Puracé National Natural Park 3.16

The Puracé National Natural Park is a national park located in the Andean Region of Colombia, southeast of the city of Popayán in the Cordillera Central range. Its main feature is the active stratovolcano Puracé, one of Colombia's most active volcanoes. Four of the country's most important rivers originate within the area: Magdalena River, Cauca River, Japurá River and Patía River.GeneralIt was established in 1961 as the first national park in the Cauca Department. During the 1990s the FARC guerrilla used the park as a base camp, but it has been cleaned of the forces since 2002 after the President of Colombia Álvaro Uribe's campaign against the movement.The only active volcano in the area is Puracé at 4580m above mean sea level. In addition there are two higher volcanoes, Azúcar at 5000m and Coconuco at 4600m, and four more with and elevation between 4400m and 4500m.ClimateThe highest daytime temperatures are between 14and, and the coldest nighttime temperatures below freezing. The average yearly rainfall is 2500mm and tend to decrease as elevation increases. Frost occurs frequently above 3000m and almost daily above 4200m.