Colombia

Colombia is nicknamed the "gateway to south America " because it sits in the northwestern part of the continent where south America connects with central and North America. Colombia is a land of extremes. through its center run the towering, snow-covered volcanoes and mountains of the Andes. Tropical beaches line the North and west. And there are deserts in the North and vast grassland, called Los Llanos, in the East. Dense forest fill Colombia's Amazon Basin, which takes up nearly the country's entire southern half. In northwest Colombia, a warm, wet, jungle filled area called the Choco reaches across the Panama border.

 History of Colombian food. Colombian food is a unique blend of indigenous and European traditions with a strong Afro-Caribbean influence. The two largest indigenous groups prior to European conquest were the Tairona, who lived along the Caribbean coast, and the Muisca, who lived in the highlands to the South. Arepas, made from ground corn, are one of the oldest cooked dishes in Colombian cuisine.