caño cristales

Caño Cristales is a Colombian river located in the Serrania de la Macarena, province of Meta. The river is commonly called "The River of Five Colors," "The Liquid Rainbow" or even " The Most Beautiful River in the World" due to its striking colors like yellow, green, blue, black, and especially the red of the Macarenia clavigera at the bottom of the river giving it a unique appearance.

The rocks of the Macarenia reach 1,200 million years old and are an extension to the west of the called Guiana Shield of Venezuela, Guyana and Brazil, whose rocks are considered the oldest in the world. The rocks of the region belong to the sedimentary cover of the Guaiana Shield. The biological significance of global of the Macarenia is because part of three ecosystems rich in diversity of flora and fauna: Andes, Eastern Llanos and Amazon rainforest. "Every new germs gap rush stations", says José Eustasio Rivera in La Vorágine, referring to this type of vegetation.

In the jungle of the Macarenia struggle for nutrients for the soil to populate various fungi that help break down the trunks of trees.

The small circular pits, -giant's kettle- that characterize the river bed have been opened by high hardness minerals. When one of these hard mineral fragments fall into one of the cavities, large or small, begins to brushing rotate with the cavity wall and increases the dimensions of the well.

Caño Cristales has aquatic plants and corals. Its red color is characteristic of endemic plant species corresponds to Macarenia clavígera, plant identified by biologist Jesús Idrobo.

The biome representative of the Serranía de La Macarena is the rainforest subhydrophytic of the thermal floor hot, warm and cold. The mountain is home to about 420 species of birds, ten species of amphibians, 43 species of reptiles and eight primates.

However, the river is totally devoid of fish due to its lack of drag and sedimentation materials. Other channels of the Macarena, also hold red plants in winter, as the Caño Siete Machos. These red plants adhere tightly to rocks in places where the river has more stream.

To reach Caño Cristales, it is necessary to travel to the municipality of La Macarena, Meta, in Meta Department. There are two ways to get there, from Villavicencio, in a DC3 Cargo aircraft coming out every day, or from Bogota, in direct flight that departs every Friday and returns on Sunday. Presently, there are no camp sites available near Caño Cristales.

The most ideal time to visit Caño Cristales is from late July to early December.

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