Ocetá Páramo
| Ocetá Páramo | |
|---|---|
Ciudad de Piedra and frailejones on the Ocetá Páramo | |
| Ecology | |
| Realm | Neotropic |
| Biome | Páramo |
| Borders |
|
| Animals | Andean condor, black agouti, eastern cottontail, mountain paca, spectacled bear, white-tailed deer |
| Geography | |
| Area | 57.711 km2 (22.282 sq mi) |
| Country | Colombia |
| State | Monguí, Mongua, Tópaga Sugamuxi Province, Boyacá |
| Elevation | 2,950 metres (9,680 ft) to 3,950 metres (12,960 ft) |
| Coordinates | 5°42′39.5″N 72°47′52.2″W / 5.710972°N 72.797833°W |
| Geology | Paleocene: Socha Formation Cretaceous: Guaduas, Guadalupe & Chipaque Formations Basin: El Cocuy sub-basin Orogen: Eastern Ranges Mountain range: Andes |
| Rivers | Calicanto, Morro & Tejar Rivers |
| Climate type | Cf |
.png){kind=link}
The Ocetá Páramo (Spanish: Páramo de Ocetá) is a páramo, which means an ecosystem above the continuous forest line yet below the permanent snowline. This particular páramo is located at altitudes between 2,950 metres (9,680 ft) and 3,950 metres (12,960 ft) in the Eastern Ranges of the Colombian Andes. It covers parts of the municipalities Monguí, Mongua and Tópaga, belonging to the Sugamuxi Province, Boyacá. The Ocetá Páramo is known for its collection of small shrubs called frailejones, as well as other Andean flora and fauna. Hiking tours from Monguí or Mongua to the páramo take a full day.
The Páramo de Ocetá in the times before the Spanish conquest of the Muisca was inhabited by the Muisca, loyal to the iraca of Suamox, who considered the region sacred. Myths and legends exist from pre-Columbian and Spanish colonial times and in the lower part of the páramo the Muisca women gave birth in little man-made pools (Tortolitas).
The Ocetá Páramo is considered the most beautiful páramo in the world and one of the treasures of Colombia.