Environment

National Parks

Colombia has 42 protected areas covering an area of 9´015.000 hectares, approximately 80% of Colombia's land extension. These areas are comprised of 2 natural reserves, 33 national parks, 6 sanctuaries of flora and fauna, and 1 unique natural area.
Information of national parks and natural reserves in Colombia

Bio diversity

Colombia has the highest number of plant and animal species per area in all of the planet. There are more than 1800 bird species (more than the sum of birds of North America and Europe combined). The bird species vary from the condor of the Andes to the smallest of hummingbirds. And Colombian botanists have classified more than 130,000 plant species.

Flora

In hot regions with permanent precipitation, jungles flourish with high trees and green foliage. Vines and epifits abound -- plants that live within other plants. Moreover, there is another level of vegetation in the jungle floor with a high level of density of plants.

In more humid regions, like the jungles of Choco, the Amazon, the Catatumbo, the Central Valley of the Magdalena, and the low regions of the mountain ranges, the vegetation is exuberant, with a rich variety of species of wood, palm, rubber, and balsam trees.

In the coastal regions with salty waters, mangroves grow. Mangroves are special regions created by trees accustomed to both the fresh and salt waters. You can find mangroves on the coast that borders the planes of the Pacific in the Gulf of Uraba, in the Cienaga Grande of Santa Marta, and to the south of the Bay of Barbacoas.

In regions where the climate is semi-humid, there are two seasons: the dry and rainy seasons (like in the Plains of the Caribbean and Oriental Plains).The vegetation of these zones stands out for its different grasses with spread out trees that don't grow very tall and bushes that grow in thickets from 1 - 2 meters tall. In the Oriental Plains, there's also forests of Galeria that grow near the rivers, with the same aspect of a humid jungle. These forests are populated by big trees of a variety of species: among them the Morche Palms that grow in the high places where the conditions of humidity in the soil are favorable.

In the dry plains, the flora is comprised of desert-like vegetation (small trees, bushes with hard and rigid leaves, grasses, and many other legumes that adapt to the dryness). In this zone spiny plants and cacti abound that form small forests. This type of vegetation is found near the Caribbean, from the Gulf of Morrosquillo to the Guajira, in the Chicamocha, Dagua, Patia, and Magdalena River Basins, and this type of vegetation dominates the Valley of Tristezas and the plateaus of Mercaderes and Entre Rios.

Between the warm and cold steppes, you can enjoy a sub Andean forest, characterized by the great variety of species however fewer in number than found in the tropics. In these areas, the natural forests have been replaced by coffee crops, especially in the Western and Central Mountain Ranges. In lands of higher altitude (between 2.400 and 3.600 meters) you will find the Forest of Fog characterized by a high number of species of smaller trees. These trees have a high number of branches and are filled with aerial plants. This type of vegetation is found in the mountains exposed to high amounts of precipitation where there are zones with high levels of condensation.

Above tree line, the typical vegetation is the frailejón, small bushes and grainy plants, since they are varieties that have adapted to low temperatures, rains, and cold winds.

 

Fauna

The bio diversity of Colombian fauna is enormous. For example, there are 1300 species of mammals, 1800 species of birds and more than 35000 species of insects. This doesn't include the variety of amphibians, fish, and the abundance of marine fauna in Colombian seas.

 

Information about national parks and natural Colombian reserves

More information about the Colombian environment

 

 

 

 

 

More information and reservations:

Tel. (57)(6) 3349883 - 3349916 Pereira
Carrera 14 # 13-69 Pereira - Colombia
turiscolombia@andes.com

Prices listed on the Website do not include tax or hotel insurance.

 

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