Putumayo is one of Colombia’s most biodiverse and culturally rich departments, spanning the transition zone where the Andes descend into the Amazon basin. Covering 24,885 km² in southwestern Colombia, the department ranges from the Sibundoy Valley at 2,200 meters elevation down through the Andean piedmont to lowland rainforest at 200 meters — a gradient that supports extraordinary biodiversity across three distinct ecological zones. With five indigenous nations — the Inga, Kamëntšá, Cofán, Siona, and Murui-Muinane — maintaining living cultural traditions, and landscapes ranging from 70-meter waterfalls to pink river dolphin habitat, Putumayo is emerging as one of Colombia’s most compelling post-conflict ecotourism destinations. The Andean-Amazon piedmont ecosystem that dominates central Putumayo is recognized as one of the world’s most important biodiversity hotspots. The department’s rivers — including the Putumayo, Caquetá, and Guineo — support freshwater ecosystems home to pink river dolphins (Inia geoffrensis), giant river otters, and the arapaima (Arapaima gigas), one of the world’s largest freshwater fish. On land, the forests harbor jaguars, tapirs, spectacled bears, and over 600 bird species recorded across the department’s varied elevations.
Mocoa
Mocoa is Putumayo’s capital city. It is a city that offers a combination of jungle walks, waterfalls, ecotourism, adventure sports, ancestral wellness, bird watching and Amazonian fauna.
What to visit staying in Mocoa?
Sara Colmenares holds a Doctor of Science (D.Sc.) in Ecology from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and a Master’s degree in Botany from the same institution. Her doctoral research focused on palm ecology in the Atlantic Forest, supported by the Rufford Foundation conservation grant.
A published researcher in the Brazilian Journal of Plant Physiology and a member of the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation (ATBC), Sara has presented her work at international conferences across Latin America and beyond. She was awarded the COLCIENCIAS “Virginia Gutiérrez de Pineda” fellowship, one of Colombia’s most competitive academic distinctions for young researchers.
Sara founded the Sula nature tourism brand in 2018, applying her scientific expertise to develop birding and wildlife experiences across Colombia’s six natural regions. Her fieldwork took her from the cloud forests of the Andes to the Amazon basin, the Pacific coast, and the plains of the Orinoquía. She combined deep ecological knowledge with firsthand experience to create content that is both scientifically accurate and practically useful for nature travelers.
She holds a B.Sc. in Biology from the National University of Colombia, where she also taught plant ecophysiology. She speaks Spanish, Portuguese, and English.