Sumapaz Natural Park, Protected area in Cordillera Oriental, Colombia.
Sumapaz Natural Park is a vast protected area spanning across the Eastern Range in Colombia, covering portions of multiple departments. The landscape combines high-altitude grasslands with mountain forests, creating a mosaic of different ecosystems in a single location.
The park was created on 24 June 1968, covering 2,215.19 km². Archaeological digs on the páramos above Pasca uncovered camps of pre-Columbian deer hunters who made pottery and used cotton blankets. At the Conquest the Pasca area and the Sumapaz valley were held by the Sutagaos, a Karib-speaking people split into the Sumapaz, Doas and Cundayes, while the Muisca occupied the upper Fusagasugá and Tunjuelo valleys.
Before the Spanish arrived, the Pasca páramos sheltered hunters of deer who worked pottery and wore cotton blankets; archaeologists have excavated these camps. In the Conquest era the Sumapaz valley was home to the Sutagaos, a Karib-speaking people split into the Sumapaz, Doas and Cundayes, while the Muiscas held the upper Fusagasugá and Tunjuelo valleys.
The páramo zone is accessible from the Usme area, with guided visits required and special safety measures for the high altitude environment. Visitors should prepare for changing weather conditions and follow park authority guidelines throughout their stay.
The terrain rises from tropical forests to bare high-altitude zones, hosting animals like mountain tapirs, páramo rabbits, and yellow-eared parrots. This elevation range allows visitors to experience multiple vegetation zones on a single journey.
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