For Colombia, currently enjoying a resurgence in domestic and international tourism, Caño Cristales is a new but precariously delicate destination. You are likely to be in the company of other foreign travelers, Colombian medics on health missions and off-duty army personnel in this overlooked region of the country.

Do it right: Learn about the contemporary history and the demilitarized zone that was ceded to the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) during the government of President Andrés Pastrana (1998–2002), and don’t jump to hasty conclusions.

The closest town to Caño Cristales is La Macarena — about 170 miles south of Bogotá — and this was a headquarters for the FARC secretariat. Legend has it that the mural in the church was originally commissioned by the guerrillas, and each campesino, or farmer, pictured had a rifle or weapon in support of the leftist struggle. Once government forces returned to the zone, the story goes, these images sympathetic to the guerrilla cause were painted out to replace weapons with traditional farming tools.

As much as one hopes this legend is true, as it makes for a great story, unfortunately, various sources and experts in all things to do with the town of La Macarena have denied the truth in the tale.