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A fair enough question, as Colombia is, from a tourism perspective, a great unknown. Being here, it’s obvious.

At the northern tip of South America, sub-tropical Colombia’s western coast is splashed by the Pacific, while its northern coast has the longest Caribbean coastline of any country in the world.  Bordering Venezuela are the eastern plains, or Los Lllanos as they are known here, which are fertile flatlands perfect for farming and cattle ranches.  Colombia shares its southern borders with Ecuador, Peru and Brazil, flourishing in the world’s largest rainforest, the Amazon.  And those are only the perimeters of Colombia: What you find inside the borders goes beyond all imagination.

When I decided to move here, my family and friends were constantly probing, “but why Colombia?”.  Now, I can answer the question with ease.

Many people who search the world looking for eco-tourism decide to pass through Colombia for a few days and end up staying for at least a few weeks, if not months or years.

(As I’m writing this, I am in a coffee shop in Medellín.  A guy from Phoenix, dressed in athletic clothes and running shoes, just introduced himself to me –  foreigners are not so abundant here, so we rarely pass up the chance for an introduction.  Anyway, Clay just told me that he came to Bogotá on business last year and decided to visit Medellín.  After that visit, he returned to travel in Colombia for two months.  Now he is back again, and this time he is making the arrangements to stay for good!  His clothes give away his reason for staying – endless nature, endless adventure.)

If you, like Clay, are looking for outdoor adventure, Colombia is the answer.  From whale-watching and surfing on the Pacific Ocean, to snorkeling and scuba diving one of the world’s largest coral reefs in the Caribbean Sea, and one of South America’s largest rivers to raft and kayak in between, Colombia will not let you down.  From mountain-biking, rappelling, rock-climbing, and trekking the Andes, to paragliding and zip-wiring over a canopy of plantain, banana, and coffee plantations, you could stay for years and still have more to see and do.

If naturaleza (nature) is what spurs your world-travels, Colombia, with more bio-diversity per square metre than any country in the world*, offers countless exotic journeys.  Colombia is home to more species of birds, butterflies, and amphibians than anywhere else in the world, not to mention the most species of orchids, all of which you can observe while walking through the forests, jungles and gardens.

In this land of seemingly endless beauty and miraculous geography, is it any wonder that the people here are among the happiest in the world?  Their culture, a unique and lively blend of European, African, and South American indigenous people, is one of joy and exuberance unlike anything I have ever seen.  They take pride in their land, and whether you are in the big cities of Bogotá, Medellín, Cali, and Cartagena, or small towns that have barely made their way onto the map, the people you find are anxious to share their town with passers-by.  Beware, though, because if the wildlife and adventure aren’t enough to convince you about Colombia, its people certainly will, and you might find yourself longing to change your “passer-by” status.

Now you have read a few answers to the “Why Colombia?” question, but I have no doubt there are many more. Come, experience it, and feel the passion of this country for yourself.

*per square metre