The Rainbow River in Colombia is said to be the most beautiful river in the world and is touted as the 8th natural wonder. Until recently the area where this river is located was occupied by the paramilitary group known as FARC and so it was forbidden to enter. Since the peace treaty 6 years ago, it has now been cleared and open to tourism but still underdeveloped and therefore quite expensive. The only way to get here is to take a chartered flight from Bogotá, Medellin or Cali (3 times/week) or from a town called Villavicencio to La Macarena.
We spent a couple of days researching and contacting several tour companies and finally booked a 3D/2N tour with Travel Green.com.co departing from Villavicencio. The cost of the tour was COP 1,499,000 (US$ 445) per person plus park fees and other tariffs for foreigners totalling another COP 165,000 (US$ 50). The flights departing Bogotá were not available for the days we were interested in, so we chose to travel to Villavicencio. Villavicencio is an hour away by flight from Bogotá but the fares were quite expensive, so we decided to take the bus instead.
The day we left Bogotá, we packed up our larger check-in luggage separately and dropped it off at the left luggage counter at the bus station, and carried only what we needed for the tour in our hand luggage suitcases and backpacks. This was because the chartered flight from Villavicencio to La Macarena allowed only 10 kgs check-in and 5 kgs carry-on. The journey to Villavicencio was 4 hours long, through a mountainous area. The roads weren’t in great shape and in addition, it was raining our entire journey. We reached Villavicencio a little after noon, took a taxi to our hotel and got all settled in.
The next morning we were to meet our tour operator from Travel Green at the airport at 7 am. In a short while, our tour guide, Paula met us and took us to the charter plane office where we deposited our check-in luggage and got weighed in along with our hand luggage. After that we were led to the security office for the security clearance. Paula then told us that due to rain, the airport at La Macarena was closed and that we just need to wait till 11 am and see if they will open then. 11 am became 12, then 2. While we waited, Paula took us to a restaurant close by for lunch since the package that we had signed up with included all meals for 3 days. By 2 pm the airport in La Macarena opened up but it was raining here in Villavicencio, so we waited till 3 pm. 
So eventually we were led on to the runway where there were several small airplanes waiting. This aircraft had only 6 seats including the pilot. One after the other, the planes made their way onto the runway and eventually took off. It was the same kind of experience we had when we went to Kaieteur Falls in Guyana but that was a slightly bigger plane. Soon we were in the air and had a great view of the town below followed by beautiful green fields. We still had cell reception and I noticed that the pilot was occasionally checking and responding to WhatsApp messages which made me a bit nervous. In about an hour we reached La Macarena and landed in what looked like an open field. As we proceeded towards the airport building we were met by an agent from the Travel Green company. She introduced us to Edwin who was to be our guide for the day.
After picking up our luggage we directly made our way to one of the sights to make up for lost time. We drove for almost an hour through beautiful open fields and rolling hills and finally arrived at Caño Piedra which consisted of a small river and contained a small amount of the ‘’Macarenia clavigera ’ which gave the river its reddish/pink color. There was a small natural pool where we could swim in. After taking some pictures, we stopped on the way back for 20 minutes to watch the sunset. We were then taken to our hotel where we checked in and got settled. A short walk from the hotel was the town center which consisted of a park and a church at one side facing the park. There was also a bodega where we had dinner. This was a typical Colombian dinner with chicken, rice, fried plantain and a bit of salad. We also met Christian who was to be our guide the next day. He asked us to be ready by 7.15 am the next morning. After dinner we stopped at the church next door and then returned to our hotel.
The next morning, we met Christian at the lobby of the hotel at 7.15 am. He took us to the Coormacarena office which is like the National Park Service Center for the region. All the tourists who had come through various agencies had assembled here and we were shown a video of the rules and regulations we needed to follow in order to maintain the ecological environment of the region. They had strict rules against the use of plastic water bottles and sunscreen or lotions were prohibited from use when you get into the river which were harmful to the algae and plants that gave the water its color. After the video presentation, we went back to the bodega and had breakfast. We also were given packed lunches to take with us and we were on our way.
Macarenia clavigera plant
A short walk from the bodega brought us to the Guayabera River where we were taken on a 20 minute boat ride. We got to see some turtles, turkeys and various birds. Near the banks of the river, there were a few 4×4 trucks waiting. This was another 20 minute drive on a very bumpy road to the point where we started our 8 km hike through the forest. This whole area that is known as Caño Cristales has several small streams that flow and join downstream. All along the river, the ‘Macarenia clavigera’ plant grows and gives the water flowing above it an amazing reddish-pink color. The rock that is seen in between this plant is yellow which contributes a contrasting color. The river is said to have seven colors and they are red and pink from the plant and sometimes green (where there is no sunlight), yellow and black from the rocks, white from the water when it flows between the rocks and blue from the sky reflecting on the water.
Macarenia clavigera plant in green
This spectacle of colors is only visible for 6 months of the year from June to December, while August to October is the best time. It is aptly called the most beautiful river in the world and was the highlight of our entire tour of Colombia. This definitely should go into every travelers bucket list as the river is one of a kind and unlike anything we have seen before. If you ever plan to visit, make sure you come here during the right time which is between August and October.
Christian took us to several parts of the river where the views were best. We also came across a couple of waterfalls, one of which had a small natural pool where we could swim in. When we got to this waterfall, we were the only people there and so we took advantage and quickly changed into our swimwear. Here we could even walk behind the Falls and Christian carefully led us through this path and it really was exhilarating. From here we went to the most photographed location of the river which consists of several round holes where water flows through and forms various waterfalls called the “Giant’s Kettle”. 
Words fail to explain the beauty of this place. Although it was crowded with tourists, most of whom were bathing in the large pool, the beauty of the river did not diminish. After spending a good amount of time here taking pictures, we headed to the cottage which was a 10 minute walk. Here we settled down with some beers and ate our lunch which had been packed in banana leaves and brought with us from the bodega. We relaxed for a short while and then hiked back followed by the truck and boat ride back to La Macarena. Christian came to pick us up for dinner around 7.30 pm and we went to a restaurant where they had arranged a party for all of the tourists. After dinner, the locals performed dances and sang songs which we greatly enjoyed.
Day 3 started at 4.30 am when Christian came to pick us up and take us to watch the sunrise. We went in a 4×4 along with another family who were also staying at the same hotel as ours. We drove for about a half hour to a ranch where we got settled on a wooden bench to watch the sun come up. Dawn had already broken by now as we set up our cameras and before we knew it, the first rays started to show. It was a peaceful and serene experience as we watched the sun.
We were then served some coffee and breakfast after we explored the ranch a bit. There was a small lake nearby with turtles and we all enjoyed feeding them. There were several fruit trees and rows of pineapple plants growing which was beautiful, especially in the morning light.
The next activity offered was to go horseback riding. There was a stable with horses attached to the ranch. One of the guys from the ranch handed us all some ponchos and hats and led us to the stables, where he gave us preliminary lessons as to how to steer the horse and then helped us one after the other onto the horse. Govi decided not to go, so the rest of us got all saddled up.
We rode for 30 minutes, going up to the small hill at the end of the ranch, where we stopped for a short while and talked about the ranch and some of the things they do there. Since it was all in Spanish, I was just a mute participant and after taking some pictures, we headed back. This was really fun for me as I had always wanted to go horseback riding but had never really had the chance to before. The horse ride was an additional cost of COP 25,000 (US$ 7.25) per person. After, we returned to our hotel, showered, packed and were ready to leave around 11.30 am.
Christian came by, drove us to the bodega for lunch and then we all walked to the airport which was a short distance away. Although our original package was a round trip from Villavicencio, we needed to return to Bogota, so we asked Travel Green to fly us from La Macarena to Bogota instead, which was an additional COP 150,000 (US$ 44) per person. Within an hour, we were back at Bogota’s El Dorado airport, from where we took a taxi to the bus station to pick up our stored luggage and then made our way to our hotel.
In conclusion, if you ask me whether visiting Caño Cristales was worth it, I would definitely say YES!. Although it was an expensive tour which we normally would have thought twice about before, I think this was very much worth it. And I wouldn’t hesitate in recommending anyone to go experience the world’s most beautiful river for themselves.
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