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The River That Escaped From Paradise

by margaridab on 26/11/10 at 8:59 pm

Caño Cristales is a river in Colombia also called the "most beautiful in the world" or "the river of the five colors"

Caño Cristales is a river called the “most beautiful in the world”, “the river of the five colors” or even “the river that escaped from paradise”

As a stream of shorter length and width, Caño Cristales does not reach 100 km in length or 20 m in width. It is located in the Macarena National Park in Colombia’s sierra de la Macarena. Inside an area of 650,000 square kilometers, you can see fascinating waterfalls of all sizes, tunnels, cachiveras, rapids and natural grasslands. There are also many archaeological sites and caves that have not yet been explored.

The river has been declared biological heritage of humanity. By walking the natural surroundings of this wildlife sanctuary we can discover a wide range of colors, giant tunnels and abundant species of animals and native vegetation.

The river pigmentation is due to the stones on the river bed, covered with mosses and algae. Yellow, blue, green, black and red, are the five almost outrageous colors, which are explained by the presence of different colors algae that make this caño a visual wonder.

The red color is due to a plant called Macarenia clavigera. When the water level is the best point, during the wet season, moss and algae bloom with bright colors, giving the river its feature, unique in the world.