54 Colombias Paci? c Coast, accessible by plane from Bogotá, Medellín or Cali, rolls southwards from the border with Panama 1,350 kilometres to Ecuador. It remains far from the beaten tourist track, despite the natural riches it harbours. Travellers will ? nd a luxuriant and lush coastline where the forest-clad mountains of the western side of the Andes (known as the Chocó) tumble right down to secluded beaches and coves, home to indigenous Indian groups and Afro-Colombian descendants of runaway slaves. Several lodges have opened up recently to offer excellent bases, while the coast is famous for the chance to observe turtles nesting as well as humpback whales courting and mating off the coast. Chocó coastline The Paci? c Coast