Climate of Vichada

The department of Vichada has the most continental and extreme climate of the Colombian Eastern Plains. Puerto Carreño, its capital at the confluence of the Meta and Orinoco rivers with Venezuela, records temperatures of 28 to 35 °C with one of the most extreme dry seasons in the country. Vichada is the second largest department in Colombia (100,242 km²) but one of the least populated. Its immense plain, with highland savannas, forest patches and the Orinoco river corridor, experiences a radical climatic dichotomy: in the dry season (November–March) the sun burns, the wetlands disappear and animals migrate toward permanent water sources; in the rainy season (April–October) the savannas flood and the Vichada, Tuparro and Tomo rivers overflow their banks.

THERMAL FLOORS OF VICHADA

Temperature in Vichada varies by altitude. These are the department's thermal floors:

Thermal Floor	Altitude	Temperature	Municipalities
Warm continental plains	50 – 200 m	28 – 36 °C	Puerto Carreño, La Primavera, Cumaribo, Santa Rosalía

RAINY AND DRY SEASONS IN VICHADA

Very marked unimodal regime: dry November–March (extreme heat, dry winds), rainy April–October (flooding in plains). Puerto Carreño receives 2,000–2,500 mm annually concentrated in the wet season. El Tuparro National Natural Park is more accessible in the dry season.

TEMPERATURE BY MUNICIPALITY IN VICHADA

Average annual temperatures of the main municipalities of Vichada:

Municipality	Average Temperature
Puerto Carreño	30 °C
La Primavera	29 °C
Cumaribo	29 °C
Santa Rosalía	30 °C

BEST TIME TO VISIT VICHADA

December–February: most extreme dry season but best for adventure tourism, sport fishing in the Orinoco, wildlife spotting. For Tuparro Park: January–March. The rainy season (June–September) offers a spectacle of flooded savannas unique in Colombia.