24 interesting facts about Colombia

Our curated list of the most interesting facts about Colombia we learnt during our visit

We didn’t plan on staying a month in Colombia. After spending longer than we had planned in the South Pacific, we were wary that we had only six months for an area far larger than what we had seen thus far.

Of course, our journey through Cartagena, Santa Marta, Taganga, Medellin, Guatapé, Popayán and San Agustín warranted more than the two weeks we had planned.

Our friends and family were worried about us staying in this historically volatile land but we found a lively and absorbing country that was as intriguing as its more frequented neighbours. 

Along the way, we learnt many interesting facts about Colombia – we share our favourites below.

Interesting facts about Colombia

1. Notorious drug lord Pablo Escobar reportedly offered to pay Colombia’s national debt of $10bn to improve his reputation and escape the crosshairs of justice.
(Source: Killing Pablo by Mark Bowden, 2001)

2. Colombia’s ‘second city’ Medellin was once the murder capital of the world with 17 murders every day in 1991. It has since undergone a renaissance and is now one of the country’s main cultural hubs.
(Source: The Guardian, 2014)

3. Colombia’s national sport is tejo. It involves throwing metal pucks or discs (tejo) which contain gunpowder and explode on impact. The game originated among indigenous groups around 500 years ago and was declared the national sport under law in 2000.
(Source: CNN)

4. Colombia suffered from a 52-year-long conflict between the government and left-wing Farc rebels between the government and left-wing rebels, Farc. In 2016 a historic peace accord was signed. However, a few weeks later voters reject the deal in a national referendum, and a new agreement has to be drawn up.
(Source: BBC)

5. Colombia is the second most biodiverse country in the world, after only Brazil which is 10 times its size. It is one of only 17 “megadiverse” countries in the world.
(Source: World Resources Institute, 2013)

6. Aracataca, the birthplace of author Gabriel García Márquez, once held a referendum to rename the town ‘Aracataca-Macondo’ after the fictional town of Macondo from his famous book One Hundred Years of Solitude. Unfortunately, the referendum failed due to low turnout.
(Source: BBC, 2006)

7….