| Caribbean region of Colombia | |
 | |
Location .svg/250px-Mapa_de_Colombia_(región_del_Caribe).svg.png) | |
| State | Colombia |
|---|---|
Caribbean region is one of the five natural regions of the Colombia.
To know
Territories and tourist destinations
Caribbean region of Colombia: full screen map.Urban centers
- 1 Barranquilla - Fourth city in Colombia by population, Barranquilla is an industrial center, known above all for its carnival.
- 2 Cartagena de Indias - Colombia's largest tourist destination, Cartagena it is famous for its well-preserved center from the colonial era, included in the UNESCO list of world heritage.
- 3 Riohacha - Coastal city of 200,000 inhabitants, Riohacha it is a less frequented seaside resort than Santa Marta, despite still virgin beaches in its surroundings.
- 4 Santa Cruz de Mompox - Town of about 30,000 inhabitants between extensive marshes formed by the Río Magdalena and intricate vegetation.
- 5 Santa Marta - City of over 400,000 inhabitants, Santa Marta it is a very popular tourist center, thanks to its beaches and colonial architecture.
- 6 Taganga - Fishing village, Taganga it is frequented by young people with sleeping bags. It is located on a magnificent stretch of coast where the vast gulf of Playa Grande opens up.
- 7 Uribia - A center on the high and indented coast of the Guajira peninsula with magnificent beaches in its surroundings that are still little used
Other destinations
- 1 Ciudad Perdida - Archaeological site surrounded by lush vegetation, the Ciudad Perdida it was a settlement of the indigenous Tayrona, abandoned immediately after the arrival of the Spaniards
- 2 Tayrona National Park (Parque nacional natural Tayrona) - One of the most visited parks in Colombia that stretches along a particularly suggestive stretch of coast in the surroundings of Cabo San Juan.
- 3 San Andrés - Island in the Caribbean, off the coast of Nicaragua. It is part of the archipelago of the same name which also includes the inhabited islands of Providencia and Santa Catalina and about ten islets mostly of coral origin (Cayos) uninhabited.
How to get
By plane
From Bogota and other major cities in Colombia there are flights to Cartagena, Santa Marta and Barranquilla.
By bus
There are bus lines of various categories that reach the region.
How to get around
What see
What to do
At the table
On the Caribbean coast the cuisine of Creole culture prevails (criolla), whose basic ingredients are rice, coconut, fish and shellfish.Everywhere, especially if you want to spend little, you will be offered a single dish consisting of fried fish accompanied by rice cooked in the coconut water (arroz con coco), fried bananas (patacones), lettuce and onion salad. By adding 15,000 pesos (7-8 euros) you can have lobster instead of fish, often grilled, accompanied by sauces.In the most refined restaurants the cuisine is more varied, in addition to the Colombian cuisine of the interior, mainly at based on meat, corn and bananas, there are more refined variants of the Creole dishes typical of the Caribbean area: fish and coconut soups, tamales, fish and shellfish dishes enriched with tropical fruit, stuffed empanadas, ceviche etc.
It is worth stopping by the street vendors to taste the arepas (corn balls) fried or grilled, stuffed with eggs, cheese, fish, meat, and above all to experience the variety of tropical fruit in the smoothies (jugos naturales) that are prepared on the spot with water and ice in the powerful blenders everywhere.
Safety
The Caribbean area can be considered safe with the exception of Guajira peninsula. In recent years, the government has been heavily involved in promoting tourism, as well as with incentives for the population for the development of the tourism sector, also by guarding the territory with police and army, which is a constant but non-invasive presence.
