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| | Need to Know | Capital City Bogota | | Tipping 15% | | Electricity 110 V | | Weights and Measurements Metric System |
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Sneak Preview
Colombia is blessed with a coastline along the Atlantic as well as the Pacific Ocean. Although the country is characterized by natural and cultural diversity, Colombians however tend to stick together. Their family ties are very strong, which makes it easy to explain why the world’s most (in)famous cartels belong to Colombia. Speak of diverse terrain - you have the mountains, valleys, deserts, lowlands and jungles all rolled into one country!
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Historically Speaking
The earliest records show Colombia as being inhabited by indigenous groups such as the Chibcha. From the 1600s to the early 1800s, Colombia was a colony of Spain and gained freedom only in 1819. Even after freedom from Colonial rule, Colombia has remained a troubled nation. Disputes between the country’s Liberal and Conservative parties have often ended in violence and civil war. Today, the country struggles against powerful guerrillas and paramilitaries, the mafia and the drug cartels.
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Habitat
Colombia has many geographical curiosities starting with the three Cordilleras (branches of the Andes), two valleys sandwiched between the Cordilleras crisscrossed by rivers, the highest coastal mountain range (the Sierra Nevada), deserts in the northeast and the jungle along the Pacific coast that holds the record for the highest rainfall in the world! The Pacific lowlands are swamped and have thick forests. The Andes cover about one third of the country. The plains make up for 60 % of Colombia, yet only 25% of the country’s population lives there. The heat keeps most people away from this flat terrain.
Colombia holds the record for the largest number of plant and animal species per unit area in comparison to any country in the world. Its animals include jaguars, ocelots, peccaries, tapirs, deer, armadillo and the rare spectacled bear. It has 1550 species of birds and its herbariums have classified over 130,000 species of plants!
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 | Have you ever wanted to visit museums that are interesting, unusual and maybe weird? We’ve seen the paintings and ... | | | | | |
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Travel Tools
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