Political Tours returns to South America with our Colombia Tour; a country with a tumultuous history and a popular image blighted by the cocaine trade that does not do it justice. Colombia offers extraordinary biodiversity, spectacular geography, a rich and varied culture and most importantly, a complicated and fascinating political story. What happens in Colombia has important implications, not just for the South American continent, but often for the wider world.
We take as our focal point one of these dynamics which affects us all: the fight to save the Amazon rainforest, with all its implications for climate change and the biodiversity of the planet. Of the nine South American countries that contain a part of the Amazon, Colombia has the third largest area after Brazil and Peru: but it has lost 5 million hectares of that area over the last 80 years and the rate of destruction has been accelerating, despite the efforts of so many actors both inside Colombia and beyond to slow it.
Our 9-day tour takes a deep dive into the Colombian jungle, political and natural. Starting in Bogota, it looks at how the challenge of protecting the Amazon is viewed by political, media, diplomatic and NGO leaders, why efforts to date to solve it have so often failed and what needs to be done differently. To see how the challenges look at ground level, the group travels to Leticia, the capital of Colombia’s Amazon region, deep in the rainforest and lying on the Amazon River, where Colombia, Brazil and Peru meet. While we are there, we immerse ourselves in the rich ecosystems to glimpse the magnificent variety of flora and fauna and understand what is at stake if it is lost.
This is a tour for everyone who wants to get to grips with the realities behind the headlines around the struggle to protect the Amazon. This is an intensely political story, from the macro geopolitics of how the West engages with the Amazon countries to encourage them to preserve the rainforest, how those countries collaborate between them to make it happen, how individual governments deliver against their green pledges and the gritty local political reality of fighting the threats on the ground. There is also lots on the menu for those with an interest in history, ecology, culture and commerce.
Colombia Tour: Background
Between 1499 when the Spanish first arrived in Colombia and 1820, when it won its independence, the previously pristine wilderness of the Amazon jungle saw a gradual process of exploitation around the edges and immense damage done to the indigenous peoples of the country. This process accelerated into and through the 20th century, fuelled by rapid population growth of immigrant peoples, the expansion of national infrastructure to service producers and markets and the emergence of the cocaine industry, with its impact on security and population movement. The successive rightwing and centre-right governments up till 2022 largely adopted a hard-line approach to dealing with the insecurity caused by the narcos, guerrilla groups and illegal miners that represent such a threat to the rainforest. The incumbent left-wing administration led by President Petro has developed a ’Total Peace’ initiative, attempting to negotiate simultaneously with the various armed groups that undermine security across some of the most ecologically sensitive areas of the country. This has enjoyed limited success and yet tourism is booming, with most of the country’s tourist destinations seeing ever-growing numbers of visitors.
In 2024, the city of Cali in Colombia hosted the COP16 Biodiversity Summit, which succeeded in joining up responses to biodiversity and climate change, linking conservation and health agendas and strengthening the role of indigenous peoples in the work of COP to protect biodiversity. Negotiations were initiated to create a fund to support developing countries in financing the implementation of conservation targets by 2030. Notwithstanding these important developments, the road to protecting the world’s biodiversity and within that agenda, preserving the Amazon, remains a long and complicated one.
The complex factors that combine to bedevil efforts on the ground to stop the environmental devastation include some that will be well-known, including the hunger for land of a young, rapidly-growing population, the ever-growing demand for cocaine in wealthy western nations and the ravages of climate change-induced droughts and bushfires. But beneath these headline-grabbing stories lie the hidden drivers of deforestation and the insecurity that feeds it: official corruption, competition between armed gangs for control over illegal mines and the intimidation of community leaders trying to protect their natural resources.
However, there are many individual success stories from Colombia which demonstrate that, despite the challenges faced in the battle to protect the Amazon, progress is possible with the commitment of local people and invariably, external funding and support.
Colombia Tour: Reading List
“Short Walks from Bogota” by Tom Feiling”
- Publisher: Penguin
- Language: English
- Pages: 264
“The Making of Modern Colombia” by David Bushnell
- Publisher: University of California Press
- Language: English
- Pages: 208
“The Invention of Nature” by Andrea Wulf
- Publisher: John Murray
- Language: English
- Pages: 336
“How to Save the Amazon” by Dom Phillips
- Publisher: Ithaca
- Language: English
- Pages: 384
Itinerary
Meet in Bogota for a welcome dinner. Our locally-based expert will provide an overview of the tour and an introduction to Colombia’s complex and fascinating relationship with the Amazon rainforest.
Overnight: Bogotá
We start with an introduction to the history of Colombia and its share of the Amazon. Delving into the pre-colonial era, and learn about the indigenous tribes that occupied and continue to live in the Colombian Amazon and the horrors of their exploitation by the rubber barons during the boom of the nineteenth century. Understanding the dynamic between the indigenous people of the Amazon, the state and commercial actors remains a key factor in seeking a successful model to protect the Amazon.
A visit to Bogota’s Botanical Gardens gives a taster of the extraordinary floral biodiversity of the country, reaching from the Amazon across the three branches of the Andes to the Pacific coast and up to the Caribbean coastline.
Colombian historians and academics talk us through how the state sought to occupy its vast wilderness, encouraging peasant farmers to move to unexploited territory. In the latter half of the twentieth century, there was enormous social upheaval generated by “La Violenca” and then by the conflict between the FARC and the paramilitaries. Large-scale migration from the more dangerous to the safer parts of the country put hitherto untouched environments under enormous stress.
We hear about the impact on the Colombian Amazon and beyond of the explosion of coca production in the 1980s and ‘90s and the damage done to the habitats and food chains by the use of crop spraying to try to eradicate the coca plantations, as well as the contamination of food chains and human ecology caused by illegal gold mining.
Overnight: Bogotá
We head to the Amazon basin and take a short internal flight to Leticia, the political, conservation and tourism capital of Colombia’s Amazonas Department, meeting conservationists and local politicians who work at the front line of the battle to protect the Amazon. They understand the challenges and risks first hand and can talk us through what happens when the fine words and carefully-crafted policies of international organisations hit the ground and don’t always survive contact with reality.
We talk to environmental journalists who have written about the struggles in this arena, both political in Bogota and in the Amazon. They have often risked their lives to research and report on stories of corruption, incompetence and violence that are so common across the Amazon region.
Overnight in Leticia
Meeting with ecologists and scientists from organisations such as the Humboldt Institute, who have a deep understanding of the fantastically rich biodiversity of Colombia, boasting more species of birds (1912 species at the last count), fish, butterflies, moths and orchids than any other country on earth, making it the world’s most biodiverse country relative to its surface area.
To really understand what is at stake at ground level in the battle for the Amazon, you have to immerse yourself in it and experience its extraordinary biodiversity: to see, hear and smell the lush tropical rainforest, glimpse its birdlife flitting through the canopy, the aquatic creatures swimming in the rivers and the dazzling variety of butterflies, moths and the myriad of other creatures. Today will give a window into the fantastical mosaic that is the rainforest, with a guided boat trip along a tributary of the Amazon, where you can see piranhas, blue and pink dolphins, Caymans and turtles, as well as the many birds that live along the riverbanks, such as fish eagles, macaws and kingfishers. Later, a guided walk in the forest will give you a feel for the plant and animal life that the soil supports: so rich but so fragile in the face of the chainsaw and bulldozer. Finally, there is the option to go on a canopy walk, 30 metres up from ground level, where the light and moisture create the perfect habitat for a profusion of animal, bird, plant and insect life.
Overnight: Leticia
We meet the driving forces behind two examples of successful efforts to slow the destruction, adopting very different but in many ways complementary approaches. One works with local peasant farmers, encouraging them to give over a proportion of their land to replanting indigenous hardwood trees, grown from seedlings, the seeds for which have been collected from the rainforest floor and nurtured in nurseries. Another uses delivering financial stability to the indigenous peoples of the Amazon as its primary tool, enabling them to protect their resources and resist the allure of coca growing, mining and cattle farming.
p.m Day trip: 90 minute Boat trip
We board a comfortable motor launch in Leticia to take us along the Amazon river to the village of Puerto Nariño. Along the way, we will get a sense of the sheer size of the river, even at this early stage in its journey towards the Atlantic Ocean.
Overnight: Puerto Nariño
Puerto Nariño is held up in Colombia and across the Amazon region as a shining example of sustainable tourism and community living, which can only be reached by boat and where motor vehicles (other than a rubbish collection van and a small ambulance!) are prohibited. Inhabited and managed predominantly by indigenous people, it has transformed itself from a sleepy river station to a successful experiment in how human impact on the environment can be minimised in parallel with protection of the native flora and fauna. A key facet of the pilot’s success lies in learning from the sustainable agricultural practices of the tribes that have always lived in the area and passing these onto younger generations and visitors alike. We meet some of the local leaders driving the project to learn about the achievements and challenges and how applicable the model is for the world beyond the village.
We visit the indigenous village of Mocagua to talk to the leader of the community about his people’s relationship with the rainforest. He will explain how they traditionally nurture the natural resources and the pressures they often come under to exploit them unsustainably.
Overnight: Puerto Nariño
We take the boat down the Amazon to Leticia and fly back to the cool air of Bogotá. In the afternoon we will tour the historical heart of Bogotá, where the city’s story as a colonial capital began, visiting the magnificent Gold Museum, which will give a sense of what first drew the Spanish conquistadors to the El Dorado of Colombia and which, despite their best efforts to carry it off to Spain, still displays an extraordinary array of artefacts. Gold continues to be a curse as well as a blessing for the country, with illegal mining ravaging swathes of the Amazon, leaving polluted rivers and poisoned food chains.
Overnight: Bogotá
Back in the capital we review the attempts to protect the Amazon, both at a national an international level and meet some of today’s leaders working in the Amazon conservation arena, including senior diplomats from nations working hand in hand with Colombia at the vanguard of the fight and representatives from the multinational organisations that seek to fund and equip the campaign. They will explain how their efforts are thwarted by the combined impact of corruption, lack of political will and violence and highlight the role of the courageous individuals from local NGOs and community groups who try to hold the line on the ground.
We finish the tour by bringing the whole complex array of issues together, talking to politicians who have led the fight to protect the Amazon in Colombia at the highest level. They will seek to leave us with a sense of what Colombia and the other 8 countries that host the Amazon rainforest have been doing as a collective to preserve their Amazon. They will talk about the successes and frustrations of the COP Biodiversity conference in Cali in 2024, focusing on how the outside world has helped and sometimes hindered what they are seeking to achieve.
Farewell dinner and review of the week.
Overnight: Bogotá
Breakfast and depart.
Meet Your Experts
Marco Ehrlich is an environmental specialist with over 40 years of international experience in conservation, sustainable development, and environmental governance. He holds degrees from the University of Florence and the University of Michigan (USA), where he earned a PhD on innovative governance structures with indigenous communities in the Amazon and Andes.
He has served as Senior Environmental Specialist at the Inter-American Development Bank in Washington DC, consultant to UN agencies, World Bank, IFC, CAF, EU, and GEF in western and southern Africa and the Sahel and served the last ten years as Deputy Director for Science and Technology at the Amazon Research Institute of Colombia–SINCHI. His work emphasizes biodiversity conservation, sustainable value chains, and science-based policy for the Amazon. He is a member of the Science Panel for the Amazon and professor in the Enterprise and Environment Master’s Program at Universidad El Bosque in Bogotá, Colombia.
Lachie Forbes worked as a senior British diplomat in Bogotá from 2021-24, during which time he visited every corner of the country and developed a network of contacts across government, security, NGO, tourism and diplomatic arenas. He has a keen interest in the issues around conservation and biodiversity and following his retirement from the diplomatic service, is working on a number of projects in that space.
He loves adventure and eco tourism and is supporting the development of such ventures in Colombia. He joined Political Tours in early 2025 and has already accompanied two tours. He is a keen linguist and student of foreign affairs, having previously worked in Baku, Kyiv, Harare and Nairobi.
Essentials
The average daily temperature in Bogota can range between 12-15 degrees C during the day. In Leticia it can be between 26 – 28 degrees C.
The maximum size of our groups is 14 people, ensuring the small-group experience.
We provide genuine learning experiences through the eyes of an expert, politician or journalist.
Accommodation, meals (breakfast, lunch, and most dinners), and water are all included in tour package.
Our tour starts and ends in Bogotá, Colombia’s capital. We arrange local transport for the duration of the tour.
The Peso is the currency in Colombia.
Following the news:
Like all our tours, our Colombia tour itinerary is focused on current affairs. Events on the ground may change and the final schedule may be adjusted accordingly.
Flights
This tour starts and ends in Bogotá.
For international flights to Colombia there are direct flights from London only with Avianca. Other, indirect options include Air France, Lufthansa, KLM and Iberia.
If you would like to arrange a bespoke tour we can adjust the itinerary to suit you.
Transport is included throughout the tour except for flights and airport taxis. We will co-ordinate with passengers which flights should be booked to Leticia.
This is a great tour for families and friends. You can combine it with a visit to the colonial capital of Cartagena, a visit to Colombia’s Caribbean beaches, horse riding and hiking in the Andes and many other options We have travelled extensively in Colombia and can recommend various options.
COVID-19: We won’t go to a country unless it is safe to do so – we remain guided by the UK Foreign Office travel advice. For this reason some dates may change depending on the situation on the ground.
Group size
As on all our expert-led tours, the groups are deliberately small and will not exceed 14 people. Limited spaces are available.
Hotels
Four and five star centrally located hotels.
Visa
UK passport holders : If you’re visiting Colombia for tourism or business purposes for a period of up to 90 days, you don’t need a visa. Your passport should be valid for a minimum period of 30 days from the date of exit from Colombia. Your passport should have at least 2 blank pages when you present it at immigration to enter or leave Colombia.
Other passport holders may require a visa. It is always good to check with the embassy in your country for latest advice regarding visa requirements.
FCO Website
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office publishes regularly updated travel information on its website https://travelaware.campaign.gov.uk/ which you are recommended to consult before booking and in good time before departure. Where it considers it appropriate to do so, the FCO may advise against all travel or all but essential travel to particular countries or parts of particular countries. Similarly, the FCO may withdraw any such previously given advice. Where the FCO issues such advice, we may as a result cancel your tour or make changes so as to avoid the area concerned (see clause 10 or our conditions). Alternatively, we may ask you to sign a form confirming you wish to proceed with the tour notwithstanding the FCO advice. It is in the nature of the itineraries we offer that the FCO may have issued such advice in relation to the country or parts of the country we are intending to visit prior to confirmation of your booking. In this case, you will be asked to sign the above form before we confirm your booking.
Medical Requirements
Advice on health requirements may be obtained from your GP, or alternatively from the Department of Health Leaflet Advice on Health for Travelers, or the Department of Health in the UK. For further information on vaccination requirements, health outbreaks and general disease protection and prevention you should visit http://www.fitfortravel.scot.nhs.uk/destinations.aspx.
What to Wear
Dress is generally casual and comfortable, comfortable walking shoes are essential. We also have a range of meeting with politicians or senior officials where we are expected to be more formally dressed. For these men will need a jacket (and tie) and women the female equivalent.
Currency
Great British Pounds.
Electricity
Electricity supply is 110 volts AC 60 HZ. There are two plug types found in Colombia, being Type A and Type B.
Related Material
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Colombia Expert:
Marco Ehrlich
Marco Ehrlich is an environmental specialist with over 40 years of international experience in conservation, sustainable development, and environmental governance.
Colombia Expert:
Lachie Forbes
Lachie Forbes worked as a senior British diplomat in Bogotá from 2021-24, during which time he visited every corner of the country and developed a network of contacts across government, security, NGO, tourism and diplomatic arenas.
