Nariño
A southwestern department bordering Ecuador, known for volcanoes, the Las Lajas Sanctuary and Pasto's Black and White Carnival.
Nariño lies in southwestern Colombia, bordering Ecuador. The east is a volcano-studded Andean highland, while the west is a Pacific coastal lowland; the capital is Pasto. Pasto holds the Black and White Carnival in early January each year, inscribed by UNESCO on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The Las Lajas Sanctuary near Ipiales is built over a canyon and has a distinctive design, and the scenery around Laguna de la Cocha and Galeras Volcano is beautiful. On the Pacific coast, Tumaco is known for its mangroves and beaches. Pasto and Ipiales have airports, and Ipiales is also the overland border crossing into Ecuador.