Sierra de la Macarena

The Sierra de la Macarena is a Colombian mountain range, located in the department of Meta, in the Andean foothills in the Amazon jungle, it is the meeting point of the Andean, Amazonian and Orinoco ecosystems. Inhabited by peasants heirs of a recent colonization process, motivated by the violent expulsion of peasants since the middle of the XX century, La Macarena It is recognized both for its physical and biotic importance and for the multiple conflicts that cross it.

The Sierra de La Macarena comprises a mountain system belonging to the Guyanese Shield, located east of the Andes Mountains and separated, at its northern end, about 40 km from the Eastern Cordillera. This relief forms a North-South orientation band with an approximate length of 120 km and a width of 30 km. Its maximum height is around 1600 m above sea level. n. m.

The Serranía de la Macarena was the first national nature reserve established by law of the Republic in 1948 and was established as a natural park in 1971. After intense peasant mobilizations at the end of the 1980s, a realignment of the reserve was agreed and A new administrative and environmental division was adopted that includes the La Macarena Special Management Area, AMEM and the Sierra de La Macarena and Tinigua National Natural Parks. The Yarí Sabanas are part of both the geographical system of the mountain range, as well as its social configuration.

Flora and fauna

The Macarena mountain range is a meeting point for the flora and fauna of the Amazon, the Orinoquía and the Andes. Due to its height, it has various bioclimatic floors, with temperatures ranging between 12° and 25°C. These events have led to the conservation of a unique habitat in a small region of great biodiversity and which has numerous endemic species.

Its fauna includes anteaters, jaguars, pumas, deer, 8 species of monkeys, 500 species of birds, 1,200 species of insects and 100 species of reptiles. In the case of flora, there are more than 50 species of orchids, 2000 of other flowers, different foliage and plants. The Botanical Garden of La Macarena, located 18 km southwest of the urban area of La Macarena, has a list of more than 1,100 native species (Ir Francisco Castro), that is, more than 4% of Colombian plant biodiversity. This again underlines the importance of the region's biodiversity.

Ecosystem

• Ecosystems: rainforests, forests and scrubs both dense and clear. Wetlands and in particular, mother-olds.
• Vegetation: herbaceous vegetation of Amazonian savannah.
• Climate: Tropical Húmedo, The average temperature is 27 °C.
• Location: Located in the department of Meta in jurisdiction of the municipalities of La Macarena, Mesetas, Vista Hermosa, San Juan de Arama and Puerto Rico. -

Places of interest

The Serranía de la Macarena has become internationally known for the Caño Cristales, made known by the teaching couple Melco Fernanez and Sara Cortez (who lived on the banks of the channel) and the Colombian journalist and explorer Andrés Hurtado García. The mountain range also has petroglyphs of ancient cultures (petroglyphs of Angosturas I and II, in the Guayabero River). There are also enormous waterfalls, such as Caño Canoas, Salto de Yarumales, Salto del Mico, Soplaculos, among others, difficult to appreciate on foot due to the rugged terrain. Near the urban center of La Macarena are the La Macarena Botanical Garden and the La Madrevieja de El Carmen private reserve, places that offer the possibility of nature tourism involving their visitors in restoration and recovery activities.

Geology

The Serranía de la Macarena constitutes one of the oldest geological formations in Colombia, with, in its oldest part, rocks from the Precambrian that have been precisely dated by the Uranium/Lead method in zircons in 1461± 10 Million years old. According to some authors, this mountain range is related to the Guiana Shield, constituting the westernmost of the tepuis, very old rock formations (more than 1,000 million years old) present in Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname and Brazil.

Colonization and conflict

"Sierra de La Macarena. Biological Reserve of Humanity: territory of conflicts" was the title with which the National University of Colombia named an extensive study published in the early 90s that collects a good part of the historical, social, physical and biological background that makes up this Colombian region and that has made it famous with the passing of the years. Natural reserve area, historical heritage of humanity, the Sierra de La Macarena was colonized in the middle of the XX century by thousands of peasants expelled from the Andean areas. The FARC was an insurgent movement that became strong in the region. The combination of guerrillas, Military Forces, coca crops and the efforts for its eradication by the Colombian Government make La Macarena an inexhaustible source of journalistic headlines.