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Colombia

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Central & South American
Countries; Countries

   SOS Children works in Colombia. For more information see SOS Children
   in Colombia
              República de Colombia
   Republic of Colombia

   Flag of Colombia Coat of arms of Colombia
   Flag             Coat of arms
   Motto: Spanish: Libertad y Orden
   English: Liberty and Order
   Anthem: Oh, Gloria Inmarcesible!
   Location of Colombia
   Capital
   (and largest city)    Bogotá
                         4°39′N 74°3′W
    Official languages   Spanish
   Government            Republic
    - President          Álvaro Uribe Vélez
       Independence      From Spain
    - Declared           July 20, 1810
    - Recognised         August 7, 1819
                       Area
    - Total              1,141,748 km² ( 26th)
                         440,839 sq mi
    - Water (%)          8.8%
                    Population
    - July 2005 estimate 45,600,000 ( 28th)
    - 2006 census        47,090,502
    - Density            40/km² ( 161st)
                         104/sq mi
        GDP ( PPP)       2005 estimate
    - Total              $337.286 billion ( 29th)
    - Per capita         $7,565 ( 81st)
        HDI  (2004)      0.790 (medium) ( 70th)
         Currency        Peso ( COP)
         Time zone       ( UTC-5)
       Internet TLD      .co
       Calling code      +57

   Colombia, or formally, the Republic of Colombia (Spanish: República de
   Colombia , IPA [re'puβ̞lika ð̞e ko'lombja]), is the northwesternmost
   country of South America. Colombia is bordered to the east by Venezuela
   and Brazil, to the south by Ecuador and Peru, to the North by the
   Atlantic Ocean, through the Caribbean Sea, and to the west by Panama
   and the Pacific Ocean.

   Colombia is a large and physically diverse nation. It is the
   fourth-largest country in South America (after Brazil, Argentina, and
   Peru), with an area seven times greater than that of New England and
   more than twice that of France. Its vast territory is one of great
   physical contrasts, ranging from the towering, snowcapped peaks of the
   Andes to the hot, humid plains of the Amazon River Basin. Not only is
   Colombia large in area, but it also has a large population, containing
   more people than any other South American country except Brazil. The
   nation's population is not evenly distributed. Most of the people live
   in the mountainous western third of the country, where Bogotá, the
   capital, and most of Colombia's other large cities are located. Because
   this western region has a pleasant climate and rich soil, it is also
   where most agricultural activity takes place.

   Colombia currently suffers from a low intensity armed conflict
   involving rebel guerrilla groups, paramilitary militias, and drug
   trafficking, that started to develop since approximately 1964 or 1966,
   which was when the FARC and later the ELN were founded and subsequently
   started their guerrilla insurgency campaigns against successive
   Colombian government administrations.

Flag of Colombia

   The current flag of Colombia is yellow, blue and red. The flag was
   first created in Haiti by Francisco Miranda, where Simon Bolivar was
   preparing to attain independence for Gran Colombia. The yellow
   represents the richness of the Colombian gold. The blue shows the two
   oceans which border North and West Colombia. The red represents the
   blood of soldiers of the people who fought and victoriously won the
   independence.

Etymology of Colombia

   The word "Colombia" comes from the name of Christopher Columbus
   (Cristóbal Colón in Spanish, Cristobal Colom in Catalan, Christophe
   Colomb in French, Cristoforo Colombo in Italian) and was conceived by
   the revolutionary Francisco de Miranda as a reference to the New World,
   especially to all American territories and colonies under Spanish and
   Portuguese rule. The name was then adopted by the Republic of Colombia
   of 1819 formed by the union of Venezuela, New Granada and Ecuador.

   In 1830, when Venezuela and Ecuador separated, the Cundinamarca region
   which remained became a new country, the Republic of New Granada. In
   1863 New Granada changed its name officially to United States of
   Colombia, and in 1886 adopted its present day name: Republic of
   Colombia.

History

   Circa 10000 BC, hunter-gatherer societies existed near present-day
   Bogotá (at "El Abra" and "Tequendama") which traded with one another
   and with cultures living in the Magdalena River Valley. Beginning in
   the first millennium BC, groups of Amerindians developed the political
   system of " cacicazgos" with a pyramidal structure of power headed by
   caciques. Within Colombia, the two cultures with the most complex
   cacicazgo systems were the Tayronas on the Atlantic Coast, and the
   Muiscas in the highlands around Bogotá, both of which were of the
   Chibcha language family. The Muisca people are considered to have had
   one of the most developed political systems in South America, after the
   Incas.

   Spanish explorers made the first exploration of the Caribbean littoral
   in 1500 led by Rodrigo de Bastidas. Christopher Columbus navigated near
   the Caribbean in 1502. In 1508 Vasco Nuñez de Balboa started the
   conquest of the territory through the region of Urabá. In 1513, he was
   also the first European to discover the Pacific Ocean which he called
   Mar del Sur (or "Sea of the South") and which in fact would bring the
   Spaniards to Peru and Chile. In 1525, the first European city in the
   American Continent was founded, Santa María la Antigua del Darién in
   what is today the Chocó Department. The territory's main population was
   made up of hundreds of tribes of the Chibchan and "Karib", currently
   known as the Caribbean people, whom the Spaniards conquered through
   warfare, while resulting disease, exploitation, and the conquest itself
   caused a tremendous demographic reduction among the indigenous. In the
   16th century, Europeans began to bring slaves from Africa.

   Since the beginning of the periods of Conquest and Colonization, there
   were several rebel movements under Spanish rule, most of them either
   being crushed or remaining too weak to change the overall situation.
   The last one, which sought outright independence from Spain, sprang up
   around 1810, following the independence of St. Domingue in 1804 (today
   known as Haiti), who provided a non-negligible degree of support to the
   eventual leaders of this rebellion: Simón Bolívar and Francisco de
   Paula Santander. Simon Bolivar had become the first president of
   Colombia/ Fransisco de Paula Santander was vice president, and when
   Simon Bolivar stepped down, Santander became the second president of
   Colombia. The rebellion finally succeeded in 1819, when the territory
   of the Viceroyalty of New Granada became the Republic of Great
   Colombia, as a Confederation with Ecuador and Venezuela. Modern day
   Panama, which subsequently remained a Colombian department until 1903,
   when it became independent, was also included in this union.

   Internal political and territorial divisions led to the secession of
   Venezuela and Quito (today's Ecuador) in 1830. At this time, the
   so-called "Department of Cundinamarca" adopted then the name " Nueva
   Granada", which it kept until 1856 when it became the "Confederación
   Granadina" (Grenadine Confederation). In 1863 the "United States of
   Colombia" was created, lasting until 1886, when the country finally
   became known as the Republic of Colombia. Internal divisions remained,
   occasionally igniting very bloody civil wars and, eventually,
   contributing to setting the stage for the U.S.-sponsored secession of
   Panama in 1903. Soon after, the country achieved a relative degree of
   political stability, which was interrupted by a bloody conflict which
   took place between the late 1940s and the early 1950s, known as La
   Violencia ("The Violence"). Its cause was mainly due to mounting
   tensions between partisan groups, reignited by the murder of Jorge
   Eliécer Gaitán in April 9th of 1948 an event later known as the
   Bogotazo, and it claimed the lives of at least 180,000 Colombians.

   To replace the previous 1886 document, a new constitution was made in
   1991, after being drafted by the Constituent Assembly of Colombia. The
   constitution included key provisions on political, ethnic, human and
   gender rights, which have been gradually put in practice, though uneven
   developments, surrounding controversies, and setbacks have persisted.

   In recent decades the country has been plagued by the effects of the
   influential drug trade and by guerrilla insurgents such as the Fuerzas
   Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (Revolutionary Armed Forces of
   Colombia), or FARC, and illegal counter-insurgency paramilitary groups
   such as the Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia (United Self-Defense Forces
   of Colombia), or AUC, which along with other minor factions have been
   engaged in a bloody internal armed conflict. The powerful drug cartels
   have helped the Colombian balance of trade by creating a steady and
   substantial influx of foreign currency, mainly U. S. dollars. On the
   other hand, the druglords have destabilized the government and, in the
   1980s, the neighbour country of Panama was invaded by the United States
   in 1989 to remove strongman General Manuel Noriega because of his
   alleged links to the drug trade. The different insurgent irregular
   groups often resort to kidnapping and drug smuggling to fund their
   causes, tend to operate in large areas of the remote rural countryside
   and can sometimes disrupt communications and travel between different
   regions. Since the early 1980s, attempts at reaching a negotiated
   settlement between the government and the different rebel groups have
   been made, either failing or achieving only the partial demobilization
   of some of the parties involved. One of the last such attempts was made
   during the administration of President Andrés Pastrana Arango, which
   negotiated with the FARC between 1998 and 2002.

   In the late 1990s, President Andrés Pastrana implemented an initiative
   named Plan Colombia, with the dual goal of ending the armed conflict
   and promoting a strong anti-narcotic strategy. The most controversial
   element of the Plan, which also included a smaller number of funds for
   institutional and alternative development, was considered to be its
   anti-narcotic strategy, consisting on an increase in aerial fumigations
   to eradicate coca. This activity came under fire from several sectors,
   which claimed that fumigation also damages legal crops and has adverse
   health effects upon population exposed to the herbicides. Critics of
   the initiative also claim that the plan represents a military approach
   to problems that have additional roots in the social inequalities of
   the country.

   During the presidency of Alvaro Uribe, who was elected on the promise
   to apply military pressure on the FARC and other criminal groups, some
   security indicators have improved, showing a decrease in reported
   kidnappings (from 3700 in the year 2000 to 1441 in 2004) and a decrease
   of more than 48% in homicides between July 2002 and May 2005. It is
   argued that these improvements have favored economic growth.

   Analysts and critics inside Colombia agree that there has been a degree
   of practical improvement in several of the mentioned fields, but the
   exact reasons for the figures themselves have sometimes been disputed,
   as well as their specific accuracy. Some opposition sectors have
   criticized the government's security strategy, claiming that it is not
   enough to solve Colombia's complex problems and that it has contributed
   to creating a favorable environment for the continuation of some human
   rights abuses.

   Colombia is also the first nation in the Americas and the second in the
   world to develop its own airline. The national airline of Colombia is
   Avianca. After Avianca, AeroRepública was introduced.

Tourism

   Colombia has one festival for everyday of the year. During the most
   famous festivals (such as the Cali Fair, The Barranquilla Carnival, The
   Iberoamerican Theatre Festival and The Flower Festival) is when the
   most tourists come to Colombia. Many people also come into Colombia
   during Christmas time and the Independence of Colombia. It is
   interesting to note that even though Colombia has unfortunately been
   plagued with travel warnings because of FARC and other guerillas
   groups, it has surprisingly continued to attract more tourists in
   recent years. The apparent cause appears to be the current hardline
   approach of President Alvaro Uribe to push rebels groups farther away
   from the major cities and other tourist sites that may attract
   international visitors. Since President Uribe took office in 2002, he
   has notably increased Colombia's stability and security by
   significantly boosting its military strength and police presence
   throughout the country. This apparently has achieved fruitful results
   for the country's economy. The World Tourism Organization reported in
   2004 that Colombia achieved the 3rd highest percentage increase of
   tourist arrivals in South America between 2000 and 2004. (9.2%) Only
   Peru and Suriname had higher increases during the same period.
     * :

Land Use

   Colombia has more physical diversity packed into its borders than any
   other area of comparable size in Latin America. The country is part of
   the Pacific "Ring of Fire", a region of the world characterized by
   frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.

   Colombian surface features form complicated patterns. The western third
   of the country is the most complex. Starting at the shore of the
   Pacific Ocean in the west and moving eastward at a latitude of 5
   degrees north, a diverse sequence of features is encountered. In the
   extreme west are the very narrow and discontinuous Pacific coastal
   lowlands, which are backed by the Serranía de Baudó, the lowest and
   narrowest of Colombia's mountain ranges. Next is the broad region of
   the Río Atrato/Río San Juan lowland, which has been proposed as a
   possible alternate to the Panama Canal as a human-made route between
   the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans. The chief western mountain range,
   the Cordillera Occidental, is a moderately high range with peaks
   reaching up to about 13,000 ft. (4,000 m.). The Cauca River Valley, an
   important agricultural region with several large cities on its borders,
   separates the Cordillera Occidental from the massive Cordillera
   Central. Several snow-clad volcanoes in the Cordillera Central have
   summits that rise above 18,000 ft. (5,500 m.). The valley of the
   slow-flowing and muddy Magdalena River, a major transportation artery,
   separates the Cordillera Central from the main eastern range, the
   Cordillera Oriental. The peaks of the Cordillera Oriental are
   moderately high. This range differs from Colombia's other mountain
   ranges in that it contains several large basins. In the east, the
   sparsely populated, flat to gently rolling eastern lowlands called
   llanos cover almost 60 percent of the country's total land area.

   This cross section of the republic does not include two of Colombia's
   regions: the Caribbean coastal lowlands and the Sierra Nevada de Santa
   Marta, both in the northern part of the country. The lowlands in the
   west are mostly swampy; the reed-filled marshes of the area are called
   ciénagas by the people of Colombia. The Guajira Peninsula in the east
   is semiarid. The Sierra Nevada is a spectacular triangular snowcapped
   block of rock that towers over the eastern part of this lowland.

   Colombia's proximity to the equator influences its climates. The
   lowland areas are continuously hot. Altitude affects temperature
   greatly. Temperatures decrease about 3.5° F. (2° C.) for every
   1,000-ft. (300-m.) increase in altitude above sea level.

   Rainfall varies by location in Colombia, tending to increase as one
   travels southward. This is especially true in the eastern lowlands. For
   example, rainfall in parts of the Guajira Peninsula seldom exceeds 30
   in. (75 cm.) per year. Colombia's rainy southeast, however, is often
   drenched by more than 200 in. (500 cm.) of rain per year. Rainfall in
   most of the rest of the country runs between these two extremes.

   Altitude affects not only temperature, but also vegetation. In fact,
   altitude is one of the most important influences on vegetation patterns
   in Colombia. The mountainous parts of the country can be divided into
   several vegetation zones according to altitude, although the altitude
   limits of each zone may vary somewhat depending on the latitude.

   The tierra caliente (hot land), below 3,300 ft. (1,000 m.), is the zone
   of tropical crops such as bananas. The tierra templada (temperate
   land), extending from an altitude of 3,300 to 6,600 ft. (1,000 to 2,000
   m.), is the zone of coffee and maize. Wheat and potatoes dominate in
   the tierra fría (cold land), at altitudes from 6,600 to 10,500 ft.
   (2,000 to 3,200 m.). In the so-called zona forestada (forested zone),
   located between 10,500 and 12,800 ft. (3,200 and 3,900 m.), many of the
   trees have been cut for firewood. Treeless pastures dominate the
   páramos, or alpine grasslands, at altitudes of 12,800 to 15,100 ft.
   (3,900 to 4,600 m.). Above 15,100 ft. (4,600 m.), where temperatures
   are below freezing, is the tierra helada, a zone of permanent snow and
   ice.

   Vegetation also responds to rainfall patterns. A scrub woodland of
   scattered trees and bushes dominates the semiarid northeast. To the
   south, savanna (tropical grassland) vegetation covers the Colombian
   portion of the llanos. The rainy areas in the southeast are blanketed
   by tropical rain forest. In the mountains, the spotty patterns of
   precipitation in alpine areas complicate vegetation patterns. The rainy
   side of a mountain may be lush and green, while the other side, in the
   rain shadow, may be parched.

   Large tracts of land are used for coca plant cultivation. In 2004,
   114,100 hectares of land were used to grow the plant, and the nation
   has a producing potential of 430 metric tons of cocaine every year.
   Coca cultivation is a major business in Colombia, and even government
   owned land is not off-limits for the ambitious cartels.

Politics

   Álvaro Uribe Vélez, President of Colombia
   Enlarge
   Álvaro Uribe Vélez, President of Colombia
     * Colombian Constitution of 1991

   Executive Branch: Colombia is a republic where the executive branch
   dominates government structure. Up until recently, the president was
   elected together with the vice-president by popular vote for a single
   four-year term, which functioned as both head of government and head of
   state. However, on October 19, 2005, the Colombian Congress amended the
   constitution, which now allows Colombian presidents to serve up to two
   consecutive four-year terms. However department governors, mayors of
   cities and towns and other executive branch officials are only elected
   for a three year term, and cannot be immediately reelected.

   On May 28, 2006, president Álvaro Uribe Vélez was reelected by a vote
   of 62%, against 22% for Carlos Gaviria Díaz of the Democratic Pole, and
   12% for Horacio Serpa Uribe of the Liberal Party.

   Legislative branch: Colombia's bicameral parliament is the Congress of
   Colombia or Congreso, which consists of the 166-seat House of
   Representatives of Colombia and the 102-seat Senate of Colombia.
   Members of both houses are elected by popular vote to serve four-year
   terms. Colombia is also a member of the South American Community of
   Nations. With congressmen, Colombia also elects Department deputies,
   and city councils.

   Judicial Branch: In the 1990s, the Colombian judicial system underwent
   significant reforms and is undergoing a process of migration from an
   inquisitorial system to an adversarial system. Parts of the coffee
   growing region of Colombia and Bogotá have already adopted the
   adversarial system, with the rest of the country following suit
   starting on January 1, 2006. The judicial system is headed by a Supreme
   Justice Court and members are appointed by the president and congress.

Geography

   Colombia is divided into 32 departments and one capital district.

Cities of Colombia

   The national bird of Colombia, the Andean Condor
   Enlarge
   The national bird of Colombia, the Andean Condor
   View of downtown Bogotá from nearby Monserrate
   Enlarge
   View of downtown Bogotá from nearby Monserrate

   Colombia has a total of 22 principal cities, which are listed below in
   order of importance:
     * Bogotá (La Atenas Suramericana – South America's Athens) - Capital
     * Medellín (La ciudad de la eterna primavera – The City Of Eternal
       Spring; Also called Capital de la montaña - Capital of the
       mountain)
     * Cali (La sucursal del cielo – Heaven's Branch; also called La
       Sultana del Valle - Valley's Sultan)
     * Barranquilla (La puerta de oro de Colombia – Colombia's Golden
       Gate)
     * Bucaramanga (La ciudad Bonita – The Pretty City)
     * Cartagena de Indias (La heroica – The Heroic)
     * Cúcuta (La hermosa villa - The Beautiful Village)
     * Pereira (La querendona, trasnochadora y morena – The Lovely
       Sleepless Brunette)
     * Santa Marta (La perla de oro - The golden pearl)
     * Ibagué (Capital Músical de Colombia - Colombia's Music Capital)
     * Pasto (Ciudad Sorpresa – The Surprise City)
     * Manizales (La ciudad de las puertas abiertas – The City Of Open
       Gates)
     * Neiva (Neivayork, La capital bambuquera de América - Capital of
       bambuquo of America)
     * Armenia (La Ciudad Milagro – The Miracle City)
     * Valledupar (Capital mundial del vallenato – World's Vallenato
       Capital)
     * Villavicencio (La Puerta al Llano - The Llano's Gate)
     * Sincelejo (La ciudad de las corralejas - The city of the
       "bullruns")
     * Montería (La capital ganadera de Colombia - The colombian cattle
       capital)
     * Buenaventura (Bello Puerto del Mar - Beautiful Seaport)
     * Popayán (La Ciudad Blanca - The White City)
     * Tunja (La capital del haba, el tejo y la ruana-The capital of haba,
       the disk and the ruana)
     * Quibdó (La perla negra - The black pearl)

Ethnic Groups

   Statistics reveal that Colombians are predominantly Roman Catholic and
   overwhelmingly speakers of Spanish, and that a majority of them are
   mestizos (of mixed European and Native Amerindian descent). About 25
   percent of the people are of pure European descent, while another 12
   percent are black or of mixed African and European heritage. The
   ancestors of the black population were brought to Colombia to work as
   slaves on tropical-lowland plantations during the colonial period. They
   have contributed much to Colombia's cultural heritage. Some 3 percent
   of the people are of mixed black and Indian descent. Pure Native
   Amerindians comprise 5 percent of the population.

   More than two-thirds of all Colombians live in urban areas—a figure
   significantly higher than the world average. The literacy rate (88
   percent) in Colombia is also well above the world average, and the rate
   of population growth is slightly higher than the world average. Also, a
   large proportion of Colombians are young, largely because of recent
   decreases in the infant mortality rate. While 33 percent of the people
   are 14 years of age or younger, just 4 percent are aged 65 or older.

Economy

   After experiencing decades of steady growth (average GDP growth
   exceeded 4% in the 1970-1998 period), Colombia experienced a recession
   in 1999 (the first full year of negative growth since 1929), and the
   recovery from that recession was long and painful. Colombia's economy
   suffers from weak domestic and foreign demand, austere government
   budgets, and serious internal armed conflicts. The IMF Economic
   Indicators published on September 2006, forecast the Colombian GDP to
   reach US$149.869 billion in 2007. Inflation has been below 6% for 2004
   and 2005, and is expected to remain below 5% during 2006. Colombia's
   main exports include manufactured goods (41.32% of exports), petroleum
   (28.28%), coal (13.17%), and coffee (6.25%). Colombia is also the
   largest exporter of plantains to the United States. All imports,
   exports, and the general trade balance are in record levels, and the
   inflow of export dollars has resulted in substantial revaluation of the
   Colombian Peso.
   Colombian 1.000 peso bill front
   Enlarge
   Colombian 1.000 peso bill front

   The problems facing the country range from pension system problems to
   drug dealing to high unemployment. Several international financial
   institutions have praised the economic reforms introduced by current
   President Alvaro Uribe, which include measures designed to bring the
   public-sector deficit below 2.5% of gross domestic product (GDP). The
   government's economic policy and its controversial democratic security
   strategy have engendered a growing sense of confidence in the economy,
   and GDP growth in 2003 was among the highest in Latin America.

   Colombia Stock Exchange

Demographics

   Cartagena, one of the most popular tourism destinations in the country
   Enlarge
   Cartagena, one of the most popular tourism destinations in the country

   With approximately 43.6 million people in 2006 , Colombia is the
   third-most populous country in Latin America, after Brazil and Mexico.
   Movement from rural to urban areas was very heavy in the middle of the
   20th century, but has since tapered off. The urban population increased
   from 31% of the total population in 1938, to 57% in 1951 and about 70%
   by 1990. Currently the figure is about 77%. Thirty cities have a
   population of 100,000 or more. The nine eastern lowlands departments,
   constituting about 54% of Colombia's area, have less than 3% of the
   population and a density of less than one person per square kilometer
   (two persons per sq. mi.). Colombia's total population in 2015 is
   projected to be more than 52 million.

   The country has a diverse population that reflects its colourful
   history and the peoples that have populated here from ancient times to
   the present. The historic amalgam of the different main groups are the
   basics of Colombia's current demographics: European immigrants,
   Indigenous Natives, African slaves, Asians, Middle Easterners and
   Others Recent immigrants. Many of the indigenous peoples were absorbed
   into the mestizo population, but the remaining 700,000 currently
   represent over 85 distinct cultures. The European immigrants were
   primarily Spanish colonists, but a small number of other Europeans
   (Dutch, German, French, Swiss, Belgian and in smaller numbers Polish,
   Lithuanian, English and Croatian communities) immigrated during the
   Second World War and the Cold War. For example, former Bogota mayor
   Antanas Mockus is the son of Lithuanian immigrants. The Africans were
   brought as slaves, mostly to the coastal lowlands, beginning early in
   the 16th century, and continuing into the 19th century. After
   abolition, a national ideology of mestizaje encouraged the mixing of
   the indigenous, European and Native Amerindian communities into a
   single mestizo ethnic identity .

   Other immigrant populations include Asians and Middle Easterners,
   particularly Lebanese, Jordanians, Syrians, Chinese, Japanese and
   Koreans.

Religion

   Ninety-six percent of the population practices Roman Catholicism.
   Another four percent is divided mainly amongst the Protestant, Mormon,
   Jewish and Muslim religions. Thirteen percent of the population
   declares itself to be non-religious. One percent of Colombians practice
   indigenous religions.

Tourism

Ecotourism

     * Colombian National Coffee Park ( Montenegro, Quindío)
     * Nevado del Ruiz National Park (near Manizales)
     * Bogotá Botanical Garden (Bogotá)
     * PANACA Park
     * Tayrona Park ( Santa Marta)
     * Desierto de Tatacoa
     * Chicamocha Canyon National Park
     * Gorgona y Malpelo
     * Museum of Gold (Bogotá)

Art related sites

     * Fernando Botero's museum (Bogotá)
     * Bank of Republic Collection (Bogotá)

Museums

     * Gold Museum (Bogotá downtown)
     * Archeological Museum of Pasca ( Pasca)
     * San Felipe Castle ( Cartagena, Colombia)
     * Museo Nacional ( Colombian National Museum) (Bogotá downtown)

Transportation

   Colombia has a network of national highways maintained by the Instituto
   Nacional de Vías or INVIAS (National Institute of Roadways) government
   agency. The Pan-American Highway travels through Colombia, connecting
   the country with Venezuela to the east and Ecuador to the south.
   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colombia"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
   of authors and sources) and is available under the GNU Free
   Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.
