I invite you to discover all you need to know about the Apaporis River, a long Amazon river in Colombia and one of the tributaries of the Caquetá River, read on to the end and you will be fascinated by all the information about this important river.
Map of the Apaporis River
This extensive river has its origin in the department of Meta, municipality of Macarena exactly in the table of Pardos, it is the result of two rivers that are the River Tunia and the River Ajajú. It has an extensive course of 1,200 kilometres and ends its course in the Caquetá River.
The Apaporis River forms the north-eastern border of the departments of Caquetá and Guaviare. And in its upper zone, between Caquetá and Vaupés. It also forms the border between Colombia and Brazil.
The Apaporis River flows through the departments of Caquetá, Guaviare, Vaupés and Amazonas. It is not much used for navigation due to its streams, the most important of which is the Tirijirimo. The waters of the Apaporis River are black due to the sediments it carries.
This majestic river is fed by three fairly long rivers: on the left bank, when it passes through Buenos Aires de Lérida, it receives the Cananarí River, which is two hundred kilometres long; then, when it passes through Pata, it reaches the Pira Paraná River on the north side, which is two hundred and fifty kilometres long. At the end of its course, it receives on its northern side the Taraira River, the smallest of its tributaries, with a length of one hundred and sixty kilometres (see article: Paraná River).
The Apaporis River serves as the main means of communication in its final stretch between Buenos Aires de Lérida and the end of its journey, in the upper zone it is not navigable due to the presence of streams and waterfalls, as I mentioned earlier. This has helped to preserve its jungle flora and fauna from human interference.
The waters of the river are almost black, while those of the Caquetá are much clearer, which is why they flow side by side for much of the way, without mixing like the Orinoco and Caroní rivers. The Apaporis River reaches the end of its course in the Caquetá River, but this happens right at the border with Brazil, where the river is renamed the Japurá, which is why it can be said to be the largest contributor to the Japurá River.
In the highlands there are numerous groups of indigenous people who take advantage of the difficult access to hide from civilisation, among the most outstanding are the Macuma group, the Yuup, the Letuama, who are the indigenous communities that have suffered the least from civilisation in Colombia, as well as the Tanimuca, the Cabiyari and the Yuana.
On the way, in the middle part of the Apaporis River, a little below the village of Pacoa, you can see an open tunnel between the rocks, carved by the river itself; it crosses this tunnel, which narrows to about five or six metres wide, with an unspecified depth, but it is estimated to be between several tens of metres. During the summer, a large number of migrating swallows can be seen in the tunnel.
The climate in this area is the same as in the Amazon rainforest, varying between twenty-seven and twenty-eight degrees Celsius. To get to this area is a bit complicated but not impossible, you can take a flight to the city of Pacoa, then take a canoe down the Apaporis River to the Jirijirimo stream, where you have to follow the path on foot for about an hour and a half. You will come out one kilometre before the tunnel. The canoes should be taken along the path and then returned in them to enter the tunnel.
This is a unique spectacle, the walls of the tunnel are shiny black and the sound of the water is beautiful, without a doubt a spectacular place. This is a sacred place for the Cabiyaris Indians, so it is important not to disturb the area or leave any rubbish.
This river is so spectacular that they have made a film about it called Apaporis Secrets of the Jungle, a film to pay homage to the indigenous peoples, to their knowledge, but also to explain and make known the danger that these tribes are in, the problem that civilisation has brought to their culture and language, which are on the verge of disappearing.
Here is the video with the trailer of the film