Colombia Become a Disney Travel Agent Near Me

Colombia could be South America's best-kept travel secret, were it not for its unenviable record in drug trafficking and kidnappings that the country has been working hard to overcome.

Yes, it is true: Colombia hasn't entirely shaken its reputation as a volatile and dangerous country, trapped in a circle of violence. There's been no final act in the bloody drama that is being played out by drug lords, terrorists, guerrillas, vigilantes and corrupt politicians.

Recent years, however, have witnessed remarkable progress. The leftist guerrillas have been pushed into ever-more remote regions and many of their top military leaders have been killed by the Colombian armed forces. Most right-wing paramilitary groups have been disbanded. And the once much-feared Medellin and Cali drug cartels have been squashed, and replaced by smaller, more fractious groups whose internecine feuding accounts for the majority of the country's murders.

Travelers are visiting in increasing numbers, and return from Colombia raving about the country's beauty and its hospitable, friendly people. And no wonder: Colombia's mist-shrouded, snow-capped Andean mountains; charming colonial cities; golden-sand beaches; and vast green stretches of Amazonian rain forest speak for themselves. Add to that its wealth of wildlife and indigenous people, superb hotels and world-class dining, plus a well-developed domestic air network and first-class highways now guarded by the army and police.

History

Following the Spanish conquest of South America in the early 1500s, the area now known as Colombia was administered from Quito and Lima as part of Nuevo Reino de Granada (New Realm of Granada), comprising present-day Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador and Panama. Several of its many indigenous tribes were wiped out by swords and muskets in Spain's bloodthirsty quest for gold, emeralds and other riches.

By the late 18th century, creole (South American born, as opposed to pure Spanish) sentiment culminated with a campaign for independence under the leadership of the Venezuelan Simon Bolivar. The territories of South America eventually won their independence from Spain in 1819.

For its first 10 years, Colombia was part of Gran Colombia, a federation of Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela (you'll notice the similarity in their yellow, blue and red flags). The federation, however, broke up over issues of local sovereignty in 1830, and Colombia gained sovereign independence. Much of the 19th century was marred by bloody feuding between Liberals, who supported a secular, decentralized government, and centralist Conservatives as the provinces fought with centralist government forces.

The country has since experienced two bloody civil wars between Liberals and Conservatives, the two predominant political factions. In 1948, the assassination of Liberal political leader Jorge Eliecer Gaitain sparked the "Bogotazo"—a riotous mayhem that destroyed much of Bogota and cost the lives of more than 2,000 people. It triggered La Violencia, a civil war that lasted from 1948 to 1957 and took 300,000 lives (in the Americas, only the U.S. Civil War and the Mexican Revolution were more destructive).

La Violencia also spawned FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia), a ruthless Marxist guerrilla movement that for five decades has perpetrated indiscriminate murders in an effort to topple the government. (The other major group is ELN, National Liberation Army, following the Cuban line). As a response, large landowners sponsored right-wing paramilitary groups to defend their interests; these groups perpetrated their own ruthless pogroms against anyone considered to have leftist sympathies.

In the 1980s and '90s, weakened state institutions proved ineffective in countering the rise of powerful drug cartels led by Pablo Escobar, who built the world's largest cocaine empire by assassinating policemen and politicians. His murderous tactics (he offered a choice of "silver" or "lead") included a bombing campaign and the storming in 1985 of the Supreme Court by M-19 guerrillas underwritten by Escobar.

In the 1980s, the government finally began to crack down, breaking up the cartels. However, FARC and other militarized groups have stepped into the breach and fund themselves today by control of cocaine production.

The security situation vastly improved under President Alvaro Uribe, who served from 2002 until 2010. Uribe reversed his predecessors' appeasement policies of FARC, and their tolerance of wholesale corruption. His policies have been continued by President Juan Manuel Santos, a publisher and former Minister of Defense, elected in 2010.

Snapshot

Colombia's foremost attractions include beaches, the Andes, indigenous culture, the Amazon, the Casco Viejo (Old City) in Cartagena, colonial villages, La Guajira desert, Bogota's Gold Museum and La Candelaria district, wildlife-rich national parks and scuba diving.

Colombia appeals mostly to adventurous travelers, especially those who have a good appreciation of Latin American history, speak Spanish and want to explore jungles, mountains, beaches and historical sites, but its wealth of excellent hotels and restaurants and its extensive highway system and domestic air network will appeal to those seeking comforts.

Potpourri

Colombia boasts 20% of the world's bird species, more than any other country in the world; by comparison, the entire African continent has only 15% of them.

The Pacific coast of Colombia has some of the highest rainfall levels in the world. Quibdo, in Choco department, holds the world record for the most rainfall in a 12-month period.

Eighty different languages, most of them known only to small indigenous communities, are still spoken in Colombia. However, Spanish is the national language, which nearly everyone speaks.

Miguel Caballero, a tailor in Bogota, opened the first boutique in the world that sells highly fashionable, bulletproof shirts and suits, using fabrics made from his own patented weave.

Despite the decades of violence, Colombia managed to have the most stable Latin American economy during the 20th century, has never defaulted on its debts, and is today a sophisticated and cosmopolitan country.

Most of the coal imported into the U.S. comes from Colombia, as do most of the flowers.

Colombia is as big as Portugal, Spain and France combined. And, aside from Chile, it is the only South American country with both Pacific and Atlantic coastlines.

In Colombia's interior, people address each other with usted (the formal "you" in Spanish), whereas in the Caribbean region, they say tu (the informal, familiar version of "you").

Colombia has six active volcanoes, and the explosion of Volcan Nevado del Ruiz in 1985 led to the deaths of 23,000 people—the largest natural disaster of its kind in the Americas in recorded history.

The word tinto is a Colombianism. In Argentina, it will get you a glass of red wine; in Colombia, you'll get a cup of black coffee. However, most Colombians prefer tea or hot chocolate to coffee, despite growing some of the best coffee beans in the world.

Colombia is the world's leading producer of emeralds, and no other country in the world competes for quality. A 632-carat emerald, one of the largest in the world, was discovered near Boyaca in the 1900s.

Panama was once a part of Colombia, as were both Venezuela and Ecuador. It separated from Colombia in 1902 with U.S. connivance, when U.S. gunboats prevented the Colombian Navy from landing troops to quell a separatist insurrection. The action served as a prelude to building the Panama Canal.