Colombian facts: culture, living, transportation, etc.

When people think about Colombia, they might think about coffee, music or the Caribbean, but we have so much more than that! If you want to know more amazing things about Colombia and our music, food, family life, etc., check out the following Colombian facts.

1. Cacao: Our cacao is some of the best in the world! In the past, it has been recognized on the world stage including at the International Cocoa Awards in 2019. If you want to learn more about cacao, I recommend visiting Distrito Chocolate.
2. Strata system: In Colombia, the neighborhoods are split by strata from 1 to 6. They did this so people could pay different prices for public services according to their income.
3. Cascada La Chorrera: With 590 meters, this is the tallest waterfall in Colombia, the 6th-tallest in Latin America, and 60th in the world. It’s located in Choachí.

4. Motel: In Colombia, motels are not just places to stay in the middle of the road, but rather are primarily targeted at couples who just need a place to have sex. Some of them even have themes like the jungle, nature, etc. Interesting Colombian fact eh?…
5. Street vendors: Colombians never stop having ideas to earn some money, so, on almost every street you will see people selling all sorts of crazy things, including fruits, clothes, cell phone accessories, and much more.
6. Family: For Colombians, the family is absolutely the most important thing. You can see that many families live near each other or sometimes “kids” stay with their parents until they are 30 or older (some of them never even leave the house). Check our article about it here.
7. Musicians: We have really famous musicians like Shakira, J Balvin, Juanes and Maluma. Karol G, the singer of the famous song “Tusa”, is from Colombia too.
8. Holidays: Colombia is one of the countries with the most public holidays in the world.  This year (2020), Colombia has 18 public holidays. In comparison, the U.S. has 10, Germany has 9, and England has 8.
9. Biodiversity:  We occupy 2nd place in the world. Colombia has 98 types of general ecosystems like aquatic (corals), terrestrial (tropical forest), etc., and holds first place in biodiversity of birds and orchids. 
10. Palm trees in Salento: These wax palms are the tallest palm trees in the world! You will find them near the beautiful town of Salento. To get to Salento from Bogota requires a 300 km journey, around 9 hours by car or bus.

11. Electricity: Colombia is one of the countries with the highest hydroelectric capacities. That’s why in Colombia, 70% of the energy is hydroelectric while the other 30% is thermal energy.
12. Seasons: In Colombia, we don’t have four seasons! We have 2 seasons: the dry season and rainy season. However, there are two areas where it rains all year long: the Amazon and the Pacific.
13. Bicitaxis: In some parts of Colombia, especially around the residential neighborhoods, you will find this form of transportation that looks like a tuk tuk and takes you where Transmilenio or buses don’t.

14. Myths and legends: In every region of Colombia, the locals have a specific myth or legend (or many). In Bogotá, you can do a tour and learn more about them.
15. Magdalena River: This is the largest river in Colombia with 1,540 km! And it’s the most important one for the economy of a lot of towns. In some of them, the river is even the main mean of transportation.
16. National Parks: Colombia has 58 national parks. You can visit a lot of them and they are located at different elevations and in different climates, so you can also find many kinds of animals and unique types of plants like Frailejones (Espeletia).
17. Nobel prize: Colombians have won two Nobel prizes. The first one was the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1982 won by Gabriel García Marquez. The second was the Nobel Peace Prize in 2016 won by ex-president Juan Manuel Santos.
18. People: Colombians are really affectionate people, so don’t feel awkward if someone that you just meet greets you with a kiss on the cheek or a hug.
19. Transport: In Bogotá, the capital of Colombia, we don’t have a metro but we do have the Transmilenio (a bus rapid transit system) and Bogotá was ranked number 2 in Latin America and number 32 in the world for cities with the best public transit systems..
20. Coffee: Colombia, as you know, has some of the best coffee in the world, many of it is exported to other countries so you are not necessarily going to drink the best coffee in every coffee shop. But most of them do have amazing options to taste! So head to some special places to drink our famous drink and enjoy.

Now you know more Colombian facts, so next time you talk with someone, you have a perfect conversation starter. If you know more interesting Colombian facts, don’t hesitate to leave a comment 🙂

For more information, visit our amazing website colture.co.