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Colorful Cartagena street in front of the cathedral

COLOMBIA TRAVEL GUIDE

COLOMBIA climate: altitude, seasons and the best time to visit

Colombia sits close to the Equator, so temperatures barely change through the year. What changes the climate is altitude: in a single day you can go from the warm Caribbean coast to the cool Andean towns. Instead of summer and winter, Colombia has dry and rainy seasons.

The thermal floors

Colombians describe their climate by altitude bands, called pisos térmicos:

  • Warm (below about 1,000 m): above 24 °C. The Caribbean and Pacific coasts, the Amazon and the eastern plains.
  • Temperate (about 1,000 to 2,000 m): 17 to 24 °C. Medellín and the coffee region.
  • Cool (about 2,000 to 3,000 m): 12 to 17 °C. Bogotá, Tunja and Villa de Leyva.
  • Páramo (about 3,000 to 4,000 m and above): below 12 °C. High Andean moorlands, the source of much of the country's water.
  • Snow (the highest peaks): glaciers in El Cocuy, the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta and the Nevado del Ruiz.

Dry and rainy seasons by region

  • Andes (Bogotá, Boyacá, Medellín, the coffee region): drier months are usually December to March and July to August; April, May, October and November are wetter.
  • Caribbean coast: usually dry from December to April; the rainiest months are September to November.
  • Pacific coast: one of the rainiest regions on Earth, with rain all year.
  • Amazon: humid and rainy most of the year; river levels change the experience more than the calendar.
  • Eastern plains (Orinoquía): a dry season from December to March and a long rainy season the rest of the year.

When is the best time to visit Colombia?

Colombia can be visited all year. December to March is the driest period in most regions and the busiest for travel. July and August are also dry in the Andes. In the rainy months, mornings are often clear and the landscapes are at their greenest. We adapt each itinerary to the regions and the month you travel.

What to pack

Layers are essential: light clothes for the coast, a warm jacket for Bogotá and the Andes, a rain jacket all year, and sun protection, because the sun is strong at altitude.

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

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