Travel question: What are Colombia’s unmissable attractions?

Q I may soon be sent by my company to Bogota in Colombia. I like to combine work travel with some exploration. What would you advise in the city and/or beyond?

Name withheld

A In terms of sheer drama and diversity, my two favourite South American countries are Colombia and Venezuela. Each distils the best of the continent – dramatic mountain scenery, lush Amazonian jungle, intricate history and vibrant culture – into a single nation.

Even though Venezuela is sadly off-limits at present, Colombia is a marvellous place to explore. The best way to get there is on the excellent Avianca 787 link from Heathrow to Bogota (overnight both ways – great for passengers, not so good for flight crew).

The capital has been transformed since I first went there in the dark and dangerous days of the 1990s, and is an excellent destination for a couple of days. The formerly potentially lethal colonial “village” of La Candelaria is now safe, colourful and lively.

But the real joys of Colombia lie beyond the capital. Head north for the superb Spanish colonial stronghold of Cartagena and the sheer joy of Tayrona National Park, beyond the Caribbean resort of Santa Marta. You could alternatively visit the Panamanian border area, and perhaps even fix up a hiking trip into the Darien Gap (after taking plenty of local and Foreign Office advice).

The city of Medellin is fresh and lovely, with its days as cocaine capital behind it. The surrounding countryside is magnificent, and further south Cali, Popayan and Pasto comprise a diminishing series of cities with extravagant charms. You might go a short way west to Quibdo, one of the wettest places in the world, or to the sultry Amazon basin around Leticia (on the Brazilian border).

Before you go, you might want to read The Fruit Palace by Charles Nicholl, a great yarn about Colombia in the late 1980s.

Every day our travel correspondent Simon Calder tackles a reader’s question. Just email yours to s@hols.tv or tweet @simoncalder