The river of the 5 colors

Tired of daily day life? In this post, I will show one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen, Caño Cristal, also known as the "River of the 5 colors" named after the multiple numbers of corals that give this place tones like yellow, blue, green, red, and black.

This is a wonderful river located in La Sierra de la Macarena in the Meta department, and one of the main touristic places around it. Here, I will explain to you how to get there, which time of the year is better to go, and I will give some worthy advice.

How to get there?

Caño Cristal’s website offers a charter directly from Medellin to La Macarena twice a week, if you take this chance, you can choose between a five-days plan which would cost you 2.000.000 COP and includes the round trip on a plane, medical assistance, guided tour, hotel, food, and transport, you can book and look for more specific information here. On the other side, there is a four-day plan, for which you would have to pay 2.000.000 COP, being this the only difference, as it also includes the same benefits as the first I mentioned, if you want to know more details, you can click here.

In case your budget is not so hight or you just want to go without any plan, you can take a bus from Medellin to Villavicencio which is the main city of the Meta department, and then take another transport in order to get to La Macarena. If you want to take this option, I recommend you to use Copetran, which is one of the most famous companies for the transportation of people in Colombia. You can also buy a direct flight by a low-cost airline to Villavicencio or directly to La Macarena, or you can rent a car and enjoy the different views the road brings for you, even though if you take this last option you will have to pay attention to the cost of the different toll highways you might found.

Which time of the year is better to go there?

In order to preserve the river's integrity and colors, the owners close the access so it can have a little rest from tourists. This closure depends on the weather, even though it usually starts in December or January and finishes in May, which means that if you are planning to go you must do it between June and November. I advise you not to take into account December, as there is nothing that can assure you it will open. Another reason for this breath is that in the first part of the year the corals get reproduced, so even if you could go you wouldn,t see all the colors. Nevertheless, if your exchange is on this period, you can visit La Macarena and make some activities like rafting on the Guayabero River, hiking and wildlife observation of endemic species.

Some Advice

Regarding the clothes, remember that it is a river we are talking about, so you really should go with water-prove boots and long sleeve pants and t-shirts because there are many mosquitos so it will you to protect from bites, as the insect repellant is forbidden. You must not forget your swimsuit and mask so you can appreciate more the different things this place can offer you.

Vaccines are also important, as I said before there are a lot of insects, especially the yellow fever type, which is a very common illness in Colombia. You can have this vaccine in all the cities of the country for free, so you don't have to pay for it, and I want to emphasize this because there are some people that charge for this illegally. Even though I recommend you to check with the international insurance you hired.

Finally, you have to know that the signal for electronic devices is not good, as the only telecommunication company that sometimes has coverage here is Claro, even though you have to be prepared to be without communication, so I really recommend you to tell your parents and friends that you will be absent during that period.

For further information, you can visit Caño Cristal's website here.

WhatsApp and cellphone: +57 300 6939988

Cellphone number: +57 305 340 6794

E-mail: info@cano-cristales.com

I hope this might be helpful to you! Don't forget to read the other blogs to be updated about Medellin and Colombia.

Written by Daniella Niño