Pacific Region

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                       PACIFIC REGION

·   Location: the Pacific region is located in the west of Colombia. The region borders on the north with Panama, on the south with Ecuador, on the east with the west mountain range and on the west with the Pacific Ocean.

   Geography: the region has an area of 83,170 km² that corresponds to 7% of the national territory. A jungle plain composes the majority of the relief of the region, it has the San Juan river valley and the Atrato river valley, but also the region possesses mountainous systems like Serrania del Baudo and Darien.

  It´s a region with great ecological, hydrographic, mining and forestry wealth and has several natural national parks like Utría National Park, Gorgona Natural Park, Malpelo Sanctuary of Flora and Fauna and Uramba Bahía Malaga Natural Park.

The Atrato-San Juan valley is the richest region in platinum, gold, magnesium, nickel, tin and copper of Colombia and the Baudo region is rich in wood and plant species.

This region is distinguished by its high humidity. The tropical jungle climate predominates throughout the region, with temperatures over 24 degrees all year and permanent rains. Its rivers are very flowing because of the large amount of rain, the most important are: Atrato, San Juan, Baudo, Dagua, Micay, Patía and Mira.

The population of the region is 1,078,753 habitants and 90% of the population is Afro-descendant.

·   Language: Spanish

· Cities and departments: It´s conformed by the following departments: Choco, Valle del Cauca, Nariño and Cauca.

In this region, you can visit Popayan, a beautiful colonial and historic city, the port of Buenaventura, one of the most important of the country and Cali, the world’s capital of Salsa.

·  Landscapes: It´s a region with beautiful and exotic natural landscapes, with great variety such as jungles, mangroves and beaches. In this, we can find the Darien jungle, Gorgona and Gorgonilla Island, Solano Bay, Capurgana, Nuqui Beach and Malpelo Island. Some of these beautiful landscapes are still virgins.

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   Things to do there: The Pacific coast is the ideal place for ecotourism lovers, because it has beautiful natural places with a great variety of wildlife and the possibility of seeing dolphins and whales swimming very close. There is also good for nautical sports like diving and surfing, ecological walks and relaxing at the beautiful virgin beaches along the coast and for the dance lovers also they can take classes of Salsa in Cali.

In this region you can observe a wonderful natural event such as the observation of humpback whales, this happens between July and November in the beaches of Choco, when humpback whales come from Antarctica to mate and give birth to their young whales, enjoying the beautiful symphony produced by the whales during their mating.

If you are a believer, you can attend the Holy Week in the city of Popayan, which is famous for being a tradition that has become a world heritage site. Also you can go to the Sanctuary of the Lajas located in Ipiales-Nariño, destination of pilgrimage and tourism since many year ago.

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    Food: The food consists of seafood, banana, coconut, chontaduro, borojo, cane and vegetables.

    On the beach, fish and shrimp ceviche are the most popular foods. In Popayan la carantanta (tortilla soup with potatoes) and empanadas de pipian are the most traditional dishes. In Nariño, the hervido (a drink made from acidic fruits and anise liqueur) and guinea pigs are very common. In Cali, the sancochos (type of soup) and atollados (a type of risotto), lulada, aborrajados (ripe sweet plantain) and manjar blanco are culinary delights you have to taste.

 

 

Celebrations: Its most important festivals are:

   -Blacks and White’s carnival is celebrated from January 2 to 7 of every year in Pasto.

    -The Holy Week of Popayan.

  -San Pacho’s festival is celebrated from the 20 of September and during the following 20 days every year in Quibdo.

   -Cali’s fair is celebrated from 25 to 30 December.

·  Customs and traditions: It is the main land of Afro-Colombian culture. The population is characterized by being very cheerful, they like parties and also believe in witchcraft, hex and black and white magic. The population of the region is mainly Afro-Colombian, but there are also some indigenous communities like the Emberas in Chocó, the Guambianos and the Paeces in the Cauca.

The economy is based on mining (gold and platinum), fishing, forestry, handicrafts, tourism , cattle raising and agriculture (particularly the cultivation of borojo, banana and plantain).

The pacific region has a great variety of traditional music like Currulao, Patacorre, Berejú, Juga, Aguabajo, Bunde and Abozao. Salsa is also very important music in this region, since Cali is called the capital of Salsa in the world.

   Souveniers and distinctive products: Handicrafts of damagua (a tree) and cabecinegro (a flower) like handbags, hats, wallets; and indigenous necklaces.