism, Islam and Mormonism. 60% of respondents to a poll by El Tiempo report that they do not practice their faith actively. The Colombian constitution guarantees religious freedom, but also states that the State “is not atheist or agnostic, nor indifferent to Colombians’ religious sentiment.” Religious groups are readily able to obtain recognition as organized associations, but some smaller ones face difficulty in obtaining recognition as religious entities, which is required to offer chaplaincy services in public facilities
Regions of Colombia
The Caribbean
This region extends for 1.600 km along the Caribbean coast. It comprises desert on the peninsula of La Guajira; mountains covered by rainforest and perennial snow that form the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, the highest coastal mountain in the world (5.770 meters above sea level); ciénagas and plains in the departments of Magdalena, Cesar and Sucre; bays with white sandy beaches such as the Gulf of Morrosquillo; jungles in the Gulf of Urabá, and a dazzling view of the Caribbean.
Near Cartagena lie the archipelagos of Rosario and San Bernardo, coral paradises with islets of mangrove. Some 700 km from the coast, the archipelago of San Andrés and Old Providence forms an oasis of life amid the sea, with islands, keys and reefs spread over 500 kilometers.
The Andes
The longest mountain chain in the world, the Andes enters Colombia in the Nudo de los Pastos in the south of the country, where it divides into two. In the Colombian Massif, the country’s main hydrographic star, it separates into three mountain chains that cross Colombia from south to north and create a rugged terrain, with peaks higher than 5.300 meters above sea level, expansive highland plains, deep canyons and broad valleys.
These three mountain chains, crowned by perennial snow, boggy wastelands, Andean rainforests, deserts and marshes, produce terrain that varies with altitude and whose fertile soils support an immense variety of crops. They are also where the majority of the country’s population live.
The Pacific Coast
Stretching for 1.300 km, the Pacific coast is one of the wettest regions on Earth, with a rainfall of over 10.000 mm3 per year. The northern part, where the hills of Baudó sink into the ocean forming bays and sounds, is a jungle region of great biodiversity. The flatter south is bordered by cliffs and beaches lined with mangrove and crossed by wide rivers.
Located 56 km from the coast, the islands of Gorgona and Gorgonilla — one of the country’s national parks — are sanctuaries of flora and fauna, whose waters are visited by enormous humpbacked whales arriving from the South Pacific, while more than 300 km from the coast, the island rock of Malpelo emerges from the depths of the ocean, surrounded by remarkable underwater life.
The Orinoquia
This vast region, which extends as far as the river Orinoco on the border with Venezuela, is a plain that spreads out eastwards, its savannas spotted with scrub and riverine forests. Crossed by broad rivers, the Orinoquia covers over 230.000 km 2, representing 20% of the country. The Serranía de La Macarena rises in the southwest, a formation independent of the Andes and endowed with an immense biodiversity, in which natural elements of the Andes, the Amazon and the Orinoquia merge.
The Amazon
Of the 6.8 million km 2 of jungle that make up the Amazon basin, 400.000 belong to Colombia. This immense region, considered the lung of the Earth and one of the largest genetic banks of animal and vegetable species, is inhabited by numerous Indian communities who continue to preserve their ancestral way of life.
