Meridian72 / Travel / Discovering Colombian Andes / Geographic Location
Discovering Colombian Andes
Geographic Location
The Colombian Andes are divided into three branches known as cordilleras: the Cordillera Occidental, runs adjacent to the Pacific coast; the Cordillera Central, runs up the centre of the country between the Cauca and Magdalena river valleys (to the west and east respectively) and includes the cities of Medellín, Manizales and Pereira; and the Cordillera Oriental, extends north east to the Guajira Peninsula, and includes Bogotá, Bucaramanga and Cúcuta, among others.
The climate and vegetation of the region vary considerably according to altitude. In this region, you will find:
- Hot lands of river valleys and basins below 1,000 m (<3280 ft).
- Temperate lands approximately 1,000 m to 2,000 m (3280 ft – 6562 ft).
- Cold lands between 2,000 m to 3,200 m, (6562 – 10499 ft) which include the most productive land and the majority of the population.
- The alpine conditions of the zona forestada (forested zone, 3,200 m to 3,900 m (10499 ft – 12795 ft).
- Páramos (3,900 m to 4,600 m (12795 ft – 15092 ft).
- Frozen lands between 4,600 m and above (> 15092 ft).
This program has been designed to take you to two of the three Colombian Andes Cordilleras. Due to the physical geography of this region, in this program you will be at several altitudinal gradients and will be able to visit a variety of ecosystems.
Travel Highlights:
- Cloud Forest
- Bird and plant diversity
- Coffee Plantations
- Wax Palm
- Andean Cordilleras
- Altitudinal gradients
- Rivers and Valleys
