Caño Cristales: Colombia's stunning "River of Five Colors" is located in Serranía de la Macarena national park, in the province of Meta.
The only way to get to Caño Cristales is through the town of La Macarena. You can take a direct flight from Bogota that will have you in Villavicencio in about an hour. From there, it is a quick 20-minute flight on a small plane to La Macarena.
7# Caño Cristales is safe
There is a strong military presence, and many tourists come every year. I never felt unsafe in the town of La Macarena. The locals were lovely to us. Some areas of Meta are not considered safe by the authorities.
The river water lacks the nutrients necessary to sustain aquatic wildlife, so there are no fish in the Cano Cristales. The colourful Macarenia clavigera is the only plant life in the river.
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The best time to visit Caño Cristales is from July and October, when the flourishing plant life is at its most vivid. However, the colorful plant life is still visible from the end of May into November. You don't want to visit too early – like in April, for instance – when Colombia is experiencing its rainy season.
Caño Cristales is a Colombian river known for its incredibly unique and vivid colors, giving it the nickname: “the river of five colors”.
Caño Cristales (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈkaɲo kɾisˈtales]; English: "Crystal Channel") is a Colombian river located in the Serranía de la Macarena, an isolated mountain range in the Meta Department. It is a tributary of the Guayabero River, itself a part of the Orinoco basin.
Caño Cristales, known also as the River of Seven Colors, has reopened to visitors after 18 months of closure.
The colors are produced during the reproductive process of the aquatic plants in the river, which are called Macarenia clavigera, a species of the riverweed family Podostemaceae. During the wet season, the river runs fast and high, meaning the sun cannot hit the riverbed's plants.
Drug-related crime, terrorism and civil unrest make some areas very dangerous. These include the regions within 20km of the Venezuelan and Ecuadorian borders, the cities of Buenaventura and Tumaco, and the Darién Gap. Avoid these areas. Kidnapping occurs in areas of Colombia.
Medellin
Without a doubt, the so-called “City of Eternal Spring” is one of the safest places in Colombia. The crime rates in Medellin are low, so low that many expats have called this city their home. This is especially true in more upscale neighborhoods in the city, such as El Poblado and Laureles.
Caño Cristales is a river in Colombia also known as 'the river of the gods', 'the river of the seven colors', 'the rainbow that melted' or 'the most beautiful river in the world'.
After air travel to La Macarena became possible in 2009, traveling there became easier and more popular. Currently, about 16 000 travellers visit Cano Cristales every year.
This area has a large variety of flora and fauna, with over 2,000 plants, 550 bird species, 1,200 insects, 100 reptiles, 50 orchards, eight monkey species, anteaters, jaguars, cougars and deer.
Caño Cristales in Colombia's Serranìa de la Macarena National Park is dubbed the “river of five colors," “liquid rainbow," or "melted rainbow" because of the many hues you can see beneath its clear waters.
That's right, this colorful river in Colombia is a phenomenon that can only be found in Colombia. The plant even gets its name from the nearby town of La Macarena. The plant's unique biology causes it to bloom in the water in different colors, giving Caño Cristales its “rainbow river” or “liquid rainbow” effect.
Also known as the River of Five Colors, Caño Cristales is the most spectacular natural wonder in the country. Found in the mountain range of Serranía de la Macarena, the river mesmerizes with amazing colors: vivacious yellow, green, blue, black and red shades quiver from the bottom.
Colombia is known for its significant natural resources, modern cities, and a diverse culture. The government has made great strides in recent years to secure peace with revolutionaries, minimize crime, and protect its strong democratic institutions and the country boasts at growing economy.
Cano Cristales, Colombia
If you have to catch a glimpse of the most colourful river in the world, visit this 'river of five colours' between July and November. The endemic plant life turns yellow, blue, green and red, which is what contributes to the illusion.
Caño Cristales is often called “the river of five colours” or the “liquid rainbow”, and according to local legend, it escaped paradise to flow through the Earth.
This rainbow river runs along a tropical forest and barely reaches one hundred kilometres in length. Caño Cristales ends without its bright colours as these are lost on the way through La Cachivera, at the height of a royal road, which crosses it.
According to native legends, the Caño Cristales river "Escaped from paradise to wander among the mountains and prairies." The river has been known to indigenous locals for ages, but it was not discovered by modern society until 1969 when a group of Colombian cattle farmers stumbled across the river in full bloom.