Columbia. Caño Cristales - the river of five colors

River Caño Cristales in Colombia, despite its small size: its length less than one hundred miles, and in width, it barely reaches twenty, is known worldwide for its unusual beauty. Residents of the town of La Macarena, located near the site of the flow of the river, consider it their domain.
Translated from Spanish Caño Cristales - Crystal River. The river, in fact, incredibly clean and clear. The river bed has an unusual shape, so that the river overflows waterfalls, it forms deep pits, that forms whirlpools unusual shape. But did the famous river algae that littered her bottom. Such a variety of colors not seen on any river in the world. Colors vary from black to bright yellow, from blue to red.
See the river this is not always possible. Most of the year the river is no different from other rivers, well, except that the transparency and the lack of fish. The fact that the water in the river does not contain any impurities, so the fish do not live in it, she just nothing to eat.
In the rainy season, the river turns into a turbulent flow transparent, through which one can see the stones on the bottom. In summer, the river is almost dry, turning into a small stream.
But in the off-season, the river turns into a colorful palette of many colors. Algae covering the bottom of the river, begin to grow rapidly in dry sunny weather, highlighting the colorful material.
The river rises in the mountain chain Macarena. To preserve the unique nature of these places, a National Park, and flows on which the Crystal River. Macarena was the confluence of the Andes mountains to the tropical Amazonian emerged a unique ecosystem, some species of flora and fauna can be found only in those places. At the reserve you can find dozens of species of orchids, an incredible number of birds, monkeys. It is home to anteaters and pumas, jaguars and deer.
Tourists come here to see for myself the extraordinary colors of the river and swim in a variety of natural pools that form a channel. Despite the fact that the river is far away from populated areas and to get to it is difficult, not decreasing the influx of tourists, especially during algal blooms - from September to November.
In order to protect this corner of nature in its natural state, it is forbidden to stay overnight, as well as plant fires. Rubbish irreparable damage to nature. Despite strict prohibitions and numerous rules, people from all over the world come here to see the colorful carpet of seaweed swaying in the bottom of the Caño Cristales.