Chiribiquete National Park

Chiribiquete National Park is a remote protected area in the Colombian Amazon, noted for its extensive sandstone table mountains and prehistoric rock paintings. The park was originally established as a national park in 1989 and received expanded protection and World Heritage status in 2018.

The landscape includes vast tracts of tropical rainforest, isolated tepuis and escarpments that rise hundreds of meters above the forest canopy. It also contains extensive rock-art panels and sheltered paintings distributed across cliff faces and caves, and supports high biodiversity across a very large area of protected forest.

The park was created by the Colombian state in 1989 and substantially enlarged by government decree in 2018 to strengthen protection of its natural and cultural values. Indigenous groups have traditional ties to the area and the rock art documents long-term human presence.

Geographically it lies in the Amazon basin of southern Colombia, primarily within Caquetá and neighbouring Guaviare departments. The park is very remote from major cities and is reached by river or small aircraft; the nearest regional towns are several hours by air or multi-day river journeys away.

• UNESCO & expansion: The protected area was expanded in 2018 to create one of the world's largest tropical rainforest national parks, giving it international protection as both natural and cultural heritage.
• Access: There are no public roads into the park; access is by authorised river journeys or by small aircraft and visits are tightly regulated to protect ecosystems and rock art.

What to See #

• Serranía de Chiribiquete: The central massif of the park made up of sandstone table mountains and cliffs that rise abrupt from surrounding rainforest and host much of the area's rock art and endemic flora.
• Painted cliffs and rock art: Extensive cliff and shelter paintings on the tepuis and escarpments, containing thousands of motifs and panels distributed across many rock faces and caves.