The Serranía de Chiribiquete or Chiribiquete Mountains are a group of isolated table mountains in the Amazon Region of Colombia. The mountains are part of the western edge of the
Guiana Shield
The Guiana Shield (french: Plateau des Guyanes, Bouclier guyanais; nl, Hoogland van Guyana, Guianaschild; pt, Planalto das Guianas, Escudo das Guianas; es, Escudo guayanés) is one of the three cratons of the South American Plate. It is a ...
. The area is protected as a national park. This area is habitat for the
Chiribiquete emerald
The Chiribiquete emerald (''Chlorostilbon olivaresi'') is a species of hummingbird in the "emeralds", tribe Trochilini of subfamily Trochilinae. It is endemic to southern Colombia.HBW and BirdLife International (2020) ''Handbook of the Birds of ...
(''Chlorostilbon olivaresi''), an endemic hummingbird. The waterfall Caño Paujil originates from the Serranía de Chiribiquete.Caño Paujil - Colparques
Protected area
Chiribiquete National Park is the largest national park in Colombia and the largest tropical rainforest national park in the world. It covers about and hosts important archaeological evidence in the form of
rock art
In archaeology, rock art is human-made markings placed on natural surfaces, typically vertical stone surfaces. A high proportion of surviving historic and prehistoric rock art is found in caves or partly enclosed rock shelters; this type also ...
. More than 600,000 traces of around 20,000 petroglyphs and pictographs have been discovered in the mountain chain, the oldest of which may date to 20,000 years BP. The rock art has been produced until the 16th century. The rock paintings were first recorded by the American botanist
Richard Evans Schultes
Richard Evans Schultes (''SHULL-tees'';Jonathan Kandell ''The New York Times'', April 13, 2001, Accessed April 26, 2020. January 12, 1915 – April 10, 2001) was an American biologist. He may be considered the father of modern ethnobotany. He is ...
in the 1940s. Later investigations were carried out by
Thomas van der Hammen
Thomas van der Hammen ( Schiedam, Netherlands, 27 September 1924 - Chía, Colombia, 12 March 2010) was a Dutch palaeontologist, botanist and geologist. He had published more than 160 works in five languages.British wildlife filmmaker
Mike Slee
Michael John Slee (born 23 August 1959) is a British film-maker, producer/director and writer.
Life and career
Born in Windlesham, Surrey, Slee studied Art & Design at Kingston University, and graduated with a first class honours degree from the ...
and Colombian photographer and explorer Francisco Forero Bonell photographed and filmed the rock paintings on the vertical rock faces within the park in 2014. Serranía de Chiribiquete is featured in the 2015 documentary '' Colombia, magia salvaje'', which was made by Mike Slee.
Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos announced that Chiribiquete National Natural Park would be expanded by on 21 February, 2018. The park was expanded to and declared a
World Heritage Site
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
by
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...