Cordillera Central, Mountain range in Planadas, Colombia.
The Cordillera Central is a mountain range in Planadas, Colombia, stretching across several departments and rising to more than 5,000 meters above sea level (about 16,400 feet). The slopes show forests, river courses and valleys where fog rises and where cultivated areas alternate with wild landscapes.
The mountain range was inhabited by indigenous peoples before colonization, who found shelter and access to water here. Later the terrain served as a refuge during the wars of independence and in the conflicts of the 20th century.
Farmers here have preserved centuries-old techniques for growing coffee and other crops on steep slopes, where each level of altitude allows a different kind of planting. The water from the mountains supplies the villages and fields, and many families still live from what they have harvested here for generations.
Visitors can use different paths that lead to viewpoints from which the terrain can be overlooked. The roads are often only passable in dry weather, and it is advisable to ask local guides before setting out on longer hikes.
The differences in altitude create completely different climate zones within a few kilometers, so that one can hike in a single day from tropical rainforest to cold peaks with páramo vegetation. Many visitors only notice during the ascent how quickly temperature and vegetation change.
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