National parks.
Colombia protects roughly 17 million hectares of land and sea across about 60 national parks, from Caribbean beaches to Amazon tablelands, sheltering the country's astonishing biodiversity.
A network across every landscape
The Sistema de Parques Nacionales Naturales protects close to 60 areas spanning every one of Colombia's natural regions. Together they cover around 11% of the national territory, including marine zones on both coasts.
The parks range from the world-famous to the barely visited. Some welcome travellers with marked trails and eco-lodges, others are research zones or indigenous territories closed to tourism.
Tayrona, Cocora, Caño Cristales, Chiribiquete
Tayrona, on the Caribbean coast near Santa Marta, is the best known: palm-backed white beaches beneath the Sierra Nevada. The Cocora Valley near Salento shelters the towering wax palm, Colombia's national tree.
Caño Cristales, in the Serrania de la Macarena, is the river that turns red, yellow and green each year from an aquatic plant. Chiribiquete, the largest park and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, guards ancient rock art across a roadless expanse of Amazon.
Across all six natural regions, land and sea.
Roughly 11% of Colombia's territory protected.
Chiribiquete, Los Katios, Malpelo and more.
Plan ahead, tread lightly
Popular parks like Tayrona limit daily visitors and close for ecological rest periods each year, so check dates before you travel. Many parks require local guides, which keeps money in nearby communities.
For residents, the park system is one of the quiet luxuries of life here: weekend access to some of the most pristine nature left in the Americas.
Some of the last wild places, in your backyard.
From the Caribbean coast to the Andes, Colombia's parks are a short trip from its main cities. See what living here is like.
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