Caño Cristales

Caño Cristales is a truly beautiful river found in the Serranía de la Macarena national park. It is also known as the “River of five colors”, which is an accurate representation of its beauty. Featuring an array of rainbow colors (especially yellow, green, blue, red, and black), it is quite a sight to see. These colors are only found in the river, and are produced through “the reproductive process of the aquatic plants in the river” (CNN). These plants are called Macarenia Clavigera. The plants are vibrantly colored, and when they come in contact with sunlight, the colors get projected far and wide. Caño Cristales is also a famous destination due to its wildlife, which includes turtles, iguanas, and Aguilas, the national bird of Colombia. Because of all these features, Caño Cristales became a highly visited tourist attraction, but this also hurt the river. The amount of tourists was hurting the region, so unfortunately, it closed down temporarily in December 2019. Luckily, it was reinstated in June 2021. Biologists say this closure was beneficial for the river, and was worth the downside. The river brought in a lot of tourists which brought in a ton of money, and when it closed, this extra cash was halted. But at the end of the day, this procedure was taken to help the river which only made it an even popular destination.