Colombia (Lonely Planet, 5th Edition) - Jens Porup [32]
Two of the Amazon River’s most famous residents, the pink river dolphin and the Amazonian manatee are considered vulnerable.
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Colombia is the world’s second-largest exporter of cut flowers, after the Netherlands. About US$1 billion worth of flowers are exported every year, mostly to the US. Americans buy 300 million Colombian roses on Valentine’s Day.
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Plants
Colombia’s flora is equally as impressive as its fauna and includes more than 130,000 types of plant, a third of which are endemic species. This richness does not convey the whole picture: large areas of the country, such as the inaccessible parts of the Amazon, have undiscovered species. It is estimated that, at a minimum, 2000 plant species have yet to be identified and an even greater number have yet to be analyzed for potential medicinal purposes.
Fans of orchids will be bloomin’ excited to learn that Colombia has some 3500 species of orchids, more than any other country. Many of them are unique to the country, including Cattleya trianae, the national flower of Colombia. Orchids grow in virtually all regions and climate zones of country, but are mostly found in altitudes between 1000m and 2000m, particularly in the northwest department of Antioquia.
Further up into the clouds you will find the frailejón, a unique, yellow-flowering, perennial shrub that only grows at altitudes above 3000m. There are some 88 species of frailejón, most native to Colombia. You’ll find them in places like Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Sierra Nevada del Cocuy and Santuario de Iguaque.
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NATIONAL PARKS & RESERVES
Colombia has some of the most splendid, pristine nature in the Americas. The country has 55 national parks, flora and fauna sanctuaries and other natural reserve areas, all administered by the government’s Parques Nacionales Naturales (PNN) de Colombia (www.parquesnacionales.gov.co).
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For information on Colombia’s national parks, visit the official government website at parquesnacionales.gov.co, or the park tourism site at www.colparques.net.
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Unfortunately, simply declaring an area a national park has not stopped the guerrilla activity, drug cultivation, illegal ranching, logging, mining or poaching. About a dozen national parks are located in guerrilla strongholds and are not safe for foreigners. This includes, sadly, the beautiful Sierra de la Macarena. Most parks in the Amazon Basin (except Amacayacu) and along the Ecuadorian border should also be considered off-limits. Other parks, such as Los Katios, a Unesco World Heritage Site near Darién Gap, are open but remain dodgy and access is limited; check the current security situation before proceeding.
On the bright side, many parks that were off-limits just a few years ago are now open for tourists, including most of El Cocuy and a good chunk of Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. With the recent growth in tourism and ecotourism, the government is finally pumping pesos into its long-underfunded national parks system. New parks have recently opened and more are in the planning stages. Established parks are finally getting much-needed visitor amenities such as lodging and dining facilities, a rarity in Colombia.
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GREEN FEVER
Colombia produces the largest percentage of the world’s emeralds (50%; compared to Zambia’s 20% and Brazil’s 15%). Some estimate that the mines inside Colombia may actually contain up to 90% of the world’s emerald deposits. This is good news for emerald prospectors but may not bode so well for the local environment – and perhaps Colombia as a whole. The fighting and destruction related to the production of these glamorous gems has had an impact on the country not so different from