COLOMBIA biodiversity: wildlife, birds and national parks

Colombia is one of the world's megadiverse countries: about one in ten known species on Earth lives here. Colombia's biodiversity information system has recorded more than 83,700 species, and scientists described 281 new taxa in 2025 alone.

A country for birdwatching

With around 1,900 bird species, Colombia shares the world's top place for bird diversity with Peru, depending on the count. It has led the Global Big Day, the world's largest one-day bird count, in recent years. The Andean condor is the national bird.

Wildlife you can see

Hummingbirds and tanagers in the cloud forests, spectacled bears in the Andes, pink river dolphins in the Amazon, humpback whales on the Pacific coast and colourful poison dart frogs in the rainforest. Colombia's national flower is an orchid, the Cattleya trianae, one of thousands of orchid species found in the country.

Páramos: the water factories of the Andes

Above 3,000 metres, the páramos are high moorlands of frailejones, plants that capture water from the mist. Colombia holds about half of the world's páramos, and they supply water to most of its cities.

National parks

Colombia's national parks system protects more than 60 areas, about 10% of the country, from the glaciers of El Cocuy and the coral reefs of the Caribbean to the Amazon. Several parks limit the number of visitors per day and require local guides; we plan every visit according to their rules.

How we travel in nature

Small groups, certified local guides, authorised trails and no activities that disturb wildlife. When you travel with us, part of what you pay supports the communities that protect these ecosystems.

Updated by Colombie Travel, Colombia DMC and member of ANATO and ACOTUR. Last reviewed: November 2026.