Colombia

This thoroughly updated fourth edition includes all the most recent developments in this emerging South American destination.

After decades of trouble, Colombia now offers one of the most exciting new travel experiences in South America. Following the 2016 peace accord, tourism is rapidly reviving as a key economic driver. Ranked the world's third most beautiful country by Forbes Magazine, Colombia is blessed with extraordinary natural diversity. By some estimates, the country houses a staggering 10% of the planet's animal and plant species, spanning Andes, Amazon, coast and beyond. Pink river dolphins swim in the Amazon near Leticia, ocelots slip between trees in vine-tangled rainforest, and birdwatchers marvel at avian riches in the vast savannah of Los Llanos and various mountain ranges.

In historic Bogotá, the capital, gaze in awe at shimmering pre-Columbian treasures in the Museo de Oro, get a taste of fine dining at one of the best restaurants in the Americas, and tour the city's Instagram-friendly street art. Elsewhere, discover Mompós, a colonial backwater undergoing a renaissance with traditional silver jewellery shops and an international jazz festival, and explore the UNESCO Seaflower Biosphere Reserve in the San Andrés Archipelago. Go stargazing amid lunar landscapes in the Tatacoa Desert, cruise the Magdalena River from Cartagena to Barranquilla, watch humpback whales along the Pacific Coast, learn to wrangle cattle during the Coleo festival in Villavicencio, visit ancient rock paintings in unexplored Guaviare, admire the rainbow river of Caño Cristales, or explore the untouched jungles of Chiribiquete National Park.

This edition, updated by Latin American specialists, includes expanded coverage of Yopal, San José del Guaviare, Caqueta, Vichada, Guainia and Palomino. Whatever your travel style, this guide has you covered.