Colombia (Lonely Planet, 5th Edition) - Jens Porup [38]
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Birds of Northern South America (2007) by Robin Restall is the essential bird-watcher’s field guide to Colombian birds, with full-color plates for every bird you’re likely to see here.
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Some 70% of the country’s birds live in the Andean cloud forest, one of the most endangered ecosystems in the world. Good bird-watching spots include Río Blanco near Manizales, and Km18 Click here near Cali. The Amazon basin near Leticia is also an excellent spot for jungle birds; as is the Chocó Click here. Colombia also boasts the western third of the Los Llanos region, shared by Venezuela, a fine spot to see the birds that region attracts.
For a countrywide overview of the Important Bird Areas (IBAs), an invaluable resource is http://aicas.humboldt.org.co, which breaks the country down by department. The Red Nacional de Observadores de Aves (Colombian Bird Watchers Network, RNOA, www.rnoa.org) is also a good place to start. For Andean bird-watching, you may be able to find a guide through www.mapalina.com.
Finding bird-watching guides in Colombia can be difficult. In many remote areas, locals can take you where they know birds are, but it’ll be up to you to find them. One reputable bird-watching tour company is Colombia Birding (www.colombiabirding.com). Run by a bilingual Colombian, its network of local guides can show you around many of the country’s most popular bird-watching areas. It charges US$100 per day plus expenses. Its website has information on birds by region in Colombia.
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A Guide to the Birds of Colombia (1986), by Steven L Hilty and William L Brown, is a must for Amazon bird viewers, and this guide to Colombia’s 1700 species of birds has no rival for its coverage of birds of the Amazon basin.
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CANOPYING
Sometimes called ‘zip lines’ in North America, this sport involves strapping yourself into a harness and zipping around the forest canopy on cables. You use a heavy leather glove on top of the cable to brake.
The last several years have seen an explosion in popularity of this sport in Colombia, particularly in the mountain regions. One of the best is in Río Claro, halfway between Medellín and Bogotá, where a series of canopy lines zigzags across the river. It’s a hoot in its own right, and it also provides a great vantage point from which to spot the local birds.
Other spots where you can go canopying include Los Yarumos outside Manizales, Las Ardillas near Popayán, the shores of Embalse Guatapé Click here, outside Medellín, and Termales San Vicente outside Pereira. There are also several canopy lines near Villa de Leyva and San Gil.
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HIKING & TREKKING
Colombia has some of South America’s best hiking opportunities. The country is most famous for two long treks in particular. One, Ciudad Perdida on the Caribbean coast, can only be reached by a sweaty, six-day trek through the jungle and across waist-high rivers. At the end you arrive at the long-forgotten ruins of the Tayrona civilization. The other, El Cocuy, is a high-mountain trek that rarely drops below 4000m and crosses glaciers along the way. The scenery is among Colombia’s best, and those with the lungs for it should not miss it.
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For comprehensive information on bird-watching in Colombia, see www.proaves.org.
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The casual hiker looking for good one-day walks has many options to choose from. The country’s best one-day hike is the Valle de Cocora, outside Salento. This walk takes you up into the national park amid wax palms – the largest