Trips to Colombia

TRIPS TO COLOMBIA: NATIONAL PARK GORGONA

Extension:
61687,5 hectares of which 97% approximately correspond to marine area and 1,660 hectares are terrestrial or insulares.

Year of creation: 1984.

Location:
In the Department of the Cauca and it belongs to the municipality of Guapi. It is located to 160 km of the Port of Good luck, to 46 km of the Municipality of Guapi and to 27 km of End Kings or the locality of Bazan located in the National Park Natural Sanquianga.

Temperature: Average of 27°C.

Access roads:
From Good luck (the Valley of the Cauca) it is possible to be arrived by sea at the Park, in cabotage boats, that can be reserved on telephones (9224) 46089 - 46106 - 46091. These boats approach in the Wharf the Piñal, diagonal to the Liscano Warehouses. The trip takes approximately 12 hours. When arriving at the island, the access is through boats of motor of the Ministry of Atmosphere, House and Territorial Development, in which it will be transferred until the beach, since Gorgona lacks wharf.

Also it is possible to be acceded from Guapi (the Cauca), in boats of motor with capacity for 10 people, who can be reserved on telephones (92825) 7137 - 7136.

Ecosystems:
Coralline reefs and the Tropical Humid Forest, including within a marine system and another insular one respectively.

Fauna:
The waters of Gorgona are frequented by dolphins, marsopas, sperm whales or calderones, besides rorcuales and the Yakarta or whale of humps, that regionally know like whale or whale calf. Marine wolves have also been observed, whose area of reproduction corresponds to the Archipelago of Galápagos.
The birds of the Park can consider themselves rich; they are registered 155 species, among them 75 species of migratory birds. It also includes the tijereto sparrowhawk, the sparrowhawk crab, the kestrel, the colibríes, the anthill, paparote, pitirre, chango and tiles.

Vegetation:
It represents the unique Current Tropical Very Humid Forest that is at coastal level between Cabo and the north of Ecuador. Account with greatest the developed and diverse coralline banks more of the Tropical Eastern Pacific and of the Colombian Pacific, besides the rank of more Eastern distribution of the chorale of the Pocillopora sort.

Grounds:
Most of the coast is surrounded by beaches and as soon as reduced mangrove swamps exist very. Argillaceous, heavy, bad little aerated permeable, acid the grounds are of color yellow reddish, with superficial and very susceptible phreatic level to the erosion.

Climate:
He is warm, in the months of September and October rains are frequent. In this island no time is considered dry and are frequent the fog and the mists.

Hydrography:
At present there are 25 clean and permanent abundant water streams. In less than half kilometer of beach the Shrimp fisher can be counted up to 10 streams that spill their volume in the own sand.

History of the area/Antecedent:
The Gorgona island was inhabited from pre-Columbian times by a culture possibly associated to the culture Tumaco Tolita whose archaeological vestiges date from 3300 years a.C.

In the island have been petroglyphs, stone tools and sculptures, aside from the well-known ceremonial rock like the Pavilion.
Indigenous the Cradle, of the region of the gulf of Urabá and the low Atrato river and of San Blas (Panama), conserve the tradition of to have been the first occupants of the island.

The main objective of conservation of the area is the Coralline preservation of one of the richest ecosystems of the biodiversity as they are the Tropical Humid Forest and Reefs.

Eco-tourism:
The Natural National Park serves of eco-tourism; it counts on infrastructure to lodge to 83 people in habitacione.
Sites of interest: White beach, Pizarro Beach, the Sulphured one, Beach Palms, Yundigua Beach, the Old Wharf. The facilities of the penitentiary, the Payán House, the Ecotienda (where it is possible to buy books, t-shirts, crafts, etc.), Hall Archeology, Hall History of the penitentiary, Center of Environmental Interpretation, Scientific equipment, Station Metereológica and Estación de Buceo.

Recommendations:
The visitor must be vaccinated against the yellow fever, tetanuz and hepatitis B, as minimum 10 days before the trip, and will have to present/display the effective membership card to the entrance of the Protected area. This service gives institutions among others: The Colombian Red Cross and the Department of Harbor Health of the Airport gilded the Soft International in Bogota.
To take to fresh, dull clothes of rubber and solar protector.

Also a medicine kit that multipurpose antiofídico serum includes, medicine against diarrhea and amoebas. The entrance of nonbiodegradable materials is not allowed, as well as either the entrance of spirits.
It is important to realize the marine passages with life jackets.

It reads the regulation of the Unit: It is not advised to make routes after the 5 of afternoon by the high risk that imply the poisonous serpents that they abound in the Park and that, as of that hour, begin to be active.
It only journeys by the footpaths authorized and accompanied by a civil servant or guides. One does not separate of the group and he is pending of its companions.

Please it accepts the observations and suggestions of the civil servants. It is necessary that it has all the necessary precautions for the visit, since the Unit of Natural National Parks does not become person in charge by any accident that it has within the area nor by the loss of value objects.

Given the fragility of the ecosystems that will visit, and taking care of the aims of its conservation, it is prohibited to collect shells, chorales, material animal, vegetable or mineral of the Park.

Also, it does not have to take to animal or vegetal species strangers. One is due either to take electric home appliances with resistance, neither aerosols or other elements that consider polluting agents. It is not allowed to introduce traps, arts of fishing or any object for animal capture.

It is not allowed to smoke nor to use candles within the facilities of the Center of Visitors. It is not allowed to cook in any place of the natural area. It is asked for to maintain and in good state the place assigned for its demurrage tidy. It uses the waste baskets of the Park for the exhausted biodegradable.

It has plastic bags to the nonbiodegradable sweepings evacuation that will have to take at the time of its exit of the area.