Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas
**Spanish cuisine
**Spanish history
**Spanish culture
...
: ''Páramo de Ocetá'') is a
páramo
Páramo () may refer to a variety of alpine tundra ecosystems located in the Andes Mountain Range, South America. Some ecologists describe the páramo broadly as "all high, tropical, montane vegetation above the continuous timberline". A narrower ...
, which means an ecosystem above the continuous forest line yet below the permanent snowline. This particular páramo is located at altitudes between and in the Eastern Ranges of the
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...
n
Andes
The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the List of longest mountain chains on Earth, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range ...
. It covers parts of the
municipalities
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality' ...
Mongua
Mongua is a town and municipality in Sugamuxi Province in the Colombian Department of Boyacá. Mongua is situated in the Eastern Ranges of the Colombian Andes at altitudes between and . The municipality borders Gámeza, Socotá, Pisba, Lab ...
and Tópaga, belonging to the Sugamuxi Province, Boyacá. The Ocetá Páramo is known for its collection of small shrubs called frailejones, as well as other Andean flora and fauna. Hiking tours from Monguí or Mongua to the páramo take a full day.
The Páramo de Ocetá in the times before the
Spanish conquest of the Muisca
The Spanish conquest of the Muisca took place from 1537 to 1540. The Muisca people, Muisca were the inhabitants of the central Andes, Andean highlands of Colombia before the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors. They were organised in a loose M ...
was inhabited by the
Muisca
The Muisca (also called the Chibcha) are indigenous peoples in Colombia and were a Pre-Columbian culture of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense that formed the Muisca Confederation before the Spanish colonization of the Americas. The Muisca spe ...
, loyal to the ''
iraca
The ''iraca'', sometimes spelled ''iraka'',Ocampo López, 2013, Ch.12, p.77Ocampo López, 2013, Ch.14, p.85 was the ruler and high priest of Sugamuxi in the confederation of the Muisca who inhabited the Altiplano Cundiboyacense; the central high ...
sacred
Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects ( ...
. Myths and legends exist from pre-Columbian and Spanish colonial times and in the lower part of the páramo the Muisca women gave birth in little man-made pools (''Tortolitas'').
The Ocetá Páramo is considered the most beautiful páramo in the world and one of the treasures of Colombia.
Description
The Ocetá Páramo is considered the most beautiful páramo in the world and one of the national treasures of Colombia.Ocetá, el páramo más bello en el mundo - El TiempoWills et al., 2001, p.117 It is located at from the Colombian capital
Bogotá
Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish Imperial period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city, capital and largest city ...
and from the departmental capital Tunja. Colombia is the country with the most páramos in the world; more than 60% of the Andean ecosystem is found within Colombian territories.Five unmissable Colombian páramos begging to be explored /ref> Boyacá is the department where 18.3% of the national total area is located.Nieto Escalante et al., 2010, p.75
Altiplano Cundiboyacense
The Altiplano Cundiboyacense () is a high plateau located in the Eastern Cordillera of the Colombian Andes covering parts of the departments of Cundinamarca and Boyacá. (Do not confuse with The Altiplano or the Altiplano Nariñense, both fur ...
, southwest of the Pisba National Natural Park and north of Siscuinsí Lake.N.N. - Monguí - Plan Ambiental, s.a., p.4 Farther to the northeast are the Sierra Nevada del Cocuy and to the southwest Lake Tota. The climate varies between in winter nights and on sunny days.Wills et al., 2001, p.116 Foggy blankets are common in the area.Objeciones del páramo más lindo del mundo - Universidad Sergio Arboleda
Páramos are "sponges"; sources of water for lower lying terrains and the Ocetá Páramo is no exception.Factores de formación de los suelos de páramo - Banco de la República In the upper part of the páramo, marshes and small lakes exist. The biggest waterbody is the Laguna Negra and the Calicanto, Tejar and Morro Rivers as well as numerous creeks (''quebradas'') have their origin on the Páramo de Ocetá. The Penagos waterfall feeds the Laguna Negra.Páramo de Ocetá /ref>
File:Boyaca Topographic 2.png, Topography of Boyacá
File:Fog - Páramo de Ocetá.jpg, Fog at the Ocetá Páramo
File:Creeks - Páramo de Ocetá.jpg, Creeks on the páramo
File:Marshes - Páramo de Ocetá.jpg, Marshes in Ocetá
File:Laguna Negra - Páramo de Ocetá.jpg, Laguna Negra
File:Cascada Laguna Negra, Mongua, Boyacá.JPG, Penagos waterfall
Geology
The Ocetá Páramo is part of the El Cocuy sub-basin, an inverted basin in the Eastern Ranges.Sarmiento Rojas et al., 2006, p.384 During the
Hauterivian
The Hauterivian is, in the geologic timescale, an age in the Early Cretaceous Epoch or a stage in the Lower Cretaceous Series. It spans the time between 132.6 ± 2 Ma and 125.77 (million years ago). The Hauterivian is preceded by the Valangi ...
, the El Cocuy and Tablazo sub-basins formed a continuous basin due to the flooding of the Santander-Floresta paleohigh.Sarmiento Rojas et al., 2006, p.390 The main uplift in the Eastern Ranges occurred between the late
Oligocene
The Oligocene ( ) is a geologic epoch (geology), epoch of the Paleogene Geologic time scale, Period that extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present ( to ). As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that defin ...
and
Pleistocene
The Pleistocene ( ; referred to colloquially as the ''ice age, Ice Age'') is the geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fin ...
, with increased tectonic uplift in the Plio-Pleistocene.Hoorn et al., 1995, p.238 The
Neogene
The Neogene ( ,) is a geologic period and system that spans 20.45 million years from the end of the Paleogene Period million years ago ( Mya) to the beginning of the present Quaternary Period million years ago. It is the second period of th ...
compression led to the formation of
alluvial fan
An alluvial fan is an accumulation of sediments that fans outwards from a concentrated source of sediments, such as a narrow canyon emerging from an escarpment. They are characteristic of mountainous terrain in arid to Semi-arid climate, semiar ...
s in the intermontane valleys of the Eastern Cordillera.
Pollen
Pollen is a powdery substance produced by most types of flowers of seed plants for the purpose of sexual reproduction. It consists of pollen grains (highly reduced Gametophyte#Heterospory, microgametophytes), which produce male gametes (sperm ...
analysis has shown the transition from lowland tropical forests to colder mountainous vegetation over the last 5 million years.Hoorn et al., 1995, p.239 The youngest uplifted eastern chain of the Colombian Andes formed the provenance area for the
Magdalena River
The Magdalena River (, ; less commonly ) is the main river of Colombia, flowing northward about through the western half of the country. It takes its name from the biblical figure Mary Magdalene. It is navigable through much of its lower reaches, ...
.Hoorn et al., 1995, p.240 In the vicinity of the area of Ocetá, to the southwest in Iza and
Paipa
Paipa is a town and municipality in the Tundama Province, a part of the Colombian department of Boyacá. Paipa borders Duitama, Firavitoba, Tibasosa, Sotaquirá and Tuta.Paleocene
The Paleocene ( ), or Palaeocene, is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 66 to 56 mya (unit), million years ago (mya). It is the first epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), ...
sandstones and shales of the Socha Formation in the ''Peña de Ortí'', and the
Late Cretaceous
The Late Cretaceous (100.5–66 Ma) is the more recent of two epochs into which the Cretaceous Period is divided in the geologic time scale. Rock strata from this epoch form the Upper Cretaceous Series. The Cretaceous is named after ''cre ...
coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other Chemical element, elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen.
Coal i ...
seams that are mined in the area.N.N. - Monguí - resumen esquema ordenamiento territorial, s.a., p.7 The Cretaceous-Paleocene Guaduas Formation is the most important source for the rich coal deposits in the Andean interior of Colombia.Amaya et al., 2010
During the
Miocene
The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ...
, establishing the current ecosystem in the
Pliocene
The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch (geology), epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.33 to 2.58frailejones, that are plants of the
genus
Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...
''
Espeletia
''Espeletia'', commonly known as 'frailejones' ("big monks"), is a genus of perennial subshrubs, in the family Asteraceae. The genus, which is native mainly to Colombia, Venezuela and Ecuador, was first formally described in 1808. The genus was n ...
Tropicos
Tropicos is an online botanical database containing taxonomic information on plants, mainly from the Neotropical realm ( Central, and South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Sou ...
Lupinus luisanae var. ocetensis
''Lupinus'', commonly known as lupin, lupine, or regionally bluebonnet, is a genus of plants in the legume family Fabaceae. The genus includes over 199 species, with centres of diversity in North and South America. Smaller centres occur in No ...
moss
Mosses are small, non-vascular plant, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic phylum, division Bryophyta (, ) ''sensu stricto''. Bryophyta (''sensu lato'', Wilhelm Philippe Schimper, Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryo ...
es and
lychen
Lychen (), also known as ''Flößerstadt'' (raftsman city), is a town in the Uckermark district, in Brandenburg, Germany. It is situated southeast of Neustrelitz, and east of Fürstenberg/Havel. This is the town where the thumbtack was created. ...
.Barney Duran, 2011, p.9Páramo Ecosystem /ref>
File:Pentacalia vernicosa - Páramo de Ocetá.jpg, ''Pentacalia vernicosa''
File:Ageratina tinifolia - Páramo de Ocetá.jpg, ''Ageratina tinifolia''
File:Calamagrostis effusa - Páramo de Ocetá.jpg, ''Calamagrostis effusa'' and ''Espeletia''
File:Bidens andicola - Páramo de Ocetá.jpg, ''Bidens andicola''
File:Lupinus alopecuroides 2 - Páramo de Ocetá.jpg, ''L. luisanae''
File:Gentianella - Páramo de Ocetá.jpg, ''Viola'' sp.
Fauna
Among the fauna that can be observed on the páramo are
Andean condor
The Andean condor (''Vultur gryphus'') is a South American New World vulture and is the only member of the genus ''Vultur''. It is found in the Andes mountains and adjacent Pacific coasts of western South America. With a maximum wingspan of and ...
,
black agouti
The black agouti (''Dasyprocta fuliginosa'') is a South American species of agouti from the family Dasyproctidae.
Distribution and habitat
It is found in the northwestern Amazon in southern Venezuela, eastern Colombia, eastern Ecuador, wester ...
,
eastern cottontail
The eastern cottontail (''Sylvilagus floridanus'') is a New World cottontail rabbit, a member of the family Leporidae. It is the most common rabbit species in North America.
Distribution
The eastern cottontail can be found in meadows and shrub ...
,
frog
A frog is any member of a diverse and largely semiaquatic group of short-bodied, tailless amphibian vertebrates composing the order (biology), order Anura (coming from the Ancient Greek , literally 'without tail'). Frog species with rough ski ...
spectacled bear
The spectacled bear (''Tremarctos ornatus''), also known as the South American bear, Andean bear, Andean short-faced bear or mountain bear and locally as jukumari ( Aymara and Quechua), ukumari ( Quechua) or ukuku, is a species of bear native to ...
,
white-tailed deer
The white-tailed deer (''Odocoileus virginianus''), also known Common name, commonly as the whitetail and the Virginia deer, is a medium-sized species of deer native to North America, North, Central America, Central and South America. It is the ...
. The spectacled bear is very rare and possibly extinct.Ocetá, una de las últimas maravillas ambientales - El Tiempo The white tailed deer, the main ingredient of the diet of the Muisca and pre-Muisca, has been extensively hunted and captured over time.
File:Colca-condor-c03.jpg, Andean condor
File:Dasyprocta fuliginosa2.JPG, Black agouti
File:CottontallRabbit.jpg, Eastern cottontail
File:()Guagua.jpg, Mountain paca
File:Oso andino Porcon.jpg, Spectacled bear
File:Whitetail-deer-1 - West Virginia - ForestWander.jpg, White-tailed deer
History
The Páramo de Ocetá was a
sacred
Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects ( ...
place for the
Muisca
The Muisca (also called the Chibcha) are indigenous peoples in Colombia and were a Pre-Columbian culture of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense that formed the Muisca Confederation before the Spanish colonization of the Americas. The Muisca spe ...
, who inhabited the Altiplano Cundiboyacense and surrounding areas before the
Spanish conquest
The Spanish Empire, sometimes referred to as the Hispanic Monarchy or the Catholic Monarchy, was a colonial empire that existed between 1492 and 1976. In conjunction with the Portuguese Empire, it ushered in the European Age of Discovery. It ...
Along the route from Monguí to the highest point of the Ocetá Páramo, a series of sights are present. From most of the route, to the (south)west, a view of the Duitama-Sogamoso Valley, especially the settlements of Tibasosa, Nobsa and
Duitama
Duitama () is a city and municipality in the department of Boyacá. It's the capital of the Tundama Province. Duitama is located northeast of Bogotá, the capital of Colombia and northeast of Tunja, the capital of Boyacá. In 2023 Duitama had ...
, is visible. From the ''Mirador de Cóndores'' and the ''Cerro de Águilas'' on clear days it is possible to see the snowy peaks of the Sierra Nevada del Cocuy and even the Llanos Orientales.Wills et al., 2001, p.118
Tortolitas
The ''Tortolitas'' (English: "Sweethearts") are oval-shaped depressions that were made by the Muisca. They served as "baths" where the Muisca women bore their babies. Close to the Tortolitas, Muisca petroglyphs have been found.
File:Tortolitas - Páramo de Ocetá - Mongui - Colombia.jpg, Rock formation where the ''Tortolitas'' are made
File:Tortolita 1 - Páramo de Ocetá - Monguí - Colombia.jpg, ''Tortolita''
File:Tortolita 2 - Páramo de Ocetá - Monguí - Colombia.jpg, ''Tortolita''
File:Muisca Petroglyphs - Páramo de Ocetá.jpg, Muisca petroglyphs
File:Muisca Petroglyph 2 - Páramo de Ocetá.jpg, Muisca petroglyph
File:Muisca Petroglyphs 2 - Páramo de Ocetá.jpg, Muisca petroglyphs
Peña de Otí
The ''Peña de Otí'' (English: "Rock of Otí") is an
outcrop
An outcrop or rocky outcrop is a visible exposure of bedrock or ancient superficial deposits on the surface of the Earth and other terrestrial planets.
Features
Outcrops do not cover the majority of the Earth's land surface because in most p ...
of alternating
shale
Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock formed from mud that is a mix of flakes of Clay mineral, clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g., Kaolinite, kaolin, aluminium, Al2Silicon, Si2Oxygen, O5(hydroxide, OH)4) and tiny f ...
s and
sandstone
Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...
s of the Socha Formation. It is observed to the southwest from the main trail leading to the ''Mirador de los Cóndores'' on the páramo. The rocks of the ''Peña de Otí'' were used to construct the churches and convent in Monguí. Legends about the Peña include tales of witches dancing with the devil on October 31, the origin of the scratches on the rock face from the devil who was riding a donkey on the hilltop and fell down, when the hoofs created the scratches and that the hill opened one day revealing the Calicanto Bridge and church made of gold. The end of the world would come when the hill closed again.Recursos y reservas naturales - Monguí /ref>
Caja del Rey
The ''Caja del Rey'' (English: "The King's Box") is a
monolith
A monolith is a geological feature consisting of a single massive stone or rock, such as some mountains. Erosion usually exposes the geological formations, which are often made of very hard and solid igneous or metamorphic rock. Some monolit ...
of about high, wide and long. Legend says it is a box of rock with a lid on top where the ''
cacique
A cacique, sometimes spelled as cazique (; ; feminine form: ), was a tribal chieftain of the Taíno people, who were the Indigenous inhabitants of the Bahamas, the Greater Antilles, and the northern Lesser Antilles at the time of European cont ...
'' Sanoha hid a fifteen-year-old girl inside, who during a night in April exited naked. The monolith contains an upper part where a natural fractured zone has been excavated more by humans. The rock is also a viewpoint for the western area.
Ciudad de Piedra
''Ciudad de Piedra'' or ''Ciudad Perdida'' (English: "The Stone or Lost City"), not to be confused with its famous counterpart in the
Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta
The Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta (English: ''Snow-Covered Mountain Range of Saint Martha'') is an isolated mountain range in northern Colombia, separate from the Andes range that runs through the north of the country. Reaching an elevation of ...
, is a series of rock formations of high, wide and long.Visita el Páramo de Ocetá /ref> In the ''Ciudad de Piedra'', a tabular stone, thought to have served for human sacrifices, called ''Mesa de los Sacrificios'' is present.Monguí - caravana de comercio, industria y turismo /ref>
''El Pulpito del Diablo'' (English: "The Devil's Pulpit") is a raised mesa-type hill to the south of the main hiking trail on the Páramo de Ocetá.
File:Ciudad de Piedra Entrance - Páramo de Ocetá.jpg, ''Ciudad de Piedra''
File:Ciudad de Piedra - Páramo de Ocetá.jpg, ''Ciudad de Piedra''
File:Ciudad de Piedra Moss - Páramo de Ocetá.jpg, Moss at the ''Ciudad de Piedra''
File:Ciudad de Piedra Moss 2 - Páramo de Ocetá.jpg, Moss at the ''Ciudad de Piedra''
File:Mesa de los Sacrificios - Páramo de Ocetá.jpg, ''Mesa de los Sacrificios''
File:El Pulpito del Diablo - Páramo de Ocetá.jpg, ''El Pulpito del Diablo''
Playa de los Frailejones
The ''Playa'' or ''Valle de Frailejones'' or ''Jardines de Ocetá'' (English: "Frailejon Beach or Valley" or "Ocetá Gardens") is a relatively flat portion on the páramo where a large quantity of frailejones are growing. The frailejones grow a year.
Cerro de Águilas
The ''Cerro de Águilas'' (English: "Eagles Hill") is a hill on the páramo consisting of alternating shales and sandstone formations of the Guadalupe Group.
Mirador de Cóndores
The ''Mirador de Cóndores'' (English: "Condor Viewpoint") is the highest point of the páramo and offers a view on the Laguna Negra.
Andean condor
The Andean condor (''Vultur gryphus'') is a South American New World vulture and is the only member of the genus ''Vultur''. It is found in the Andes mountains and adjacent Pacific coasts of western South America. With a maximum wingspan of and ...
s can be sighted from this viewpoint.
Laguna Negra
''Laguna Negra'' (English: "Black Lake") is a permanent lake on the páramo that can be viewed from the ''Cerro de Águilas'' or the ''Mirador de Cóndores''. The lake drains towards Mongua and it is possible to reach from that village. Legend tells that a young boy is living in the lake, whose singing can be heard close to the Penagos waterfall.Hurtado Caro, 2012
Tourism
The Ocetá Páramo is mostly accessed from Monguí along the ''Camino de la Otra Vida''; a full-day hike, ascending and back descending , that takes between six and eleven hours. A steep and pebbly access to the Ocetá Páramo is indicated with a gate called ''Portal de la Gloria''. It is possible to access the páramo by horse and do wild camping on the páramo. The use of a trained guide is recommended, as the journey contains many paths and the sudden mist can be cold and dangerous due to the loss of orientation.Hiking the most beautiful páramo of Colombia /ref> The best months to visit the páramo are November and December.
An alternative route towards the Ocetá Páramo starts in Mongua and reaches the Laguna Negra first.
File:La Otra Vida - Access to Páramo de Ocetá - Monguí.jpg, Camino ''La Otra Vida''; access from Monguí to the Páramo
File:Portal de la Gloria - Páramo de Ocetá.jpg, ''Portal de la Gloria''
File:No hunting or making fires - Páramo de Ocetá.jpg, Hunting and making fires is forbidden
File:Wild Camping - Páramo de Ocetá.jpg, Wild camping on the Ocetá Páramo
File:Parque de Mongua 4.JPG, Mongua gives an alternative access to the Páramo
File:Cabalgata - Páramo de Ocetá.jpg, Horseriders on the Páramo
See also
*
Páramo
Páramo () may refer to a variety of alpine tundra ecosystems located in the Andes Mountain Range, South America. Some ecologists describe the páramo broadly as "all high, tropical, montane vegetation above the continuous timberline". A narrower ...
*
Sumapaz Páramo
Sumapaz Páramo (Spanish: ''Páramo de Sumapaz'' - meaning "Utterly peaceful moorland" ) is a large páramo ecosystem located in the Altiplano Cundiboyacense mountain range, considered the largest páramo ecosystem in the world. It was decla ...
religion
Religion is a range of social system, social-cultural systems, including designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics in religion, ethics, or ...