Map of Colombia: Departments, Capitals, Major Cities, Borders, and Roads

Discovering Colombia: Cities, Major Cities, Departments, and Roads Mapped for Exploration

Map of Colombia. Colombia map with cities. Major cities, departments, and road networks. Detailed map. Best map. Use this guide like a companion while you look at the map. Every name below matches places you can read on the image, so that you can find cities, departments, borders, and the primary travel corridors fast.

Country briefs and key facts for Colombia

• Official name: Republic of Colombia

• Capital: Bogotá D. C.

• Population: about 52 million

• Languages: Spanish is the official language; many indigenous languages are used regionally

• Currency: Colombian Peso (COP)

• Largest metro areas shown: Bogotá, Medellín, Cali, Barranquilla, Cartagena

• Central physical regions: Caribbean coast, Pacific coast, three Andes ranges, Llanos plains, Amazon jungle

• Air gateways on the map: Bogotá, Medellín, Cali, Barranquilla, Cartagena, Bucaramanga, Cúcuta, Pereira, Santa Marta, Leticia

• Travel spines you can follow: Caribbean coastal highway from Riohacha to Montería and Cartagena; Andean route Medellín–Manizales–Pereira–Armenia–Ibagué–Cali–Popayán–Pasto; Llanos route Bogotá–Villavicencio–Yopal–Arauca.

Caribbean Coast and Northern Andes

How to read this map

• A red square marks a capital such as Bogotá.

• Red dots show major cities and towns.

• Thin red lines trace the road-light corridors that link regions.

• Blue text marks seas, gulfs, rivers, and international borders.

Northwest corner of the Guajira Peninsula

At the top right of the coast, you will see La Guajira touching Venezuela. The capital, Riohacha, is on the shoreline. The corridor continues southwest to Magdalena, whose capital, Santa Marta, sits below the high Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta.

Next is Atlántico with the big port city of Barranquilla at the mouth of the Magdalena River. Keep following the coastal route into Bolívar, where the map highlights Cartagena de Indias, a famous walled city and department capital.

Southwest of Cartagena, the coast passes Sucre, anchored by Sincelejo a little inland, and then Córdoba with capital Montería on the Sinú River. A feeder corridor turns inland toward Antioquia.

Antioquia and the Gulf of Urabá

The department of Antioquia is large and central in the northwest. The capital, Medellín, is situated in a valley and is clearly marked. Nearby, you can spot Bello, Itagüí, and Envigado within the metro. Further west, the map shows the Gulf of Urabá coast and road links through Apartadó and Turbo, which connect back to Medellín.

Chocó on the Pacific Rim

West of Antioquia, Chocó touches both the Caribbean and the Pacific. The capital, Quibdó, appears on the Atrato River. Note how few cross-Andes roads reach the coast here; that is true to the rainforest terrain you see.

The Santanderes and Boyacá

East of Antioquia and north of Bogotá lie Santander and Norte de Santander. Bucaramanga is the capital of Santander, with nearby Floridablanca and Girón on the map. Cúcuta is the capital of Norte de Santander, near the Venezuelan line, with border towns shown along the river. Southward lies Boyacá, with its capital, Tunja, and cities such as Duitama and Sogamoso, along a well-marked corridor.

Cundinamarca and Bogotá D. C.

The red square for the national capital, Bogotá, stands out in Cundinamarca. Around it, you will notice Soacha, Facatativá, Zipaquirá, and Chía. Major roads radiate from Bogotá west toward the Magdalena valley, north to Boyacá and the Santanderes, and southeast toward the Llanos.

Coffee Axis, Pacific South, Llanos, and Amazon

Coffee Axis and the central Andes

Southwest of Bogotá, three small departments form the Eje Cafetero or Coffee Axis:

• Caldas, with the capital Manizales, is high on a ridge.

• Risaralda with the capital Pereira.

• Quindío, with its capital, Armenia, is on the road to the Cauca Valley.

Follow the corridor into Valle del Cauca. The capital, Santiago de Cali, is the largest city in the southwest, with the port of Buenaventura on the Pacific. East of Valle lies Tolima, with capital Ibagué, and south of Tolima, you will see Huila with capital Neiva along the Magdalena River.

Southwest to the Ecuador line

The next band is Cauca, whose capital, Popayán, sits in the central valley. Farther south, Nariño reaches the border with Ecuador. Its capital, Pasto, is inland, and the Pacific port Tumaco is labeled on the coast. You can trace the road corridor that crosses Ipiales to Ecuador.

The Llanos Orientales to Venezuela and the Orinoco

East of the Andes, the landscape opens into plains:

• Meta, with capital Villavicencio, is the gateway from Bogotá to the plains.

• Casanare, with capital Yopal, stretches toward the foothills.

• Arauca, with its capital, Arauca, sits on the border river with Venezuela.

• Vichada, with capital Puerto Carreño, reaches the Orinoco.

Southern Amazonia and deep jungle departments

The southeast is mostly rainforest with river towns as anchors:

• Guaviare, with San José del Guaviare, lies just beyond Meta.

• Vaupés with Mitú appear along river bends.

• Guainía, with Puerto Inírida, touches Venezuela and Brazil.

• Caquetá, with Florencia, lies south of Huila.

• Putumayo with Mocoa borders Ecuador and Peru.

• Amazonas, with Leticia, sits at the corner tri-border with Brazil and Peru, marked on the Amazon River.

Borders and waters you can read on the map.

• Caribbean Sea north of Cartagena, Barranquilla, and Santa Marta.

• Pacific Ocean along Chocó, Valle del Cauca, Cauca and Nariño.

• International borders with Panama to the northwest, Venezuela to the east and northeast, Brazil to the southeast, Peru to the south, and Ecuador to the southwest.