Amazonas

Colombia's largest department by area and smallest by economic contribution—Amazonas spans 109,665 square kilometers yet generates only 0.07% of national GDP. This paradox defines the region: immense ecological wealth, minimal formal economy. Leticia, the capital, sits at the triple border where Colombia, Brazil, and Peru converge, making it possible to breakfast in three countries. The city grew as a trading post during the rubber boom; it became Colombian in 1922 when a boundary settlement resolved decades of Peruvian-Colombian tension.

Approximately 26 indigenous ethnic groups (Tikuna, Huitoto, Yagua among them) number 46,000 members across the department. Their territories constitute most of the land, protected by collective title but vulnerable to illegal mining and logging incursions. Ecotourism offers an alternative economy: pink river dolphins at Lago de Tarapoto, canopy walks at Tanimboca Reserve, and homestays in Puerto Nariño—a car-free town of 6,000 where residents travel by foot or canoe. Remoteness kept Amazonas free from guerrilla violence when other departments burned.

By 2026, Amazonas will test whether ecotourism can scale without destroying what tourists come to see. Visitor numbers to Leticia have grown steadily, but infrastructure remains thin and conservation enforcement thinner. If indigenous-led tourism models prove viable and deforestation slows, Amazonas could demonstrate how tropical forests generate value standing rather than logged. If not, its 0.07% GDP contribution understates a loss the global climate cannot afford.