Tayrona rests: Colombia pauses a beloved park so nature and Indigenous culture can breathe

From 19 October to 2 November, Tayrona National Park near Santa Marta will close its gates — on purpose. The pause, called Respira Tayrona ('Tayrona Breathes'), is the last of three annual rests agreed with the Arhuaco, Kogui, Wiwa and Kankuamo peoples, for whom this coastline is sacred. During the Nabbatashi pause, Indigenous communities carry out traditional practices at sacred sites while park staff monitor wildlife, and the streams and micro-watersheds get two undisturbed weeks to recharge. A famous park, deliberately quiet — so that both its ecosystems and its first peoples can renew.

SDG 15 · Life on land — Mechanism: institutional program