PARADISES OF COLOMBIA

if someone really knows where the paradises of colombia are to be found –and there are so many of them – is andrés hurtado, the famous colombian traveler, journalist and photographer. and as he himself notes, he has discovered them step by step, walking through the places he writes about. this book is the fruit of what he calls his summa cum laude degree in “the road”, which provides us with a privileged view of the beautiful but sometimes threatened landscapes of colombia. he shows us places that are incredible and moving like the chiribiquete national park, for example, reminiscent of the lost world of conan doyle, which continue to flourish without the devastating and abusive presence of mankind. his splendid photos are complemented by the thoughtful essays of a philosopher/ecologist: they too are impressive, because hurtado is what one might call a 20th century humanist who awakens our love for these natural marvels, cites other travelers and reveals his poetic soul. this book focuses on 15 paradises which have stirred his deepest feelings and are located in five different regions of colombia:the cordilleras, the pacific, the llanos orientales (eastern prairies) and the amazon jungle. in each, he chooses one or two places which typify their beauty and expands on them to capture the essence of the region as a whole. in the words of the author, this book is dedicated to “all of my readers who are enamored of colombia: it is an account of my loving and energetic strides over the beautiful and at times tormented skin of colombia”.