Colombia (Lonely Planet, 5th Edition) - Jens Porup [33]
The main emerald mining areas in Colombia include Muzo, Coscuez, La Pita and Chivor, all in the Boyacá department. Although the Muisca people mined emeralds in pre-Columbian times, the Spanish colonialists went crazy for the green stones and greatly expanded the operations. They enslaved the indigenous locals to mine the gems and eventually replaced those workers with slave labor from Africa. Many of today’s miners are the direct descendants of those slaves and live in only slightly better conditions.
The areas’ rich deposits have led to several environmental and social problems. Rampant digging has torn up the countryside and, in an attempt to find new digging sites or to improve their squalid living conditions, miners have continuously pushed further into the forest. Fierce battles have repeatedly been fought between rival gangs of miners, claiming lives and ravaging the mines. Between 1984 and 1990 alone, in one of the bloodiest ‘emerald wars’ in recent history, 3500 people were killed in Muzo. Yet ‘green fever’ continues to burn among fortune hunters and adventurers from the four corners of the country and it surely won’t stop until the last bewitching green gem is mined.
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This has not necessarily been a good thing. In a controversial move, PNN has begun contracting with private companies to develop and operate tourist facilities inside some parks. Amacayacú on the Amazon River is now run by the luxury hotel chain Decameron. Sure, the park looks terrific now, with five-star cabins and a gourmet restaurant, but budget travelers and locals can no longer afford to visit this amazing place.
Colombia’s most popular parks are situated along the country’s pristine beaches. Parque Nacional Natural Tayrona is by far Colombia’s most popular national park, followed by Parque Nacional Natural Corales del Rosario y San Bernardo and Parque Nacional Natural Isla Gorgona.
Many other national parks offer just simple accommodations including basic cabins, dorms or camping. Travelers wishing to stay overnight must book ahead with the PNN central office in Bogotá Click here. There are also PNN regional offices in most large cities and at the parks. Most parks have an admission fee, payable at the visitors center or regional PNN office.
It is always a good idea to check ahead of time with tour agencies and the parks department for up-to-date security and weather conditions of any park before visiting.
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Gaviotas: A Village to Reinvent the World (1998), by Alan Weisman, tells the story of Colombian villagers who transformed their barren hamlet in Los Llanos into a global model for a sustainable community.
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Private Parks
Perhaps the biggest news in the Colombian park scene has been the large growth of privately owned and operated nature reserves. These are run by individual proprietors, rural communities, foundations and nongovernmental organizations. Many are just small, family reserves, sometimes offering accommodations and food. About 230 of these private parks are affiliated with the Asociación Red Colombiana de Reservas Naturales de la Sociedad Civil (http://resnatur.org.co).
Yet another new player in the park scene is the corporation. Future parks might look a lot more like the new Parque Nacional del Chicamocha (www.parquenacionaldelchicamocha.com), near Bucaramanga. This for-profit, corporate-run resort opened in December 2006, at a reported cost of US$20 million. In addition to hiking and trekking opportunities, this commercial theme park features dozens of restaurants, cafes, thrill rides, a zoo, cable cars and, coming soon, a luxury hotel complex.
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SNORTING THE RAINFOREST, ONE LINE AT A TIME
In 2006 Colombian vice president Francisco Santos Calderón launched a controversial marketing campaign linking casual drug use to the disappearance of the Amazon rainforest. The Shared Responsibility Initiative aims to dispel the myth that cocaine use is a victimless crime. The victim, in this case,