It is one of the most beautiful and jaw-dropping mountain ranges in South America. The region, endowed with grandiose landscapes, waterfalls and glacial lakes, used to be very popular with hikers, but the recent closure of the Parque Nacional Natural El Cocuy, which lasted over a year, and the uncertainty regarding its future, has seen a considerable fall in numbers of late. At present, the 21 peaks of the Sierra Nevada are inaccessible.