Caño Cristales

Rainbows are jealous of the beauty of Caño Cristales.

Caño Cristales is a brightly and abnormally coloured river found in Colombia’s Meta region, in South America.
Caño Cristales is not calm – instead the fast flowing water includes waterfalls and rapids, and the river also includes a number of pools.
During the peak season, Caño Cristales sports vivid colours including red, black, blue, green and yellow.
Caño Cristales is said to contain no fish, and it is situated in a mountainous region with nearby grasslands.
The total length of Caño Cristales is 100 kilometres (62 miles) and it lies in the Serrania de la Macarena National Park.

The red colours of Caño Cristales are caused by the riverweed Macarenia clavigera, which changes from green to red when the water and sun conditions are at a certain level, while other colours in the river are caused by a combination of water, rocks and sand.
‘Caño Cristales’ can be literally translated as ‘glass spout’ or ‘crystal spout’ from Spanish, and it is also known as ‘the River of Five Colours’ and ‘Liquid Rainbow’.
Some weeks, between June and December, the colours of Caño Cristales reach their peak, and this is the best time to visit.
Caño Cristales is in a remote area, only accessed by aircraft, then boat, and even then, a hike is required.
Tourists were unable to visit Caño Cristales for 20 years, from 1989 to 2008, mainly due to guerrilla warfare in the area, but also because of the potential negative effect they would have on the habitat, however, visitors have been able to tour the area since 2009 with authorised tourism companies

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