In the crater of a semi-dormant volcano in southwestern Colombia lies a sacred lake of startling green that used to attract a steady stream of trash-throwing tourists before indigenous leaders took back control.
Climbing the Azufral volcano, which rises to 4,070 meters (2.5 miles) in the western Colombian Andes, is not for the faint-hearted.
It is also not for uninvited people. Only those who receive the nod from the governor of the local indigenous Pastos community are allowed to pass.
“The spirits of the lake do not like to be disturbed. We must ask their permission,” said Jorge Arevalo, a 41-year-old member of the lake’s indigenous guard.
A handful of security guards accompanied AFP last month on a rare visit to the lake – a shimmering body of water three kilometers wide in ever-changing shades of emerald, olive and turquoise, surrounded by sandy beaches.
Before the two-hour ascension, the guards performed a ritual led by a taita (shaman) in honor of the life cycle.
Each member of the party then asked the spirits for permission to climb the volcano to view the beauty of the lake and apologized for disturbing the flora, fauna and tranquility of a place sacred to the Pastos.
A prayer to Pacha Mama – the goddess of Mother Earth revered by the peoples of the Andes – and the Virgin Mary, a dash of perfume for ‘spiritual cleansing’ and the climb began.
– Not so hidden gem –
For a long time, the Laguna Verde (Green Lake) was one of Colombia’s best-kept secrets. The country’s daily newspaper El Tiempo described it as a hidden treasure in 2011.
But once the secret came to light, the lake became overrun with tourists.
“There were up to 1,500 people a day, it was really invasive,” Diego Fernando Bolanos, head of tourism for Narino, told AFP.
Some tourists started roaring up the volcano with their motorbikes, feces were found in the drinking water and some of the reserve’s tall espeletia plants, emblematic of the local paramo ecosystem, were trampled.
In September 2017, the Pastos, who own the land, took the ultimate step of closing the lake and surrounding 7,503-hectare reserve to save it – a decision that was approved by local authorities in 2018.
The cleanup took weeks.
“There was rubbish everywhere,” Arevalo said in disgust.
– Sustainable tourism –
Seven years later, the reserve is again pristine, with no sign of human presence beyond the climbing path.
The guard conducts regular patrols to ward off intruders.
Those who do not comply with the ban usually get off with a warning.
“I didn’t know it was forbidden,” Inga, a Dutch hiker in her 40s who climbed the volcano and camped at the entrance to the reserve, told AFP.
‘It’s beautiful up there. They are right to close it,” she said.
Pastos’ management of the site will be spotlighted during the upcoming UN COP16 biodiversity conference in the Colombian city of Cali, which starts on Sunday.
The European Union has invited the Indigenous Guard to the summit for a discussion on sustainable tourism management.
“The Pastos protect a sacred place essential to their culture, but also a high mountain ecosystem that is fundamental for the conservation of water and the cycle of the seasons in the Amazon,” said the EU Ambassador to Colombia, Gilles Bertrand. AFP.
He added that the work will help maintain “the climate balance of Europe and the whole world.”
However, among the Pastos, and in the wider Narino department, one of Colombia’s poorest, some are keen to see the lake reopened as a potential money spinner.
Bolanos, head of tourism in the area, called for a more sustainable model.
“The idea is to conduct a carrying capacity study so that only ten to twenty people can visit per day,” he said.
Arevalo said he was “not against” the idea.
“We are against uncontrolled tourism,” he said.
hba/cb
