Llanos Orientales

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  Llanos Orientales

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  Llanos Orientales

• 

  Llanos Orientales

• 

  Llanos Orientales

• 

  Llanos Orientales

• 

  Llanos Orientales

• 

  Llanos Orientales

• 

  Llanos Orientales

A vast tropical grassland plain located to the east of the Andes, characterised by cattle ranches and wetlands, providing habitat for a rich diversity of wildlife.

Los Llanos translates as ‘The Plains’ and is an area of eastern Colombia which extends into Venezuela and is relatively unknown to many visitors to Colombia. However, with an easy flight connection from Bogota and with large areas being restored to a natural habitat, together with the rich cultural traditions of the ‘llaneros’ this is a destination which should not be overlooked.

Between June and October large parts of the Llanos flood to turn the grasslands and woodlands into a temporary wetland, not dissimilar to the Pantanal in Brazil. For this reason, the area was largely avoided by the early Spanish ‘conquistadors’ until the arrival of Jesuit missionaries, who drained the grasslands and introduced cattle ranching.

The Spanish settlers intermarried with the indigenous population and thus the ‘llanero’ culture of ranchers was born, similar to the gauchos of Argentina and Chile. They organised the area into ‘hatos’, large scale cattle farms and by 1815 there were 1.5 million cattle in the area.

The area is host to around 600 species of bird, but the highlight is the spectacular ‘scarlet ibis’, although you may also see toucans, the rare Orinoco Goose, Jabiru storks and the charismatic blue and yellow macaws.

Although the area is remote and off the main tourist beaten track, it is easily accessible by a short flight from Bogota.

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