Colombia Birding Tours Amazon Andes Bogota Trips

Colombia is located in the northwest part of South America with land on both the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. Colombia is a large country about the size of Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico combined. "Colombia" was named after Christopher Columbus. Bogotá is the capital city with a population of 10.7 million in the metro area and Colombia has a total population of about 50 million. The highest point in Colombia is Pico Cristóbal Colón Mountain at 18,700 ft (5,700 meters). Conservation is important to Colombians and nearly 15% of the land is protected for habitat and wildlife preservation; this accounts for 65,462 sq. miles or 41,895,680 acres within 60 national parks and reserves.  You might notice that the flags of Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela are all very similar. This is because originally these countries were one territory called the Gran Colombia. When this federation was split into six countries, Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela decided to continue to show their mutual support by sharing the same flag, with each flag having a unique feature. 

People have been living in Colombia for about 12,000 years. Current day Panama was the route that many early hunter-gatherer tribes traveled through as they crossed from Central America down to South America and the land that is now Colombia would have been some of the first lands that people traveled across on this journey. Because Colombia borders both the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean, the tribes that travel by boat might have first landed in Colombia as well. The Spanish arrived in 1509 and the first permanent settlement was created in Santa Marta in 1525. Early indigenous people had developed gold processing for jewelry and ornaments and the desire for gold fueled the conquest of both Central and South American societies by the Spanish. In 1717 when the original borders were drawn, Colombia included much of what is now Panama, Equator and Venezuela. Independence from Spain was a long battle and with the help of leaders such as Simón Bolívar, Colombia won its independence in 1819. Over the many years since Independence there have been many battles and conflicts along the way, but Colombia is currently experiencing a time of peace and economic growth. The Colombia people are extremely kind and welcoming to visitors and tourists.