. Colombian Pacific Coast

The Chocó Region

The region comprises territories of five departments: Chocó, Valle del Cauca, Nariño, Cauca and, tangentially, Antioquia. It is the Ancestral Territory of Original Peoples such as the Emberá, the Wounann, the Gunas (Kunas) and the Awá. Also, it is the place of root concentration of the Afro-Colombian population. This region of Colombia is characterized by its cultural wealth. its Afro descent has positioned it as a region of joy and flavor.
In the department of Chocó is the municipality where the highest amount of rainfall per year in the country is registered, Lloró, a place dedicated to agriculture, mining and logging, it has a wide variety of streams and is considered as one of the rainiest areas in the world. The region has large and deep rivers that constitute a source of progress and survival for the departments, rivers such as the Atrato, the San Juan that runs through much of Chocó, has two important ports and that for its number of navigable kilometers, has become an important source of interregional transport, the Baudo, the Mira, the Patía are other rivers that also function as communication routes.

Colombian Pacific Coast Map

Its tropical climate, makes the Pacific region the habitat of small reptiles and amphibians, houses more than 62 species of birds and dozens of fish, other important species in this region are the jaguar, the mico titi, the humpback whales that for almost three months they visit the coasts of Chocó to give birth to their young, the harpy eagle and the most poisonous vertebrate in the world: the poisonous golden frog. Red, black, white and piñuelo are the four species of mangrove found in this region, palm, fern, cedar and Bromeliads are also part of its representative flora.

Solano Bay

178 km from Quibdó it is located in the vicinity of the Serranía del Baudo and the Pacific Ocean.

The topo and geographical features of the place make it only possible to reach Solano Bay by plane or sea . For the first option, you must take a plane or charter flights to the José Celestino Mutis Regional Airport in Bahía Solano. Flights depart to Bahía Solano every day from Bogotá , Cali , Medellín or Quibdo .

On the other hand, if what you want is a more adventurous and economical option , you can choose to take a boat or speedboat to Bahía Solano from the port of Buenaventura , in the Cauca Valley . You should keep in mind that the minimum boat trip time is 8 hours depending on the type of boat you take and the sea waves. The most you can last on your trip by sea to Bahía Solano is 24 hours.

Nuquí

Located 128km from Quibdó Nuquí, Colombia, a small town in Chocó province, is one of the top destinations to see whales in Colombia. Nuquí and the nearby Playa Guachalito is one of the most popular and best places to go whale watching in Colombia. It is relatively easy to access, safe, and besides the whales, boasts a spectacular and nearly deserted beach. The main draw here is undoubtedly seeing the whales. Humpback whales, which are among the largest of all sea mammals, migrate from the colder waters of the Antarctic and southern Chile every year to Colombia’s Pacific coast to breed.
The mating season technically runs from June to October, and whales will be around throughout that time. However, the best time to see the whales in Colombia’s Pacific is in August. The easiest way into and out of Nuquí, Colombia is by air from Medellín. You can
also travel by boat from Buenaventura or Bahía Solano.

Malpelo

Malpelo Island is located in the Eastern Tropical Pacific Ocean approximately 500 kilometers west of the port of Buenaventura.

Apparently this place is a bunch of arid rocks that are impossible to access, but under the water it is an impressive paradise of corals, reefs, fish, sharks of all colors, sizes and shapes, an experience that you can hardly imagine.

To get to Malpelo Island you have to hire a tour with one of the agencies that are authorized to make this trip, and the only way to get to Malpelo Island is through one of the three cruises that leave from the port of Buenaventura to there. . The trip to Malpelo Island by cruise lasts approximately 30 to 40 hours.

Gorgona

Gorgona National Natural Park is a paradise for scientific research and the cradle of great biodiversity. It is located 46 km of the municipality of Guapi and owns about 61,687 hectares, of which 1,660 are insular or terrestrial, corresponding to 3% of the total and the remaining 97% correspond to marine areas.
The waters of this paradise nestled in the Colombian Pacific harbor animal species such as humpback or humpback whales, wolves marine, porpoises, dolphins, sperm whales, among others that look for food in their waters, a place for their reproduction or simply break. The park has a tropical rain forest, residence of approximately 155 species of birds, of which 75 are
migratory. It was also the residence of thousands of prisoners, who were transferred to this island, converted into a maximum prison security to serve their sentences. Gorgona owes its name to Francisco Pizarro, who on one of his trips to the island in company out of 170 men, he loses approximately 87 due to snake bites. For this reason he decided to rename the Old Island of San Felipe like Gorgona, that made reference to the Greek goddesses, who instead of hair, had snakes.
To go to the Gorgona Park, by land route you take the Bogotá-Cali-Buenaventura route (and from Buenaventura you take a speedboat to Gorgona with an approximate duration of 10 hours of travel).
By plane, the route is made from Cali to the municipality of Guapi and from there you take a boat that will take you to Gorgona. Flights to Guapi also depart from Popayán.

Buenaventura City

The largest city on this coast, Buenaventura is Colombia’s busiest port and if ever there was an example of the failure of the nation’s economic growth to improve the lot of its poorest residents, it is here. More than 60% of Colombia’s legal exports pass through these docks; yet Buenaventura remains dreadfully poor and underdeveloped. Much of the nation’s illegal exports pass through here, too, with associated power struggles often leading to outbreaks of violence.

This municipality is the main seaport of Colombia, which connects it with different countries in Asia, Africa and Oceania. Here is it gives rise to the largest commercial dynamics in the country: every day thousands of boats arrive and depart from this port with merchandise
and local and foreign products that favor the economy and relations between Colombia and other countries.
Buenaventura can be reached by land via the highway that connects Cali with this municipality, or via Yumbo and then take the Panorama road, which passes through Mediacanoa and Loboguerrero, a meeting point with the other road. By air there are
flights through the Satena airline on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

Places of interest:

• El Parque Nacional Natural Uramba Bahía Málaga es una de las zonas con mayor biodiversidad del planeta, y desde 2010, es una área marina protegida, que permite la conservación de especies en un territorio de 47 mil hectáreas. El atractivo más importante del parque es la llegada -cada año entre julio y octubre- de más de quinientas ballenas yubarta para la cría de sus ballenatos.
• Cascada La Sierpe -de 65 metros de altura- que es solo una de las tres caídas de agua en la zona; pero es la preferida por los fotógrafos por su tamaño y belleza.
• Juanchaco y Ladrilleros se han consolidado como destinos obligatorios para quienes van a Bahía Málaga. Las playas de Ladrilleros son las mejores de la región, por su extensión y las gigantescas olas que la bañan. Al frente de Juanchaco se encuentra Isla Palma,
• de relevancia ecológica, al ser un santuario para el avistamiento de aves, especialmente entre los meses de octubre y febrero.
• Playas como San Juan, La Bocana, Piangüita, Chucheros, son atractivos lugares donde puede combinarse el descanso y la integración con las actividades culturales y ecológicas de la región. Otras actividades que se pueden disfrutar son recorridos por esteros y manglares y rutas en kayak.
• La UNESCO designó en octubre de 2017 a Buenaventura como Ciudad Creativa por su gastronomía.

It is a very beautiful region as are the other beautiful regions to visit in Colombia.