The small town of Calarcá, just outside of Armenia, hosts the Quindío Botanical Garden (Jardín Botánico del Quindío). It’s one of the best botanical gardens in all of Colombia and a must-see when visiting the UNESCO World Heritage listed Coffee Cultural Landscape of Colombia.
If you’re in Guática and feeling adventurous, you can head to the small village of Santa Ana. It’s located down the road from Guática, well off the beaten path. It’s also part of the UNESCO World Heritage listed Coffee Cultural Landscape of Colombia.
While traveling in Southwest Colombia, you hardly expect to find a desert. Mixed in among the lush green mountainous landscape is a 330 square kilometer region packed with interesting formations, canyons, and incredible scenery. The Tatacoa Desert (Desierto de la Tatacoa) is an unusual place that in fact is not even a true desert. It’s a dry tropical forest.
The main archaeological site in San Agustín is the Archaeological Park, but there is much more to see in the UNESCO World Heritage listed area surrounding the town. Visitors who stay more than a day or two will be rewarded with incredible views and several smaller yet equally important archaeological sites.
The main archaeological site in San Agustín is the Archaeological Park, but there is much more to see in the UNESCO World Heritage listed area surrounding the town. Visitors who stay more than a day or two will be rewarded with incredible views and several smaller yet equally important archaeological sites.
In the city of Mocoa, on the fringe of the Amazon Rain Forest, there’s nothing to see or do. The main plaza is quite boring and lacks any wow factor.
The third day of our Amazonas tour with On Vacation began with an excursion to visit a Yagua community. The Yagua are an indigenous tribe who settled in the specific area around the late 1970s. This excursion was included in the package.
On the second day of our tour to Amazonas with On Vacation, we took an excursion to Puerto Nariño and a Ticuna community. The trip started at 9am and wasn’t included in the package (it was a bit pricy). If you’re going on your own, you have to pay an entrance fee to get into Puerto Nariño.
A vast area of Colombia is made up of virgin jungle which is part of the massive Amazon River Basin. Much of the land is protected area. Some of it is populated with indigenous tribes, including a few that refuse contact, and unfortunately, in some areas, paramilitary forces. Due to these and other factors, it’s a wild and quite dangerous section of the country – definitely not a tourist destination.
Fortunately, there is a small section in the southeastern corner of Colombia that is extremely safe and quite developed for tourism.
I thought my search for Colombia’s most beautiful town ended with Jardín. The equally if not more beautiful town of Jericó gives it stiff competition. Jardín wins the plaza competition, but Jericó hands down has better preserved and better constructed traditional homes and buildings.