The Rio Caño Cristales, also known as “the river that ran away to paradise”, “the most beautiful river in the world”, and “the river of five colours”. is world famous for its colorful display, located near the town of La Macarena in Colombia, South America.

During a brief span between the wet and dry seasons , when the water level is just right, the many varieties of algae and moss located at the bottom of the river, bloom in a brilliant display of colors. Areas of yellow, blue, green, black, and red – and a thousand shades in between – coat the river.

See more (and bigger) images after the jump.

The part of the river where the colorful blooms occur is quite isolated and is not accessible by road. Adventurous tourists can now fly into La Macarena and then make their way to to the river site on foot as part of guided tours. The site was effectively closed to tourists for several years because of guerrilla activity in the region along with concerns about the impact of unregulated tourist traffic. However, the site was reopened to visitors in 2009. So far, only about 1,000 people have visited Caño Cristales, including around 100 foreign tourists.