Caño Cristales, Columbia

Caño Cristales is a river located in the Serrenia de la Macerana region of Columbia. This isn’t just any river, it has been referred to as and “The Most Beautiful River in the World."

 This succession of water falls and rock formations offer a colourful show thanks to the prehistoric aquatic plants (In fact, the site is a geological formation that is older than the Andes) with yellow, red, green and blue colours covering the rocks. For this reason, the river is known as the river of five colours. The wet season is the best period to visit the site, from June to November. At this time, the river is at its most colourful. The river is divided in two important branches: along the left branch, one can appreciate the famous Hoyos, Virgen, Cuarzos and Pianos falls. Los Pianos is a water fall with various stages. On the right branch, we can access Las Tablas de la Ley, Pozo Cuadrado, and Las Escaleras to discover the Salto del Aguila falls. The warm weather means we can swim in the multicolored natural pools. 

The Serranía de la Macarena is located on the border of three large ecosystems, each of them with high diversity of flora and fauna: the Andes, the Eastern Llanos, and the Amazon rainforest. Plant and animal life are struggling with the lack of nutrients on the solid rock surface of the tableland and have developed diverse adaptations. The representative biome of the Serranía de La Macarena is the hydrophytic rainforest: hot, warm, and cold. The tableland is home to about 420 species of birds, 10 species of amphibians, 43 species of reptiles, and 8 primates.