Colombia travel tips - Popular Colombian attractions

CITIES

• Bogotá - The Republic's Capital, a city where all the country converges. Bogotá hosts various internationally acclaimed events such as the Iberoamerican Theatre Festival (largest one on Earth) and "Rock to the Park", a concert featuring rock stars from around the globe. The city also offers a great variety of restaurants and museums, such as Andrés Carne de Res and the National Museum of Colombia.
• Barranquilla - Colombia's Golden Port and capital of the Atlántico deparment. Barranquilla hold's its world famous Carnival each February.
• Cartagena - The Heroic City, Capital of the Bolívar department is Colombia's tourist city by excellence. The colonial architecture and the skyscrapers can be be seen together in this city that offers a unique experience of festivals, restaurants and hotels.
• Manizales - The City of Open Gates, capital of the Caldas department. A city full of parks and republican architecture, is one of the getaways to the coffee region.
• Medellín - The City of Eternal Spring and capital of the Antioquia department is famous for having a large textile industry, which produces top quality clothing that is sent all over the world. It's also the birthplace of Master painter Fernando Botero, therefore it houses the great majority of his works.
• Santa Marta - One of the most touristic cities in Colombia, capital of the Magdalena department. Santa Marta is unique in the sense that it offers you beautiful beaches one day, and the next one a walk to the foothill of a snowy mountain, the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, the highest in the country. It's also the place where Liberator General Simón Bolívar died, at La Quinta de San Pedro Alejandrino.
• Cali - Salsa capital of the country, this city offers various festivals and events.
• Leticia - Capital of the Amazonas Department, this city is the a place to experience the Colombian Amazon in it's full.

OTHER DESTINATIONS

• San Jeronimo, Sopetran and Santa Fe de Antioquia - Going north-west from downtown Medellin, you arrive to the longest and newest southamerican tunnel: 4.7 km. After you pass trough that tunnel, you start descending montains and a few minutes later, you are in San Jeronimo, Antioquia. Waether here is 25 degrees during the whole year. Very close you eill find Sopetran, the Antioquias fruits lovely capital. Finally, you get to Santa fe de Antioquia. One of the five colonial destines in Colombia. Is the way to the Caribbean. This road, will take you to Turbo and to the Panama frontier line and its the real safe backpacker choice, since you can meet the whole southamerican caribbean coast, starting in Turbo and go all the way to Cartagena or keep going until you find the Guyanas!.
• El Club Hostel, Finca Villa Aurora, El Rincon, San Jeronimo de Antioquia, Colombia. (From Terminal del Norte, bus minibus, or taxi. (6000 COP to 12000 COP)), ☎ 0057 4 858 0343 (info@elclubhostel.com). Check in: 24 hr; Check out: 4 pm. 17.000 COP.
• San Agustín and Tierradentro - archeological sites in south-western Colombia
• Isla Gorgona - This former prison island in the Pacific Ocean is now a nature reserve open for visitors. There is abundant wildlife like monkeys, snakes, whales and sea turtles. It offers excellent diving conditions.
• Ciudad Perdida is pre-Columbian city located in the Colombian jungle close to Santa Marta. Built between the eighth and the fourteenth century by the Tayrona Indians. Nowadays only stone circular shaped terraces covered by jungle remain.

Tourism in Colombia

Tourism in Colombia has grown in the last few years with the increase in safety and growth in the economy.

The Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism (Spanish: Ministerio de Comercio, Industria y Turismo) is the Colombian ministry in charge of tourism affairs.

During the most famous festivals such as the Cali Fair, the Barranquilla Carnival, the Bogota summer festival, 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.

ATTRACTIONS

WORLD HERITAGE SITES

There are a number of UN World Heritage Sites located in Colombia:

• Cartagena
• Ciudad Perdida
• Los Katíos National Park
• Malpelo Island
• Santa Cruz de Mompox
• San Agustín, Huila
• Tierradentro

ATTRACTIONS IN BOGOTÁ

• Bogotá Botanical Garden
• Bolívar Square
• Capitolio Nacional
• Gold Museum
• La Candelaria
• Luís Ángel Arango Library
• Maloka Museum

OTHER ATTRACTIONS

• Colombian National Coffee Park
• Salt Cathedral of Zipaquirá
• San Andres island

ECOTOURISM

Ecotourism, also known as ecological tourism, is a form of tourism which appeals to the ecologically and socially conscious. Generally speaking, ecotourism focuses on local culture, wilderness adventures, volunteering, personal growth, and learning new ways to live on the planet; typically involving travel to destinations where flora, fauna, and cultural heritage are the primary attractions.

Responsible ecotourism includes programs that minimize the negative aspects of conventional tourism on the environment, and enhance the cultural integrity of local people. Therefore, in addition to evaluating environmental and cultural factors, an integral part of ecotourism is in the promotion of recycling, energy efficiency, water conservation, and creation of economic opportunities for the local communities.

Colombia has coastline, mountainous areas, and tropical jungle. There are volcanoes and waterfalls.

• Amacayacu Park
• Cocora valley
• Los Nevados
• Doña Juana-Cascabel Volcanic Complex
• Gorgona and Malpelo islands
• Los Katíos National Park
• Munchique National Park
• Serranía de la Macarena
• Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta National Park
• PANACA Park
• PANACA SABANA Park
• Tayrona Park (Santa Marta)
• Desierto de Tatacoa
• Chicamocha Canyon National Park

Popular Colombian destinations

BOGOTÁ

Bogotá

Bogotá — officially named Bogotá, D.C. (D.C. for "Distrito Capital", which means "Capital District"), also called Santa Fe de Bogotá, is the capital of Colombia, as well as the largest and by far the most populous city in the country with 6,776,009 inhabitants (2005 census). Bogotá and its metropolitan area, which includes municipalities such as Chía, Cota, Soacha, Cajicá and La Calera, had an estimated population of 7,881,156 according to the 2005 census.

Bogotá is located in the centre of the country, on the east of the "sabana de Bogotá", 2640 meters (8661 feet) above sea level. Although "sabana", as it is popularly called, is literally "savanna", the geographical site is actually a high plateau in the Andes mountains.

SANTA MARTA

El Rodadero Beach, Santa Marta

Santa Marta is a city and municipality, located in northwestern Colombia by the Caribbean sea and the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountains, capital of the Magdalena Department. Founded on July 29, 1525 by Spanish conqueror Rodrigo de Bastidas, the city is an important maritime port and hub for tourism, history and culture. It was named after the Biblical Martha and was the first city to be founded in Colombia and second in South America after Cumaná (1521) in Venezuela. El Libertador Simón Bolívar died at a ranch named Quinta de San Pedro Alejandrino on the outskirts of Santa Marta on 17 December 1830. The city has also been affected to some extent by the Colombian Armed Conflict.

BARRANQUILLA

Barranquilla

Barranquilla, an industrial, portuary, and special district, is a city and municipality located in northern Colombia. The capital of the Atlántico Department, it is the largest industrial city and port on the Colombian Caribbean region and the fourth largest city of Colombia. It lies strategically by the delta of the Magdalena River, serving as port for fluvial and maritime transportation. It is also known as the cradle of Colombian aviation and as home to a very picturesque carnival.

The climate is hot and very humid. Daytime temperature usually remains around 32°C. Nevertheless, from late November to early April, the trade winds more or less cool it to a more comfortable temperature during the day. During the evening and through the night the temperature can change due to the strong winds it receives. The rainy seasons are from April to June and from August to November, when some streets flood producing "arroyos" (streams) that are very dangerous, given the lack of appropriate rain drainage in some sectors of town.

CARTAGENA

Cartagena

Cartagena, also known as Cartagena de Indias (Cartagena of the West Indies), is a large city seaport on the northern coast of Colombia. Capital of the Bolívar Department, it has a population of roughly 895,400 (2005 Census). Founded in 1533 by Don Pedro de Heredia, and named after the port of Cartagena in Spain's Murcia region, it was a major center of early Spanish settlement in the Americas, and continues to be an economic hub as well as a popular tourist destination.

Cartagena faces the Caribbean Sea to the west. To the south is the Cartagena Bay, which has two entrances: Bocachica (Small Mouth) in the south, and Bocagrande (Big Mouth) in the north. Due to Cartagena's tropical location, the climate changes little, with an average high of 32°C (88.6°F) and an average low of 25°C (77 °F) throughout the year. Cartagena also averages around 90% humidity, with a rainy season typically in October. Cartagena receives about 1000 mm (40 inches) of rain per year.

MEDELLÍN

Medellín

Medellín is a municipality and capital city in the Metropolitan Area of Medellín of the Antioquia Department, Colombia. It was founded in 1616 by Francisco Herrera y Campuzano. As of 2006, the municipality of Medellín has a population of 2.4 million inhabitants, making it the second most populated city in Colombia after Bogotá[1][2]. Medellín also serves as the core of the Valle de Aburrá (Aburrá Valley) metropolitan area, the second largest in Colombia, with more than 3.2 million inhabitants, and a leading and productive industrial and urban center.

The city's major concern, shared by many other Colombian cities, is the ongoing unemployment and sub-employment problem. People from Antioquia and especially from Medellín are called Paisas although the Paisas are people from the departments of Antioquia, Risaralda, Caldas and Quindío.

SANTIAGO DE CALI

Santiago de Cali

Santiago de Cali, often shortened to Cali, is the main city, municipality and capital of the Valle del Cauca Department in western Colombia. It was founded July 25, 1536 by Spanish conqueror Sebastián de Belalcázar.

The name Santiago de Cali comes in one part to honour Saint James the apostle (Santiago in Spanish) whose feast day is celebrated on July 25. About the word Cali there are several opinions about its possible origin. Some attribute it to a mispronunciation of the word "Lili", the name of a local tribe. Others believe that the word "Cali" has quechua origin, and it was brought by the Yanaconas Indians that came from Quito serving Sebastián de Belalcázar. This theory is reinforced from the fact that near Quito there is an indigenous town named Cali Cali.