- Location: Meta, Colombia
- Phone: +57 310 3492460
- Year of foundation: 1948
- Open for visiting: 24 hours a day
The Sierra de la Macarena is a national park in Colombia , which has unique natural resources, and therefore invariably attracts tourists from all over the world, eager to enjoy the beauty of wildlife.
reference Information
The Sierra de la Macarena is a national park in Colombia , which has unique natural resources, and therefore invariably attracts tourists from all over the world, eager to enjoy the beauty of wildlife.
reference Information
The Sierra de la Macarena covers an area of 500,000 hectares in the heart of Colombia , just south of the country's capital, Bogota .
The status of the Makarene National Park was awarded as far back as 1948. This park is an absolutely isolated mountain range, on which are located three biological communities: Amazonian, Orinocian and Andean. The height of the massif reaches 3 km above sea level.
Flora National Park
The Sierra de la Macarena is a mixture of tropical and subtropical forests. Pedestrian roads are not everywhere. However, the territory of the national park can be moved by jeep or horse. In some places you can get by swimming along the Guavaire River, for example, by canoeing.
In the park there are many kinds of orchids, among which 48 are endemic. More than 2000 other plants are also endemic.
The most famous part of the flora of the Sierra de la Macarena is the colored river Cagno-Cristales . It is considered one of the most beautiful rivers in the world. It is the right tributary of the Losada River, which, in turn, is a tributary of Guavaire. The length of its channel is less than 100 km, but the bottom is very diverse, and the river itself is replete with small waterfalls. Notable is Canyo-Kristales its algae, which make the river colorful. It is dominated by shades of red, blue, yellow, green and black. Depending on the season, algae slightly change color, moving from more intense to dim shades. The river gets the brightest colors in the summer, when the sun dries the algae. Watch the river from July to November.
It is worth noting that the convenient path to Cagno-Kristales is still not laid, so you will have to reach it either by jeep or horse, or by canoe. This path is not long enough, because the river is located in a very hard-to-reach jungle, but it's worth it.
Fauna of the National Park
In the Sierra de la Macarena a very diverse animal world is represented, there are also endemic species of South America. On the territory of the park live:
- monkeys howler;
- jaguars;
- spectacled bears;
- giant otters;
- anteaters;
- sloths;
- bakers;
- capybarans.
Reptiles are very widely represented, for example, spectacled caimans, which are endemic to South and Central America. Inhabit in the park and the Orinoco crocodiles - the largest species, reaching a length of 6 m. There are in the park and the turtle, as well as a large number of a variety of snakes. In this regard, clothes to visit the national park should be chosen closed, which also protects against the bites of flying insects.
As in any tropical and subtropical forest, the Sierra de la Macarena has a very large population of birds. Here you will find parrots of different colors, small hummingbirds, eagles-harpy, etc.
What else is interesting in the park?
The Sierra de la Macarena is known not only for its rich fauna and rainbow river, there are also some curious historical sights . These are archaeological sites with pre-Columbian pictograms and petroglyphs. One of the most popular trekking routes is visiting the Lost City, Ciudad Perdida .
How to get to the Sierra de la Macarena?
The National Park is located just south of Bogotá , so it's easiest to get to it from the Colombian capital.