A hummingbird sanctuary on the outskirts of Colombia’s capital Bogota is providing a picturesque respite from the noise and stresses of big city living.
The Paramuno corridor was inaugurated in recent weeks on Monserrate hill in a forest reserve east of the city, letting bird watchers delight in watching the tiny creatures flutter their wings through binoculars and capturing them with camera lenses.
“Sometimes it doesn’t seem real because we are close to a city of eight million inhabitants who generate noise every day,” said trail supervisor Camilo Cantor, while mixing water and sugar for feeders hung along the 300-metre path.
“You can hear noise from the city, the generation of pollution, aggressiveness. This trail in Monserrate is like an oasis, where a person can come, let go of their stress and excess baggage.”
A visitor to the trail on a good birding day can see on average from 25 to 35 different species of birds, said Cantor.
Ten years ago, workers began the recovery of the deforested hill. Currently, 115 species of birds have been spotted, including 18 types of hummingbirds and some migratory species.
Hummingbirds are a unique species on the American continent and found in great diversity in Colombia.
The sanctuary of Monserrate in the eastern hills of Bogotá can be seen from almost anywhere in the city. It is located at 3,172 meters above sea level, at the top of Monserrate or Cerro de Las Nieves. Devotees walk up an almost two mile path to this traditional site of religious pilgrimage, which began in 1620 with the shrine of Our Lady of Monserrate.
The basilica houses the image of the Fallen Lord of Monserrate, an effigy of Christ which, according to the faithful, performs miracles, and at the top visitors can walk the Stations of the Cross.