El Cocuy National Park, Protected mountain area in Boyacá Department, Colombia.

El Cocuy National Park protects the Sierra Nevada del Cocuy, two parallel north-south sub-ranges about 30 km long in the Eastern Cordillera. Its highest summit, Ritacuba Blanco, reaches 5,410 m, and in 2020 the snow line lay near 4,850 m. The upper slopes are pale tan and grey quartzitic sandstone cut by dark vertical streaks, with snow and ice above and bare, banded rock below.

The Colombian government established the protected area in 1977 to preserve glaciers and biodiversity in this part of the northeastern Andes. Over the following decades, changing regulations led to temporary route closures before access reopened under stricter guidelines.

The U'wa indigenous communities took part in delimiting the park in the 1970s, insisting that páramo and glacier zones be included for their ecological and cultural value. At their request, park rules forbid walking on the snow, based on the belief that footsteps speed up glacier melt. The yellow-flowered frailejón (Espeletia lopezii) dominates the páramo below the ice line.

Visitors register at offices in El Cocuy or Güicán, where an orientation explains rules and safety guidelines. The three accessible routes require a mandatory guide, and changing weather calls for warm clothing even during summer.

Several glacial lakes in the upper terrain display different colors, from green to gray, depending on mineral content in the water. Some of these lakes lie so high that their surface freezes even during warm months.