Did You Know

Interesting Facts about Colombia

Trivia, oddities, and curious tidbits about Colombia.

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Did You Know?

16 curious facts about Colombia.

When a child loses a tooth they put their tooth under their pillow and wait for amouse called El Raton Miguelito to take the tooth and leave money in its place.
The wettest place on earth is Tutunendo, where an average of 463 inches of rain falls every year.
Colombia has changed its name several times. It has been called Virreynato de la Nueva Granada, Gran Colombia, República de Nueva Granada, Confederación Granadina, Estados Unidos de Nueva Granada and Estados Unidos de Colombia.
Colombia is the only country in South America with a coast on both the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. The country has five main ports: Buenaventura and Tumaco on the Pacific and Cartagena, Barranquilla and Santa Marta on the Caribbean.

Simón Bolívar, known as El Libertador (the Liberator), accomplished a military conquest of about 5 million square kilometers. He had no formal training in military strategy. Experts are still mystified by how he won some battles.
All Colombian men over the age of eighteen must be available for military service.
Bogotá has grown from a town of about 300,000 people to a huge city of about 6 million people in the last 50 years. This rapid growth has created problems, such as a shortage of good housing and an overburdened transportation system. Although central Bogota has modern skyscrapers and elegant mansions, the city is surrounded by shantytowns where poor people live in makeshift huts.
A true llanero (cowboy) is a legendary figure on the ranches of Colombia. A llanero may wear the traditional dress of poncho, straw hat, and cotizas or rope-soled sandals.
Colombia has 27 national parks. They cover more than 4% of the land in Colombia. There is a national park in every region. The parks protect the habitats of many rare species of plants and animals.
Museums in Bogotá include the Museum of Popular Arts and Traditions, the National Museum, and the Museo del Oro (Gold Museum). This museum was founded in 1939 and it contains over 25,000 gold objects. Many Colombians visit the Quita de Bolívar or Bolívar's country house. It was built in 1800 and it is now a museum.