This new, fourth edition of Bradt's Colombia has been thoroughly updated
to include all the most recent developments in this emerging South
American destination and to bring to the fore the country's
fast-developing ecotourism offering. New for this edition is coverage of
Yopal and San José del Guaviare, Caqueta, Vichada and Guainia, and on
the Atlantic coast, Palomino. Also included are details of how to go
star-gazing in the lunar landscapes of the Tatacoa desert, learning to
wrangle cattle during the Coleo festival in Villavicencio, visiting
ancient rock paintings in unexplored Guaviare, where to try the
traditional fermented tipple of the original Muisca people, and visiting
the rainbow river of Caño Cristales and the untouched wilds and jungles
of Chiribiquete National Park.After decades of trouble, Colombia now
offers one of the most exciting new travel experiences in South America.
With direct flights from the US to several Colombian cities including
the Caribbean hot spot of Cartagena, into Armenia in the heart of the
Coffee Region as well as the principal cities across the country,
accessibility is no problem. Colombia is home to a staggering 10% of all
species found on the planet: pink river dolphins swim in the Amazon near
Leticia, jaguar and ocelot slip between the trees in vine-tangled
rainforest and birdwatchers rightly marvel in the vast savannah of Los
Llanos and beyond. What's more, from vibrant cities such as Bogotá,
Medellin, Cali and Cartagena to emerging destinations across the
country, Colombians will receive you with a smile as if you were one of
their own. Still unaccustomed to international visitors, just speaking a
little Spanish goes a long way. With Bradt's Colombia, relax in Bogotás
fashionable restaurants, discover the colonial backwater of Mompós, a
town currently undergoing something of a renaissance with its
traditional silver jewellery shops and international jazz festival, and
explore the UNESCO Seaflower Biosphere Reserve in the San Andres
Archipelago, location of Providencia, the least visited island in all of
the Caribbean. For birders, the country boasts an embarrassment of
riches, nowhere more so than Los Llanos and the Sierra Nevada mountains.
