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Published: 09-11-2022
While tourism in Colombia was virtually non-existent for years due to conflict, civil war, and drugs, that's not the case today. The country is slowly establishing itself as a major tourist destination, drawing in travelers with its Caribbean coastline, rainforest, endangered animals, unique ecosystems, and the Andes. Discover why you should put this country in South America on your travel bucket list. Colombia is captivating the attention of many travelers worldwide, and it is straightforward to understand why. As a first-time traveler, you will fall in love with Colombia. Besides being the second most biologically diverse country in the world and having coasts along two oceans, Colombia has even more beautiful experiences waiting to be discovered! Its stunning mountain landscapes and diverse culture will captivate you right from the start. Also, Colombia is yet to be considered a mass tourism destination. It preserves its authenticity since tourists have the possibility of living an immersive experience in which they can interact firsthand with its people and culture. It is the only country in South America where you can visit the Caribbean, the Pacific, the Orinoquia region, and even the Amazon in one 10-day trip! Pair that with friendly people and great food, and you're in for a treat when you visit the country Here is some vital information about Colombia!
Rosario Islands
Basic Facts About Colombia
Colombia's official name is the Republic of Colombia, and its capital city is Bogota. The population of Colombia is 48,168,996 people who live in an area of 1,138,910 square kilometers, and the official language is Spanish. The currency is the Colombian Peso.
Colonial Building and Colombian Flag
Demographics
Colombia was estimated to have had a little over 47 million population in 2013 and has the third highest population in Latin America, behind Brazil and Mexico and slightly higher than Argentina. Around four million Colombians live outside of Colombia, mostly in the United States, Venezuela, Spain, and Ecuador. The population growth rate has fallen significantly in the past two decades and is now 1.1 percent. The country's population is relatively young, with a median age of 28.6 years. The average life expectancy is 75 years. Sixty percent of the Colombian population lives in the highland Andean interior of the country, where the three largest cities are located: Bogotá (7.7 million), Medellín (3.4 million), and Cali (3.1 million). Colombia is increasingly an urban country, with around 75 percent of the population living in urban areas. This trend began during La Violencia and accelerated in the 1970s and 1980s. At least 3.9 million persons have been internally displaced due to the armed conflict in Colombia, leaving their homes in rural areas and seeking safety and economic opportunity in large cities.
Most of the population (over 86 percent) is either mestizo (having both Amerindian and white ancestry) or white. People of African (10.4 percent) and indigenous or Amerindian (over 3.4 percent) origin make up the rest of the Colombian population. There is a tiny Romani or Roma population of under 1 percent, but they are a protected group in the constitution. There are more than 80 indigenous groups, with some of the largest being the Wayúu, who make up the majority in the La Guajira department; the Nasa, from Cauca; the Emberá, who live in the isolated jungles of the Chocó department; and the Pastos, in Nariño. Departments in the Amazon region have the highest percentages of indigenous residents. In Vaupés, for example, 66 percent of the population is of indigenous background. Many indigenous people live on "resguardos," which are areas that are collectively owned and administered by the communities.
Colombian Children in Leticia
Colombian culture
Colombian culture is very similar to many other Latin American countries, with a few special elements that make it unique. Looking at Colombian history, for example, the Spanish colonial era has left a lasting influence throughout the country, with a high rate of Roman Catholics in Colombian society. The Spanish decimated the indigenous population here, yet many elements live on in Colombian customs, music, and language. The geographical makeup of Colombia, with its treacherous terrain and sheer variety of climates, made communication and travel very difficult and therefore helped foster regionalism. Football, however, is a uniting factor in Colombian society, despite the large rift between economic classes. Long ago in Colombian history, carnivals became an opportunity for the whole population to congregate and enjoy "la fiesta," an important aspect of Colombian culture. Music is essential to Colombian culture, with Cumbia and Vallenato enjoyed country-wide. Shakira is famously from this Latin American country, as is Nobel Prize winner Gabriel Garcia Marquez, a famous figure in Colombian literature. Colombian art is often synonymous with Fernando Botero.
Colombian Musicians
Geography
Colombia is nicknamed the "gateway to South America" because it sits in the northwestern part of the continent where South America connects with Central and North America. It is the fifth-largest country in Latin America and home to the world's second-largest population of Spanish-speaking people. Colombia is a land of extremes. Through its center run the towering, snow-covered volcanoes and mountains of the Andes. Tropical beaches line the north and west. And there are deserts in the north and vast grasslands called Los Llanos in the east. Dense forests fill Colombia's Amazon Basin, which takes up nearly the country's entire southern half. In northwest Colombia, a warm, wet, jungle-filled area called the Chocó reaches across to the Panama border.
Salto de Tequendama
Climate
In Colombia, as in all equatorial countries, there is a tropical climate. Unlike in Europe or the USA, there is almost no difference between the seasons. The daylight hours vary little, and the temperature differences between summer and winter are also lesser. The average daytime temperatures range between 30 and 31 degrees, depending on the season. In some parts of the country, the temperature rises to 33 °C. In the colder months and depending on the region, the temperature lowers down to 22°C on a month's average.
Coffee Growing Region
Bio-Diversity
With its vast rain forests, sprawling savannas, massive mountains, and 2,900 kilometers of coastline on two oceans, Colombia is one of the most biologically diverse countries on Earth. Even though it takes up less than one percent of the world's land area, about 10 percent of all animal species live in Colombia. Many of Colombia's forest habitats have been undisturbed for millions of years, giving wildlife a chance to evolve into many different species. Animals from jaguars to caimans to poison dart frogs all call ColomColombia'sles home. The mountains provide a natural habitat for substantial Andean condors and rare spectacled bears, South AmeriAmerica's bear species. Thousands of years ago, Colombia was nearly completely covered in jungle. But people have cleared most of the trees to create farmland, and now only a handful of areas have their original forests. The government has set up several national parks to protect habitats, but environmental damage continues.
Blue Crowned Manakin, Colombia
Government and Economy
Colombia has a long history of democracy. The country is run by a president elected every four years. Laws are made by the House of Representatives and the Senate. Colombia's most significant partner is the United States, which buys 40 percent of the country's exports.coffee, bananas, oil, coal, gold, platinum, and emeralds. One of Colombia's worst activities is the production of illegal drugs. The Colombian government is carrying out Plan Colombia, a costly and wide-ranging effort to rid the country of the cartels that produce illegal drugs for sale around the world.
El Peñol
History
Archaeologists believe that the first people to arrive in Colombia happened about 20,000 years ago. Some 8,000 years later, settlers in the Magdalena Valley in the western part of the country grew into a civilization called the Chibcha. From the Chibcha arose the Muisca, an advanced culture that became the dominant power in Colombia by A.D. 700. Spanish explorers arrived in Colombia in 1500 but didn't establish it until 1525. These settlers were obsessed with finding gold and other valuables, and by 1538 they had conquered the Muisca and stolen all their gold and other riches. Colombia remained under Spanish rule for nearly 250 years. By the late 1700s, people in Colombia wanted independence from the Spanish government. In 1811, Cartagena declared independence, and Bogotá soon followed. Spanish soldiers tried to reclaim control in 1815, but Colombian forces led by the famed Venezuelan general Simón Bolívar defeated the Spanish in 1819. After independence, Colombia became part of a large country called New Granada. This country fell apart by 1835, and Colombia became a separate nation. Fights soon broke out between political groups over who would lead the country. Since then, Colombia has had several civil wars and relatively few times of peace.
