Cano Cristales River in Colombia, South America

The river shown in the photographs is the Caristales, which is located near the town of La Macarena in Colombia, South America. The river, world famous for its colorful display, has been called "the river that ran away to paradise", "the most beautiful river in the world" and "the river of five colors".

During Colombia's wet season, the water flows fast and deep, obscuring the bottom of the river and denying the mosses and algae that call the river home the sun that they need. And during the dry season there is not enough water to support the dazzling array of life in the river. But during a brief span between the wet and dry seasons, when the water level is just right, the many varieties of algae and moss bloom in a dazzling display of colors. Blotches of amarillo, blue, green, black, and red - and a thousand shades in between - coat the river.

The part of the river where the colorful blooms occur is quite isolated and is not accessible by road. Adventurous tourists can now fly into La Macarena and then make their way to the river site on foot as part of guided tours. The site was effectively closed to tourists for several years because of guerrilla activity in the region along with concerns about the impact of unregulated tourist traffic. However, the site was reopened to visitors in 2009.

So far, some 1,000 people have visited Caristales, including around 100 foreign tourists.

The tours will follow four clearly marked and authorized paths and one is no longer permitted to stay overnight or cook, as this was ruining the area previously.

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• Caristales
• river
• algae

[dragoness48]

Sewer Crystals: the river of the five colors. The natural paradise of Colombia. Season of trips: June to December. Like arriving: Bogota - Villavicencio - the Macarena, aerial route Security: At the moment very good Eco-tourism Mountain range of the Macarena: communitarian tourism

[christianruiz1991]

Caño Cristales: el río de los cinco colores. El paraíso natural de Colombia.

Temporada de viajes: Junio a Diciembre.

Como llegar: Bogota - Villavicencio - La Macarena, vía aérea

Seguridad: Actualmente muy buena

Ecoturismo Sierra de la Macarena: turismo comunitario

[dragoness48]

@christianruiz1991

I used a translator to see what this comment said. I hope this is accurate, Jo.

[algerhistogram]

This is cool...ALMOST makes up for giving us that damned dance!

[MrMatuzoo]

son muy pocos los que pueden decir esto, que me siento orgulloso de ser hijo y aver nacido en ese hermoso paraiso que se llama sierra de la macarena, esto que aprecian no lo pueden ver en ninguna otra parte del mundo, esto es dingno y soberano de mi colombia querida mi departamento del meta querido y mi lugar natal sierra de la macarena,

[hiltonportacio]

PRIMERO Q TODO NO SON 5 SON 7

[heropill]

@MiaBlarg

LOL of course it's real, i've been there and its just shocking and beautifull

[megajoel12]

I hope I can get good pictures..... hope the time, weather, is right. and would confirm that those pics are real!

LOVE, RESPECT AND APPRECIATION.

[jorge2412able]

rives is in colombia

[deahca2]

This is so extraordinary. The music background was perfect. Hope it goes viral.