Laguna Grande de la Sierra

Zizuma is the U’wa people’s name for the Sierra Nevada del Cocuy in Colombia. The paths that ascend to its snow-capped summits cross through valleys of frailejones and meet endless streams flowing down from glaciers that sculpt the mountain as they melt. The rivers form ponds that reflect the green hues of the high mountain and the white tones of the glaciers. One of them is the Laguna Grande de la Sierra which reflects four snowy peaks. Decades ago, they made up one glacier which submerged itself in the pond breaking off icebergs. The rapid retreat of mountain glaciers has separated them and they no longer touch the pond. Towards the west, the waters flown down from Zizuma’s glaciers to end up in the Chicamocha river that carves its way through an imposing canyon and flows into the Magdalena river, which in turn crosses Colombia to give its waters to the Caribbean Sea. Towards the East, these glacier waters join the Arauca river connecting to the great Orinoco. After crossing mountain ranges, plains, jungles and swampy forests in Venezuela, the Orinoco joins the Atlantic Ocean. This is water’s journey through the tropical Andes: from the snowy mountains to the seas.