Capital of the Choco region and the department’s largest city Quibdo is hardly a place that inspires guidebook writers to include it within their pages. In fact, being so far off the beaten track, Quibdo’s residents embrace tourists as they would their own and often congratulate the traveller on their foray into the unknown.

The towering San Francisco de Asis Cathedral offers an imposing reference point in the city and is Quibdo’s most significant building. Beyond wandering down the river front taking in the views of the stilted houses bordering the far bank of the Atrato river - which flows from here roughly 750km to the north exiting into the Caribbean via the gulf of Uraba – and enjoying a freshly squeezed juice in the market, for the traveller, Quibdo offers little more than a jumping off point to the Choco coast. If and when the Choco region is further opened up, Quibdo will grow in importance as a gateway to the untouched rainforest and exhaustive bio-diversity in this region of Colombia.

Put your camera aside and observe the bustle of life on the frontline of Colombia’s conflict as soldiers return from sorties and others prepare to launch offensives in the park in front of the Cathedral.