Cascada La Chorerra - Colombian Andes

Daniel, Oswaldo, and Johana take us on an adventure in the Colombian Andes, to visit the Chorerra waterfall. The waterfall has a drop of 590 meters, and is the highest waterfall in Colombia. The waterfall drains water from the Andean páramo over a limestone escarpment. The energy generated at the bottom of the waterfall seems surreal. What a fantastic adventure this turned out to be!

The hike goes through rich Andean cloud-forest, green and dripping and yes, there will be clouds and maybe some rain. The weather here is unpredictable (and often different from Bogotá on the other side of the mountain) but usually the mist lifts in the late morning giving stunning views of the escarpment on the eastern side of the Cordillera Oriental. The rivers here flow east to the Llanos and the Orinico River, emptying into the Atlantic Ocean.

Apart from the views, this area is a fine example of Colombian Andean life, more remarkable for being so close to the mega-city capital, and you will catch glimpses of campesino life. The Parque Adventura also forms part the regions cultural heritage, being an association owned and operated by 12 local families that have set up an excellent and good-value tourist operation. If you are a serious hiker and backwoods person you will find the La Chorrera trail very easy and way too over-organised. On the plus side, the Parque Adventura is preserving the ecology of the area and making the waterfall accessible to visitors from Bogotá who rarely visit the countryside. I would say that the La Chorrera hike is a must for any visitor to Colombia so don’t miss it.

The steepest part of the hike is probably the 500 metres from the car park to the park entrance. At the entrance you will buy your entrance tickets and watch an ‘orientation’ video. You don’t need a guide for the walk as it is well marked and there are park staff at key points to give a chat on the ecology and history of the area. In many places the the hike follows the old 1800s Villavencia to Bogotá mule trail, or the Camino Real – Royal Road – and the original stone slabs and steps are still in place. The route passes some limestone cliffs, a reminder that this part of the Andes is an ancient seabed raised up and buckled by plate tectonics. Even more amazing is the the verdant cloud forest with 50 shades of green mosses, lichens, fern and native trees, somewhere in which are chirping birds and probably animals. On the way you will pass a smaller 50m waterfall, El Chiflón (‘the draught’) where some people do organised abseiling. Later you will pass close to the base of the much higher La Chorrera, but it is best viewed from a distance (there are several places along the route where you can admire its full height, clouds permitting). There is a loop trail between El Chiflon and La Chorrera, but after that you will be returning on the same path.

La imponente Cascada La Chorrera. A tan solo 30 kilómetros de la ciudad de Bogotá, se ubica la cascada La Chorrera, un atractivo natural que llama la atención por sus 590 metros de caída. Además, este es uno de los lugares favoritos de los amantes de la aventura y adrenalina que llegan a realizar deportes extremos desde la cima de la cascada.

Contact AOWS Editor - D Mitchell - danielfmitchell@hotmail.com