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Where is the country of Colombia located? Colombia is a country in northwestern South America. Colombia’s climate is influenced by the Caribbean Sea in the north, the Pacific Ocean in the west and the mountain areas that largely dominate the landscape in the western half. Most of Colombia has tropical climates, which are characterized by fairly high temperatures throughout the year and fairly high amounts of annual precipitation, especially along the western coastal areas and the windward side of the mountains. On the high plateaus east of the mountains there is quite a bit of rain in the western part, the more you go east, the amounts of precipitation decrease. The extreme northeast of Colombia is the driest, so there is a combination of a warm desert climate and a warm steppe climate. Also on the border with Ecuador, in the southwest of Colombia, you will find a mix of a warm desert climate, a warm steppe climate and a warm maritime climate. What exactly applies, mainly has to do with the altitude, which influences the temperature.

Temperatures

Although Colombia is located in a region where tropical climates predominate, not all of Colombia is tropical. This is mainly due to the large differences in height, which means that the temperature decreases per altitude zone. The low-lying areas have an average temperature of 24 degrees inland and along the coastal areas in the west, to about 28 degrees along the coast in the north and northeast. The areas between one thousand and two thousand meters above sea level have an average annual temperature of 16 to 19 degrees, between 2000 and 3000 this has already dropped to 10 to 15 degrees and frost on the ground is possible, especially during the nights. The mountain peaks that are above four kilometers can even be called cool, with eternal snow in many places.

Rainy season

The seasons in Colombia are determined by the rainfall pattern. For example, the north has a rainy season that runs from May to November and it is relatively dry in the other months. The wet coast along the Pacific Ocean (Pacific) has no real rainy season, here falls in almost the entire region throughout the year, locally even up to 700-800 millimeters per month in the wettest months. The capital Bogota is located in central Colombia, where the amount of eight hundred millimeters of precipitation is only just achieved in a whole year. Here there are two drier periods (December to March and June to August) with two periods in between when it is slightly wetter. However, there is no real rainy season here. In the Amazon region of southern Colombia, the seasons have reversed.

Hurricanes

Most of Colombia is south of the area where hurricanes could theoretically occur, the northern part is above five degrees north latitude, so tropical storms can actually occur based on the latitude. Because Colombia is virtually hidden behind Venezuela, in practice hurricanes have almost no chance of reaching the country. The heavy rainfall does cause other misery: local floods regularly take place. Other natural disasters Colombia may experience include earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and landslides. Colombia has three active volcanoes: Galeras, Nevado del Huila and Nevado del Ruiz.

Climate figures

The figures below are based on long-term average climate statistics. The temperatures are displayed in degrees Celsius (°C).

Best time to visit Colombia

Do you want to know when is the best time to travel to Colombia? You can determine the best time to travel to a destination based on the weather and climate. In addition, there are other factors that are not directly related to the weather and that can influence the best travel periods for a travel destination. Think, for example, of holidays or festive periods, which makes traveling more interesting or not, because daily life comes to a standstill as a result.

The best months for a vacation in Colombia

In the case of Colombia, it is not so easy to simply indicate a period as the best time to travel. The South American country has such a great diversity in precipitation patterns that the best travel periods differ per part of Colombia. The location on both the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea is partly to blame for this, as is the Andes mountains that cross the country. An additional factor is that the equator runs through Colombia, so that the south has opposite seasons compared to the northern part. If you look on the basis of the climate figures, the period from December to March can best be indicated as the best time to travel. This is the driest period for large parts of Colombia.

La Guajira

La Guajira is located in the extreme northeast of Colombia. This peninsula is one of the driest regions of the country. There is even desert here. There is a long dry spell that starts at the end of November and usually lasts until the end of July, with May being the wetter month in between. The maximum temperatures are high at 32 to 36 degrees Celsius. The best time to travel to La Guajira is from late November to April.