1. Colombia

2. Where is it?

3. Facts Capital: Bogota Population: 49 million
Named after Christopher Columbus
Mostly Catholic
Has different ecozones from tropical rainforests to desert to savanna

4. El Dorado
Spanish conquistadors were lured to what was then called New Granada in a search for El Dorado, the "city of gold“
Their explorations resulted in much of northern South America being mapped for the first time
At first the term was used by the Spanish Empire to describe a mythical tribal chief of the native people of Colombia, who, as an initiation rite, covered himself with gold dust and submerged in Lake Guatavita.
The legends surrounding El Dorado changed over time, as it went from being a man, to a city, to a kingdom, and then finally an empire.

5. 20th Century History
They had a short war with Peru over territory in the 1930s
The late 1940s - early 1950s was a period known as La Violencia ("The Violence").
Tensions between the two leading political parties, the assassination of the Liberal presidential candidate, the ensuing riots in Bogotá spread throughout the country and claimed the lives of at least 180,000 Colombians
They had a military coup in the 1950s
Many guerilla groups formed during that time to fight the government
Since the 1960s, the country has suffered from an armed conflict between the government forces, left-wing guerrilla groups and right-wing paramilitaries.

6. FARC
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia—People's Army is a guerilla movement that has been fighting the government since 1964
It was founded as the military wing of the Colombian Communist Party after the military attacked rural communist settlements in the aftermath of La Violencia
It uses terrorism, kidnapping, illegal mining, extortion, and the production and distribution of illegal drugs
Approx. 20–30% of the recruits are minors, most of whom are forced to join the FARC
Some countries classify it as a terrorist organization, others do not
In June 2016, the FARC signed a ceasefire accord with the President of Colombia. This accord has been seen as a historic step to ending the war

7. Pablo Escobar ( )
He was a Colombian drug lord, drug trafficker and narco-terrorist.
His Medellin cartel supplied an estimated 80% of the cocaine smuggled into the United States, turning over US $21.9 billion a year in personal income
"The King of Cocaine“
He was the wealthiest criminal in history, with an estimated known net worth of US $30 billion by the early 1990s (equivalent to about $55 billion as of 2016), making him one of the richest men in the world at his prime.

8. Tourism in colombia

9. Booming Tourism
Tourism usually has been considered a low-growth service industry
For many years serious internal armed conflict deterred tourists from visiting Colombia, with official travel advisories warning against travel to the country.
However, in recent years numbers have risen sharply, thanks to improvements in security
They increased their own military strength and police presence throughout the country
They pushed rebel groups further away from the major cities, highways and tourist sites
Foreign tourist visits were predicted to have risen from 0.6 million in 2007 to 2.98 million in 2015.
Lonely Planet ranked Colombia second in its list of best countries to visit in 2017

10. Safety
The recovery of tourism has been helped by the so-called tourist caravans
Military forces provide reinforced protection on previously scheduled days to roads reaching major holiday attractions

11. Ecotourism
With its very rich and varied geography, which includes the Amazon and Andean regions, the llanos, the Caribbean and Pacific coasts, and the deserts of La Guajira, and its unique biodiversity, Colombia also has major potential for ecotourism

12. Cartegena The city was founded in 1533, now is a UNESCO site
One of Colombia’s top tourist destinations
This port city has a historic walled fortress and colonial city centre

13. La Lajas Sanctuary
A church built inside the canyon of the Guáitara River
The present church was built in Gothic Revival style between 1916 and 1949.
The inspiration for the church's creation was a miraculous event in 1754, when two women were caught in a storm , found sanctuary and saw the Virgin Mary appear to them
This apparition of the Virgin Mary instigated popular pilgrimage to the site and occasional reports of cases of miraculous healing. The image on the stone is still visible today.

14. Salt Cathedral of Zipaquira
A Catholic church built within the tunnels of a salt mine 200 metres underground
It is a very popular tourist destination and place of pilgrimage
The Salt Cathedral is considered one of the most notable achievements of Colombian architecture,] being described as a "Jewel of Modern Architecture".

15. Cano Cristales
The river is commonly called the "River of Five Colors" or the "Liquid Rainbow", and is even referred to as the most beautiful river in the world due to its striking colors.
The bed of river in the end of July through November is variously colored yellow, green, blue, black, and especially red

16. The Coffee Region Also called the Coffee Triangle
This fertile region, located in the heart of the Andes, is where the majority of the famous Colombian coffee is produced.
The perfect weather conditions to grow the best quality coffee
A great variety of options for rural tourism, including visits to coffee farms, hiking in natural parks or visiting traditional villages.

17. Geography Now!: Colombia