Colombia - Learn, Explore and Travel

Learn Explore Travel Series

Geography: Northern South America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between Panama and Venezuela, and bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between Ecuador and Panama

Climate: tropical along coast and eastern plains; cooler in highlands

Terrain: flat coastal lowlands, central highlands, high Andes Mountains, eastern lowland plains

Colombia is bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil, to the south by Ecuador and Peru, to the North by the Atlantic Ocean and to the west by Panama and the Pacific Ocean. Within Colombia, the two cultures with the most complex cacicazgo systems were the Tayronas on the Atlantic Coast, and the Muiscas in the highlands around Bogotá, both of which were of the Chibcha language family. Colombia is the fourth biggest country in South America after Brazil, Argentina and Peru and the seventh largest one in the the Americas.

Map of Colombia, South America Photographic Print

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The Capital of Colombia is Bogota

Languages: Spanish

Plaza De Toros De Santamaria and Skyscraper Complex of Torres Del Parque, Bogota, Colombia Photographic Print

Dydynski,...

12 in. x 16 in.

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Bogota: At an elevation of 8,600 feet, Bogota has a population of over seven million, and still has good sights to see. The Plaza de Bolivar, with a statue honoring Simon Bolivar erected in 1846, who helped to bring independance in 1821, the Gold Museum, or Museo de Oro with a large collection of pre-columbian pieces, the nearby Catedral, an interesting, if quiet, neo-gothic church, and the old section of the city called La Candelaria, with low-key colonial buildings. Colombia's history began well over 13,000 years ago, as evidence of human occupation dates to that era. The Spanish arrived along the coastal areas of Colombia in the early 1500s and the country became Spain's chief source of gold; Cartagena and Bogota were founded by mid-century. Spain eventually increased taxation of the colonists to fund their home-front war expenses, and the subsequent anger and uprising that occurred were the seeds of the revolution to come.

Colombia at the Beijing 2008 Olympics

Profile of Colombia: Profile of Colombia at the Beijing Olympics

Travel Colombia

Colombia (Bradt Travel Guide)

by: Sarah Woods

Amazon Price: $18.24 (as of 07/10/2009)

Much like neighboring Panama, Colombia is home to a fascinating mix of cultures and wildlife. The country has more plant and animal species per square mile than any other country in the world - over 130,000 endemic plants and 1,900 species of bird - and both coastlines (Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea) are rich in coral reefs and marine life.

A lovely story of early Colombia

Vista Nieve: The Remarkable True Adventures of an Early Twentieth Century Naturalist and His Family in Colombia, South America

by: Melbourne Romaine Carriker

Amazon Price: (as of 07/10/2009)

Delightful reading, intermixing family history with natural history; recollections of a lad interwoven with sage ecological obserations of a scientist.

"Vista Nieve," by Melbourne R. Carriker is a lovely story about a remarkable naturalist and a daring coffee pioneer in the beautiful Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountain region of Colombia.

The average criminal sentence length is 137 years in Colombia.

Colombia has at least eleven active or dormant volcanoes, the tallest of which, Huila, rises to about 19,000 feet and seems to be the highest point in the country. The Spanish colonies on the Isthmus of Darien (since 1903, the Republic of Panama, but previously a province of Colombia) and the discovery of the South Sea by Balboa directed the course of explorations of Colombia to its north-western and Pacific sections. The material development of Colombia has necessarily been much retarded by the political disturbances which have occurred since the first quarter of the nineteenth century and have made its history a continuous succession of civil wars.
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This small compact book carries a gigantic wallop. It is filled with information from cover to cover and is by far the best travel book on Colombia I have ever come across. Moreover, the introduction and historical narrative is simply outstanding. This book is a great travel companion and if used properly will unlock the beauty and treasures that Colombia has to offer.

Author Krzysztof Dydynski was born in Poland but lived in Colombia for four years and manages to capture the best and brightest features of the nation. The author is comprehensive and includes sketches, photos, maps and a first class index. The only downside of this valuable book is that it is a little outdated. The 1995 publication must be updated to warn of the many dangers of travel in Colombia today and to include new places of interest throughout the country. "Lonely Planet travel survival kit; Colombia," is worth every penny. It covers all the bases for any budget. I love this book.

Bert Ruiz

Lonely Planet Colombia

by: Krzysztof Dydynski

Colombia is a land of the unknown and one of the wild frontiers of independent travel. This comprehensive guide is the essential resource to this country of contrasts. It's full of down-to-earth information about the wild cosmopolitan streets of Bogota