COLOMBIA (South America)

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It is a sad fact that Colombia, crowning the continent of South America, is probably one of the least desirable tourist destinations on the planet, having earned a reputation for violent civil unrest as well as being the haunt of criminal 'bounty' kidnappers, drug overlords and gangsters. As a result both the US State Department and British Foreign and Commonwealth Office advise against travel to Colombia. This unfortunate situation denies all but the most intrepid travellers and tourists access to what is undoubtedly the most diverse destination in South America with its shabby, colourful towns, Caribbean and Pacific coasts, Andean valleys, Amazonian jungle, and wide plains.

Despite the problems, thousands of tourists do still dare to descend on the capital, Bogota, the legendary resort town of Cartagena, and the duty-free offshore island province of San Andres, in particular. Most have an intriguing, exciting and trouble-free visit, usually organised on a package tour basis.

The fortunes of modern Colombia rested originally on coffee, but the onset of political violence and civil war in the 1950s effectively cauterised the coffee industry, except in the pretty hilly Quindio province, where many former farmers have turned their traditional red-tile roofed homesteads into good quality bed and breakfast establishments, set among exotic gardens and rows of leafy coffee bushes.

Urban Colombia centres on Bogota, home to about 20 percent of the country's inhabitants. This ancient city was the pre-Columbian capital of the Chibcha Indians and remains a blend of old and new, teeming with Spanish colonial buildings and plazas alongside modern skyscrapers. Beggars rub shoulders in the streets with smartly dressed businessmen, while mule trains wind their way through the traffic jams.

A major drawcard for tourists is the Spanish colonial port of Cartagena with its spectacular walled old town, a medieval wonderland of palaces, monasteries, plazas and overhanging balconies. To the south of the town are Colombia's major seaside holiday resorts with excellent beaches and scuba diving opportunities.

The country's equatorial rainforests clothe the river valleys, riddled with magnificent airplants, vines, creepers and brilliant flowers and birds. The Los Katios National Park in Choco contains hundreds of species of plant and animal life that have yet to be listed. The country's jungles also hide wondrous archaeological treasures, like the ancient city of La Cuida Perdida and the monuments, tombs and burial mounds at San Augustin and Tierrodentro.

Colombia is a gem of a destination yet to be mined by modern travellers as it slowly struggles to throw off its undesirable reputation and share its gifts with the world.