Colombia has emerged as one of Latin America's most enthralling destinations. It offers a wealth of stunning landscapes, vibrant cities, fabulous beaches, rich and varied wildlife, an array of unique experiences, enthralling arts and cultures, and truly rewarding active adventures. There are good flight connections with the UK. The richness of Colombia's travel experiences is magnified by the genuinely warm and enthusiastic welcome offered to visiting travellers.
Colombia's stunning landscapes range from snow-capped peaks to jungle-backed beaches, from hidden valleys to immense plains, and from crystal clear waterfalls to arid deserts. It has wonderful coasts along both the Caribbean and the Pacific, and it has the Andes - that vast mountain range that defines so much of this amazing continent. As the Andes enters Colombia it splits into two, then three, ranges that each run for hundreds of miles. Between these rugged sierras lie fertile valleys that burst with life along magnificent rivers fed by their mountain streams. To the west, forested Andean slopes descend right down to wild Pacific beaches. To the east, Amazon rainforests spread to infinity into Peru and Brazil and evolve into vast grassland plains towards Venezuela. To the north, where the Andean ranges end, their massive rivers merge into huge wetlands behind the stunning Caribbean coast with its miles of golden sands and seas dotted with beautiful coral islands. In a final flourish, the high mountains of the Sierra Nevada soar close to the pretty town of Santa Marta and a succession of wonderful Caribbean beaches, with the desert landscapes of the Guajira Peninsula stretching out beyond.
Each of Colombia's three major cities, Bogota, Medellin, and Cartagena, has their own story to tell:
At the heart of Bogota, the capital, lie the important buildings of government and the church, plus an array of museums, art galleries, botanic gardens and historic houses that make the city a must-visit. Its forward-looking style is shown off in cutting-edge grand designs of contemporary architecture (including some wonderful hotels), while down on the street urban life throbs to street art, music, and sheer joy.
Medellin has its own great museums and art to rival the capital, plus it simply bursts with energy, humanity, and the extraordinary zest for life of the new Colombia. The transformations that peace has brought across the nation are most powerfully evident here, backed by urban renewal projects that have transformed so many neighbourhoods - including a stunning cable-car network to connect hillside barrios with the city's metro.
Cartagena, beside the Caribbean, is the classical jewel of them all thanks to its Old City, set behind walls built by the Spanish against British pirates. It has a different mood completely - one of history, the grandeur of its buildings and streets that echo Old Havana and Panama City's Casco Viejo. It is undeniably romantic. It has lots to see, great hotels, fabulous restaurants, eye-catching shops, and speedboats to coral islands.
Colombia's best beaches are widely reckoned include those along the coast east of Santa Marta, from Tayrona national park and beyond, and the coral islands accessed from Cartagena. Nuqui on the Pacific coast also stands out, with secluded beaches in jungle-backed coves, tumbling waterfalls, crystalline rivers, and humpback whales that visit between July and November.
Colombia is also a great choice for seeing wildlife. The country is astounding for its extreme diversity, for example its 1,900 species of birds - more than any other nation in the world. There are some wonderful opportunities to see wildlife in many parts of Colombia, most notably in the Llanos region of the Eastern Plains.
Colombia has produced many fine artists and writers, the most recognised in modern times being the painter and sculptor Fernando Botero whose work can be seen in Bogota and in Medellin his home town, and (of course) the magical realist writer and Nobel laureate Gabriel Garcia Marquez, author of the ground-breaking ‘One Hundred Years of Solitude’, ‘Love in the Time of Cholera’, ‘The General in his Labyrinth’ and his autobiography ‘Living to Tell the Tale’. But today the world knows Colombia most of all for its music, for its incredible landscape of rhythms - salsa, reggaeton, cumbia, champeta, bunde, chirimia, and more - and its long list of superstars: Shakira, J Balvin, Karol G, Feid, Pedro Capo, Maluma, and many, many, many more.