2015-09-11

Caño Cristales, The most beautiful river in the world

Caño Cristales is called the "most beautiful river in the world", especially among Colombians, who consider it one of their great natural treasures, or "the river of the five colours"; But some also refer to this strange flow, located in the Natural Park of the Sierra de la Macarena department of Meta, in a more poetic way: "the river that escaped from Paradise" or "the rainbow that melted".

Also known as the River of Five Colors, Caño Cristales is the most spectacular natural wonder in the country. Found in the mountain range of Serranía de la Macarena, the river mesmerizes with amazing colors: vivacious yellow, green, blue, black and red shades quiver from the bottom

Everything is due to the incredible colour palette that floods its waters during the driest months, which go from July to November. The red and fuchsia colour is caused by a type of native algae that develops especially during those months when the rains fall. But there are no shortages of pools, waterfalls, and meanders that constitute this 100-kilometre-long stream of yellow, green, blue, and black.

Caño Cristales is mighty; it has waterfalls, and the presence of rocks in the bed creates some rapids. So imagine how it should feel to observe how a river that looks like blood or pitch accelerates vertiginously through a magical landscape surrounded by pictograms and petroglyphs belonging to the ancient cultures of the region. It is as if a rainbow had liquefied. Caño Cristales is a true natural wonder in its colours. Its waters are tinted in up to five different colours: Cano Cristales, the river of five colours, yellow, blue, red, green, and black. All of them reach an unprecedented brightness and intensity in those waters.

The reason for this range of colours is that the algae of the Macarenia clavigera species grow on the riverbed. This extraordinary freshwater vegetation can change its colour, dyeing the river with incredible colour effects and creating a unique photographic opportunity.

Photo by arzuhanay

Photo by ARNAUD_Z_VOYAGE

The presence of algae and freshwater corals, as well as aquatic plants that give it its characteristic red colour, "Macarenia Clavígera", is responsible for the different colours of Caño Cristales; its transparent waters also reflect the colour of the sky and the Rich nature of the place.