COLOMBIA TRAVEL GUIDE
COLOMBIA: the essential travel guide
Colombia is the only country in South America with coastlines on both the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean. Between them rise three ranges of the Andes, and to the east stretch the plains of the Orinoquía and the Amazon rainforest. This guide gathers what you need to know before you travel, written by Colombie Travel, a Colombia DMC and local tour operator and a member of ANATO and ACOTUR.
Colombia at a glance
| Capital: | Bogotá, at about 2,600 metres |
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| Population: | more than 50 million people |
| Area: | more than 1.1 million km², about twice the size of France and almost five times the United Kingdom |
| Official language: | Spanish, alongside 65 indigenous languages |
| Currency: | Colombian peso (COP) |
| Time zone: | UTC-5, with no daylight saving time: 5 hours behind London in winter and 6 in summer; 6 hours behind Paris in winter and 7 in summer |
| Territory: | 32 departments and the capital district of Bogotá, in six natural regions |
| Biodiversity: | about one in ten known species on Earth lives in Colombia |
| Cultures: | 115 indigenous peoples, plus Afro-Colombian, Raizal, Palenquero and Rom communities |
| UNESCO World Heritage: | 9 sites |
Explore the guide
- Practical information: currency, plugs, water, flights and getting around
- Climate and the best time to visit
- The regions of Colombia
- Biodiversity and national parks
- Indigenous peoples and cultures
- Food and UNESCO heritage
Ready to see it for yourself? We design tailor-made journeys across Colombia, guided in English or French.