The most colourful river in the world

   The  Most Colourful River In The World
The  river shown in the photographs is the Caño Cristales, which is  located near the town of La Macarena in Columbia , South America .  The river, world famous for its colourful display, has been called  “the river that ran away to paradise”, “the most beautiful river  in the world” and “the river of five colours”.

During  Colombia ‘s wet season, the water flows fast and deep, obscuring  the bottom of the river and denying the mosses and algae that call  the river home the sun that they need. And during the dry season  there is not enough water to support the dazzling array of life in  the river. But during a brief span between the wet and dry  seasons, when the water level is just right, the many varieties of  algae and moss bloom in a dazzling display of colors. Blotches of  amarillo , blue, green, black, and red – and a thousand shades in  between – coat the river.

The part of the river where the  colourful blooms occur is quite isolated and is not accessible by  road. Adventurous tourists can now fly into La Macarena and then  make their way to to the river site on foot as part of guided  tours. The site was effectively closed to tourists for several  years because of guerrilla activity in the region along with  concerns about the impact of unregulated tourist traffic. However,  the site was reopened to visitors in 2009.

So far, some  1,000 people have visited Caño Cristales, including around 100  foreign tourists.

The tours will follow four clearly marked  and authorized paths and one is no longer permitted to stay  overnight or cook, as this was ruining the area previously.