Colombia

This is a fantastic page with travel routes for all regions of Colombia, excellent maps, detailed explanations of what to expect and what to see. Well done El Tiempo!

http://tr.eltiempo.terra.com.co/rutas_por_colombia/indexFlash.html

I was born and raised in Colombia, so it would only follow that I love my country. But having lived in the U.S. for 7 years, I can say with objectivity that Colombia is a beautiful country full of beautiful people. Most people have heard terrible things about Colombia thanks to CNN and the like -Pablo Escobar, terrorism, drug lords, cartels, guerrilla, etc. In spite of all of the above, Colombians are a positive and optimistic people by nature who have an extraordinary sense of nationalism and manage to survive any adversity. Home to some of the most hard-working people I know, Colombia enjoys an eden-like geography with coasts in both the Pacific and Caribbean, 3 branches of the Andes range providing numerous climates and fertile mountains (where our famous coffee is grown) valleys and plains. Another common misconception portrayed by Hollywood is that Colombia and even its cities are “in the middle of the jungle”; in reality, Bogota, the capital, is one of the largest cities in the Americas with over 6M in population. But Colombia is a very large country: its area is comparable to that of Texas and California combiend. It extends to the Amazon at its Southernmost tip. Colombia is home to 10% of the world’s biodiversity and countless ecosystems, minerals, precious metals and stones, crude oil, etc.

Sadly, Colombia’s war is greatly correlated to drug production. What most people fail to realize is that demand for drugs all around the world fuels war in our country, resulting in homicides, kidnappipngs and explotation of innocent hard-working people; think about it…

If visitng Colombia, large metropolitan areas such as Bogota, Medellin and Cali have the greatest population. The coastal region along the Caribbean holds beautiful beaches, Cartagena, Barranquilla and Santa Marta. Colombia also possesses an island in the Caribbean called San Andres (and Providencia). Every region is unique and offers unique gastronomy and culture.

As the northernmost country in South America, make Colombia your first stop in your next travel to South America, you won’t regret it.