world’s beautiful Lake

Often referred as the “river of five colors”, “the river that ran away from paradise,” and “the most beautiful river in the world.” A unique biological wonder Caño Cristales is one of those places you have to see to believe.

For most of the year, Caño Cristales is indistinguishable from any other river, with a bed of rocks covered in dull green mosses and a cool dark blue current.

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. During the dry season there is not enough water to support the dazzling array of life in the river.

However for a short period of the year the river blossoms in a rainbow of colours. During that 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 colours. Blotches of yellow, blue, green, black, and red and a thousand shades in between, coat the river.

Caño Cristales is located in quite a remote, isolated area and is not easily accessible by road. Adventurous tourists can now fly into any of the four nearby towns within “The Sierra or Serrania (mountain) de la Macarena”, one of Colombian Natural Reserve National Parks, which is the home of the river.

Caño Cristales is a succession of rapids, waterfalls, and manholes with a water of such purity that allows see the bottom easily. The Macarena Reserve which is about 130 kilometers long by 30 kilometers wide is also home of a rich and large variety of flora and fauna and a scientist at the Smithsonian Institute in the U.S., argues that the Serrania de la Macarena is one of the richest place in the world in forms of animal and plant life.

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.

Today a number of many Colombian Tourist Agencies will fly travelers to La Macarena and from there, they would make their way to the river site on foot, horses or donkeys as part of guided tours. The tours will follow four clearly marked and authorized paths and one is no longer permitted to stay overnight or cook.