Nearest city Manizales Governing body SINAP | Established 1973 | |
 | ||
Location Caldas, Risaralda, Quindío and Tolima, Colombia Area 58,300 hectares (225 sq mi) | ||
Los Nevados National Natural Park (Spanish: Parque Nacional Natural Los Nevados) is a national park located in the Cordillera Central of the Colombian Andes. The 5,300-metre-high (17,400 ft) volcano Nevado del Ruiz dominates Los Nevados. Out of the 55 protected areas in Colombia, Los Nevados National Natural Park was the third most visited in 2009, with 50,045 visitors. The most visited was the Rosario and San Bernardo Corals National Natural Park followed by the Tayrona National Natural Park.
Contents
General
In addition to Nevado del Ruiz, seven other volcanoes are located in the area: Nevado del Tolima, Santa Isabel, Nevado del Quindío, Páramo de Santa Rosa, Cerro Bravo, Cerro Machín and Nevado El Cisne.
Glacial activity has shaped the landscape 3,000 m (9,800 ft) above mean sea level, leaving U-shaped valleys and moraines behind. Extrusive igneous rock are dominant above 3,500 m (11,500 ft) on the eastern slope and 2,200 m (7,200 ft) on the western slope. The Otún Lake lying in extinct volcano crater and Green Lake are located in the area.
The park's hydrographic networks supply water to over 2,000,000 coffee-growers in the region and to most of the rice and cotton crops in the Tolima Department.
The park is located in the departments of Caldas, Quindío, Risaralda, Tolima and divided in the municipalities Villamaría, Santa Rosa de Cabal, Pereira, Salento and Ibagué.
Flora and fauna
The area is home to 1250 species of vascular plants, 200 bryophytes, 300 lichens and 180 macroscopic fungi.
On the lower slopes and in the valleys the Andean wax palms are dominant. The upper Andean forest has trees reaching up to 30 m (98 ft) in height.
Noteworthy birds include blue-crowned motmot, yellow-eared parrot, Fuertes's parrot, rufous-fronted parakeet, Andean condor, brown-banded antpitta and ruddy duck. The bearded helmetcrest hummingbird is endemic to the region. Noteworthy mammals include the mountain tapir, spectacled bear, northern pudú, oncilla, cougar and white-eared opossum.