South America

Colombia

Discover Colombia - from the coffee triangle to Caribbean coasts, home of García Márquez, Shakira, salsa, and one of the most dramatic transformations in modern history.

Where Is Colombia?

Colombia is a country in South America. Its capital is Bogotá.

Where Colombia isSouth America · Capital Bogotá

Capital Bogotá
Population 53.4M
Area 1,141,748 km²

Colombia's transformation over the past two decades is one of the most remarkable stories in the world. A country once synonymous with drug cartels and civil conflict has reinvented itself into one of South America's most exciting destinations. Medellín, once the world's murder capital, is now a model of urban innovation with cable cars connecting hillside barrios, public libraries as architectural statements, and a tech startup scene that draws digital nomads from around the world.

Colombia is the only South American country with coastlines on both the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. It produces some of the world's finest coffee, grows more varieties of orchids than anywhere else, and is the second most biodiverse country on Earth after Brazil. Gabriel García Márquez wrote One Hundred Years of Solitude here, inventing magical realism from the heat and absurdity of Colombian life. Cartagena's walled old town is a UNESCO jewel of colonial architecture. Shakira and J Balvin brought Colombian music to the global stage. The salsa scene in Cali is legendary. And Colombians are consistently ranked among the happiest people in the world, despite everything they've been through.

At a glance

Language

Spanish

Currency

Colombian Peso (COP)

Calling Code

+57

Drives On

Right

Internet

.co

Timezone

COT (UTC-5)

Script

Latin

Government

Presidential Republic

Independence

1810

By population

Largest cities in Colombia

Bogotá

High-altitude capital at 2,640m with world-class museums, street art, and a thriving food scene

8,000,000

Medellín

City of eternal spring, transformed from drug war epicenter to innovation hub with cable car transit

2,500,000

Cali

Salsa capital of the world, a vibrant Pacific coast city with legendary nightlife

2,200,000

Cartagena

UNESCO-listed colonial walled city on the Caribbean, one of the most beautiful cities in the Americas

1,000,000

Barranquilla

Caribbean port city famous for its Carnival, the second largest in South America after Rio

1,200,000

People

Famous people from Colombia

Gabriel García Márquez
Literature
Nobel Prize-winning author of One Hundred Years of Solitude, father of magical realism
Shakira
Music
Global pop superstar from Barranquilla, one of the best-selling music artists of all time
Fernando Botero
Art
Sculptor and painter famous for his inflated, voluminous figures, Colombia's most recognized artist
James Rodríguez
Sport
Won the Golden Boot at the 2014 World Cup with one of the greatest goals in tournament history
Nairo Quintana
Sport
Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a España winner, Colombia's greatest Grand Tour cyclist

Food

Traditional cuisine of Colombia

Bandeja Paisa: Colombia's national dish - a massive platter of beans, rice, ground beef, chicharrón, plantain, avocado, arepa, and fried egg
Arepas: Corn flatbreads stuffed with cheese, meat, or eggs, eaten at every meal across the country
Ajiaco: Bogotá's signature soup with three types of potato, chicken, corn, and guascas herb
Colombian Coffee: Grown in the Coffee Triangle (Eje Cafetero), Colombian arabica beans are among the world's finest
Empanadas: Crispy corn empanadas filled with meat and potato, sold at street stalls everywhere
Aguardiente: Anise-flavored spirit that fuels every Colombian party, literally translates to fire water

Nature

Nature and landmarks in Colombia

Cocora ValleyCanyon: Home to the world's tallest palm trees (wax palms reaching 60m), Colombia's national tree in a misty Andean valley
Tayrona National ParkNational Park: Caribbean beaches backed by jungle and the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, the world's highest coastal mountain range
Caño CristalesRiver: The River of Five Colors - aquatic plants turn this river red, blue, green, yellow, and black
Amazon RainforestNational Park: Colombia's southern Amazon region around Leticia, where three countries meet at the river
Chicamocha CanyonCanyon: One of the deepest canyons in the world, deeper than the Grand Canyon in places

Sport

Sports in Colombia

Football: Copa América champions, produced Carlos Valderrama, and the legendary 5-0 victory over Argentina in 1993
Cycling: Dominant in Grand Tour cycling with Egan Bernal (Tour de France winner), Nairo Quintana, and Rigoberto Urán
Baseball: Hugely popular on the Caribbean coast, with several players in Major League Baseball
Boxing: Produced multiple world champions including Kid Pambelé and Antonio Cervantes

Facts

Did you know?

Colombia is named after Christopher Columbus, even though Columbus never actually set foot in the country
Colombia is the world's leading producer of emeralds, supplying 70-90% of the global market
Bogotá's Ciclovía closes 120 km of roads to cars every Sunday for cyclists and pedestrians
The country has more bird species than any other - over 1,900 species, about 20% of the world's total
Medellín's transformation from the world's most dangerous city to innovation hub took just 20 years
Colombia's flag colors represent gold (yellow), the ocean separating it from Spain (blue), and blood shed for independence (red)
The Lost City (Ciudad Perdida) was built 650 years before Machu Picchu but wasn't discovered until 1972