San Agustin, Popayan and Purace National Park
Emblematic places
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San Agustín is a small town in the foothills of the Colombian Massif in southern Colombia. This area is well known worldwide due to numerous archeological sites of a great importance. The biggest one is the Archaeological Park of San Agustin which houses pre-Columbian carved stone figures and tombs. Some other archeological spots are El Tablon, La Pelota, El Purutal, La Chakira and other two parks in the nearby town Isnos called “Alto de los Idolos” and “Alto de las Piedras”.
Popayan is the capital city of Cauca department in the southern Colombia. Popayan is situated in the Pubenza Valley a 140 km away from San Agustin (it takes about 3-4 hours driving). For tourists it is also known as the White City due to its white colonial architecture.
Puracé National Natural Park is a volcanic area located just 40 km from Popayan. Within its beautiful landscapes the Serranía de los Coconucos stands out. It is a volcanic chain which consists of 11 volcanoes. The Park is overlapped with the indigenous reserves of Puracé and Paletara which adds to the destination the cultural value of indigenous populations.
Day 1: Arrival to Pitalito via flight with Satena Airline. Transfer to the hotel in San Augstin.
Day 2: In the morning we will visit the main archeological park of San Agustin visiting the Platues ABC and D, La Fuente de Lavapatas, Alto de Lavapatas, The forest of the statues, The archeological museum. The tour around the entire park takes about 4 hours.
After lunch we will visit the Magdalena river straight (the narrowest place of the most important river of Colombia). Finally we will visit La Chakira – another archeological spot which offers an impressive view over the Magdalena river valley. Transfer to the hotel.
Day 3: Today we will depart to Isnos archeological park “Alto de lo Idolos”. Here you will be able to see the highest statue of the whole area. Near Isnos you will pass by one of the highest waterfalls of Colombia “Salto del Mortiño” (180m). Lunch. In the afternoon transfer to the city of Popayan (depending on the road conditions the drive might take between 3 and 4 hours). Night in the hotel.
Day 4: Early in the morning we will drive to the National Natural Park of Purace. The drive takes about 1 hour till we reach the park’s entrance. After a small introductory speech by parks rangers we will continue driving till we reach the trail of the waterfall San Nicolas which is 4 km long. Afterwards we will continue till the hot springs of San Juan which will surprise the traveller with its bright colors (swimming not allowed). Furthermore, on clear days it is possible to see Purace Volcano from distance.
In the afternoon we will visit the Coconuco thermal springs for a relaxing bath. Return back to Popayan. Nigh in the hotel.
Day 5: In the morning we will do a city tour in Popayan. In approximately 2 hours we will visit the most important churches and other tourist interest sites like “Puente de Humilladero”, etc.
Afterwards we will leave you in the hotel or transfer to the airport of Popayan for your next flight. End of the tour.
- Each traveller should buy the flight with Satena airline in www.satena.com. There are flights Bogota – Pitalito every day. If you arrive to San Agustin from any other destination by your own means, let us know and we can pick you up in the town in order to take you to the hotel.
- Satena airline has specific baggage rules which you need to take in mind:
- Checked – in luggage: 15 kg max can be distributed among 2 bags with dimensions: 130 cm x 80 cm x 80 cm. There is no way to buy more kg when doing the purchase of the ticket; the only solution is that if you exceed the 15 kg, you pay the additional kg at the airport. Each extra kg costs COP 6.000 (about 2 USD each kg). You can exceed up to another 15 kg.
- Hand luggage: 5 kg with the following dimensions: 43 cm high, 34 cm wide and 20 cm deep. If you hand luggage is bigger, you have to register it as the big luggage and pay extra kg if that is the case.
- Satena flight company (the only one which operates flight Bogotá – Pitalito) quite often changes the flight schedules since their flights to most of the destinations is only once a day. It is important to re-confirme the flight time the previous day. Retorno.travel is not responsible for any flight changes, delays or cancellations
- San Agustin and Popayan lies at 1.800 m.a.s.l. and has a pleasant warm climate. We recommend bringing comfortable light colored clothing. If it gets rainy, a jacket might be useful
- Please bring warm, wind and waterproof clothing for the visit to Purace national park, the weather conditions are changing and it might be cold, windy and rainy
- Bring walking boots
- Use of hat, sunglasses and sunscreen is strongly recommended
- All waste produced must be taken out of the national park. Do not throw any organic or inorganic waste
- Ensure that you are in good physical shape to do hiking (no heart problems, no breathing issues, and no knee injuries.)