Travel Guide Puerto Carreño

This small town of 17,000 inhabitants is the capital of Vichada, the largest department in the country after Amazonas. It lives on cross-border trade (more or less legal) and fishing. Located across from the Venezuelan town of Puerto Páez, Puerto Carreño is surrounded by powerful rivers: the Orinoco to the east, the Meta to the north, and the Bita to the south. These rivers are among the most fishy in the world. There is an incredible quantity of fish species, some of which are eaten in the cantinas of the port, others with magnificent designs and colors, which end up in aquariums in China or Japan. The city was built on a black granite rock, whose elevations can be seen everywhere. The city was once called El Picacho (the Peak) in reference to its steep rocky hills, which give it a certain charm. Puerto Carreño is a friendly and relaxed town, clean and green, with mango trees everywhere!