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Guerrillas regularly set up roadblocks and engage in "miracle fishing"-a Biblical reference-whereby they pull aside a column of traffic , evaluate the net worth of their take using computer databases of financial records and kidnap those who wi ll yield the greatest ransom. While intercity buses are equally subject to this surrea l form of prospecting, neither foreigners nor Colombia's wealthiest use public transport so buses remain less attractive to rebel eyes than private cars. Adherence to these rules immediately cancels out a sizable swath of Colombian turf for your visit. Forget about going to see Colombia's amazing array of rare tropical birds, many of which nest inside the demilitarized zone formally ceded by the government to the FARC in 1998. Forget the uncharted cl imbing you might do in the mountains of Peru. Of course, some people do this, but their fatigues will tell you that what you ca ll hiking, Colombian guerrillas call troop movements. Fortunately, a large number of Colombia's most attractive destinations are sti ll safely accessible for the North American adventurer. And, despite what Robert Young Pelton says, even a trip to the beach is an adventure. Easily accessible and inexpensive by air from Bogota is Colombia's northern Caribbean coast. This compact stretch of coastline serves up several prime destinations in only a few relatively machine-gun-free hours by bus. Cartagena is Colombia's most beautiful colonial city and a showcase of Colombian stability (and the spot Bill Clinton chose to visit last year to put a happy face on $1.3 billion of new American antinarcotic aid to Colombia). A walled city, Cartagena was once a key Spanish stronghold in its New World stakes, as well as a port for gold and slaves. Now, the walls give the city a feeling of security and warmth, the latter aided also by the tropical climate. Cartagena's beaches and streets, whi le delightful, are complicated. Historical ly a tourist destination, the city's tourism-driven economy now suffers a dearth of risk-averse visitors. As a result, some travelers report increasing hassles and hustles on the beaches (unsolicited squirts of suntan lotion) and in town (aggressive T-shirt salesmen). Santa Marta, an appealing and safe town, does not merit the attention of its neighbor to the west. But it is the launch point for a journey to the stunningly beautiful Parque Natural de Tayrona as well as the Ciudad Perdida (Lost City). Tayrona offers the kind of serenity combined with beauty that worldwide is next to impossible to find. Why? Because others' fear is an adventurer's best friend and crowds are inversely proportional to risk. Since conventional wisdom holds that only crazy people would visit Colombia, only truly crazy people would travel over land in Colombia and only the certifiably insane would then walk the 45 minutes through the woods to reach the beaches at Tayrona. So who does this leave around Tayrona's savage beaches and sky blue water? A handful of good-natured, if fearless, travelers sleeping in hammocks who understand that a few rebel groups do not a country ruin for a heads-up traveler. From Tayrona, too, you can gather opinions on whether a foot trip to the Ciudad Perdida-a 12th- century Indian town lost until the mid-1970s- is worth the six-day round- trip effort. As always, before leaving Santa Marta, inquire about late- breaking guerrilla activity in the Tayrona area. The safest way to pay a visit to Colombia, though something of a shirk of adventure, is to go to the islands of San Andres and Providencia. Physically closer to Nicaragua than Colombia, the islands are quite touristy with ample beaches. Most interesting, they play capital to the Afro-Colombian culture and feel more like Jamaica than Colombia, with English spoken widely. A visit requires a flight unless a three-day voyage on a cargo ship appeals. As much as it is a tropical and a mountain country, Colombia, whose southernmost border is formed by the snaking Amazon River, also has an enormous Amazon jungle region. Leticia is a river town pinched between the Brazilian and Peruvian borders that barely qualify it as Colombian territory. But removed from cosmopolitan Colombia by nothing less daunting than hundreds of miles of rebel-infested territory and safely accessible only by plane, Leticia itself is too remote to be of much interest even to rugged rebels. It is the best starting point for river and jungle travel in this three-country region where national borders are mere sieves by foot and by boat. While drug runners find these soft borders particularly attractive, they pose little threat to tourists presuming you stay out of their way. From Leticia, small tours up the Amazon can be easily arranged (there's not a lot else going on for visitors). The route toward the Peru- Colombia border is well endowed with pink dolphins (the Boto or Amazon river dolphin), parrots and piranha. Because of active conflict between the right-wing paramilitary forces and leftist groups, the Pacific coast of Colombia is less reliably safe than the Caribbean side. However, hopping the action by plane will deliver you to other magnificent aquatic playgrounds. Especially impressive and easy to reach is Gorgona Island, a lush and mountainous cay with white sand beaches and an abundance of rare plants and wi ldlife including monkeys and lizards and beach views of whales during the fall months. The island's cora l reefs make for fine diving and snorkeling. Inquire in Bogota or Calf about permits to visit Gorgona. Travel in Colombia can present a certa in frustrating irony: The safest places in the country tend to be on its edges-that is, farthest from the center. And, given the air travel mandate, traveling to key spots is pricier than if you were busing through, say, Mexico or Ecuador. If the most remote of the Colombian destinations prove too costly, the budget traveler can find some safe gems in the heart of the Andes, a stone's throw from the big cities. Villa de Leiva is just four hours from Bogota by car. By car?! Whi le driving is generally risky, many foreigners commonly make this trip and others like it over heavily-traveled roads without incident. The small town of Villa de Leiva, always appreciated by Colombians for its quaint colonial town center and cobblestone streets, is now infamous for a more interesting phenomenon. Young Colombians have begun to descend upon thi s national monument of a town to enjoy the fruits of nearby pastures: hongos (psychedelic mushrooms of the Psi/ocybe cubensis order, to be precise). To the chagrin of the cops who watch over the spaced-out crowds in the town square, the 'shrooms are not illegal. Whether the spots you choose are considered safe or risky, always inquire about recent guerrilla movements in the area you're considering before committing to a trip. And once there, be alert in your wanderings and stick to where locals-who are probably more conservative than you-say it is safe. After all, there's nothing more annoying than being the object of a ransom that bankrupts your extended family for life . •