Colombia It doesn't require much of an introduction. It is a beautiful and well-known country in South America whose capital is Bogota. Beyond the reasons why it appears in the news, the truth is that its culture and its landscapes are wonderful and enough reasons to go and meet it.
Today in Actualidad Viajes, what to see in Colombia.
Colombia
Before, a brief review about the country. Colombia has a population of about 53 million people and society is multicultural: there are descendants of Spaniards but also of other European and Middle Eastern peoples and, of course, also many descendants of native peoples and slaves brought from Africa.
After the conquest of Spain, just a few decades later, the Viceroyalty of Peru is divided and the New Kingdom of Granada. During most of that period she was a captaincy of said viceroyalty, until she became a viceroyalty herself in 1717.
The crisis that triggered the Napoleonic invasion of Spain agitated the revolutionary winds in America and the first independence movements began to take place in the colonies. The big figure here is Simon Bolivar, which manages to expel the Spanish and shape a state called Greater Colombia, formed by what is now Colombia, Ecuador, Panama and Venezuela.
In short, years of internal conflicts and the modern history that we already know, marked by a internal armed conflict and drug trafficking throughout the XNUMXth century and so far in the XNUMXst.
What to see in Colombia
Colombia is a land of jungles, but also of mountains, Caribbean coasts and arid deserts. The landscapes change, the tourist attractions are numerous and the culture is present in each colonial city. If we add to that the typical Colombian hospitality, well, you will find yourself in a very different country from the one portrayed in the news in the media.
We can start with one of its best-known cities: Cartagena. It is a Caribbean city, one of the best preserved in all of America, with a phenomenal walled historic center. The walls are 13 kilometers long, the old houses are beautiful and today many of them are luxury hotels or charming restaurants. Its balconies with flowers, its little streets, the churches and the little squares invite us to explore it on foot.
For me the best thing is to stay in the same historic center. It is not the cheapest, but only then will you fully enjoy its charms. Then you can go meet Gethsemane and on the coast, Big Mouth, with great hotels to enjoy the sea. And yes, beyond the coast you have beaches and islands that invite you to Day Trips.
Medellin is another well-known Colombian city that cannot be missing from our list of what to see in Colombia. In the '90s it used to be one of the most dangerous cities in the world, but it has changed over the years and with a lot of political determination. There are cableways that link the center to the neighborhoods on the hills, a modern subway that crosses the valley floor, and a green belt that shelters the city.
In Medellín you should start with the Casco Antiguo (Old Quarter) and Plaza Botero, with the best-known sculptures by Fernando Botero, 23 in total. Next to it is the Antioch Museum and Rafael Uribe Palace of Culture. Going up an escalator you can go to explore the colorful neighborhoods with their no less colorful murals. The town it is one of the most popular communes, with shops, restaurants and much more.
Colombia is also known for being a coffee nation, so if you are interested in the subject there is a circuit that you should know: the Eje Cafetero. The country is the third largest producer of coffee beans in the world and the vast majority of the plantations are located at the foot of the Andes, west of Bogotá, in cities such as Pereira, Manizales or Armenia or, more simply, the Coffee Region. .
Some of plantations offer tours and tastings and even spend the night. There are also organic coffee plantations. For every taste. Salento, for example, is a small recreational area, with many farms around and many things to do (you can rent a bike and go for a walk). Nearby is also the Cocora Valley, with the largest palm trees in the world.
El Tayrona National Park offers you the best beaches: crystalline waters, palms that provide shade from the hot Caribbean sun, dramatic mountains, rain forests... Here you can do snorkeling, for example in Cabo San Juan or on La Piscina beach. If you want to avoid the crowds you can go between February and November, which is low season.
Bogota is the largest city in the country and combines the colonial with the modern. The main attractions are concentrated in La Candelaria, with the Plaza de Bolívar and the Gold Museum, the elegant neighborhoods in the north of Bogotá with their restaurants and expensive shops, or the cable car to the Sanctuary of Monserrat.
Cali It is another popular city where you can eat very well and always dance salsa. It has XNUMXth century architecture, it's hot and there's a lot of partying. The La Guajira peninsula it is counted as the northernmost point of South America. It is not a very visited place, but if you like the idea of being in an oasis of dunes, mangroves and the turquoise Caribbean meeting the desert... well, it's great.
mompox was the inspiration to write One Hundred Years of Solitude. The city is on the route between the Caribbean and the Andes, it is the place where Bolívar gathered his army to make Venezuela independent, a charming colonial relic with cobblestone streets and on the outskirts, the Pijino swamp, ideal for bird watching.
Following with the wave of nature in the list of what to see in Colombia, which abounds here as well as history and culture, you can visit the Isla Providencia, a Caribbean island closer to Nicaragua than to Colombia where it is spoken Creole and not spanish. here is the Sunflowers Biosphere Reserve, World Heritage and is the owner of a great marine biodiversity waiting to be explored.
Of course, we cannot forget about the Island of San Andres, a catamaran trip from Providencia. It is a super tourist site, in my opinion overrated. On the opposite side of the Caribbean Sea, on the Pacific, there is also Nuqui, a small city with a lot of nature, home to coastal jungles, waterfalls, vast beaches with humpback whales, crystal clear rivers flowing into the sea and many birds, especially lovely hummingbirds.
Finally, although I have concentrated on the historical and natural beauties of Colombia, I recognize that there are people who are interested in the recent history of the country, especially that which has to do with Pablo Escobar. If this is your case, you can visit his farm in Puerto Triunfo, Hacienda Napoles.
Today the farm is in municipal hands and has become a kind of amusement park with a water park, theme areas, hotels and even a zoo. At the entrance door you have a Cesna plane that the drug trafficker used to smuggle drugs into the United States, and there is also a museum of vintage cars, although its presence is not visible much else.