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colombian travel guide

Travel Guide

How to get to the Laguna Verde de Tausa

Posted on April 9, 2018
camping, hiking, Green Lagoon, how to get to the Laguna verde de Tausa, outdoor adventures close to Bogota

Lala and I had a blast with 3 other couples at the Laguna Verde (Green Lagoon in English). We called the trip a quadruple date. It was awesome. Now, the Laguna Verde is an aquifer that actually creates the river that feeds the Neusa Dam! When I was camping at the Neusa Dam, I felt very deep in nature even though I was still close to civilization, so you can just imagine how wild the Laguna Verde feels. You get see thousands of frailejones (probably my favorite plant) and other alpine plants and a beautiful, pristine lake on a trail that, though it isn’t well known or highly hiked, is really well preserved. We met the guy who owns the property – a ginormous property that includes the lake. He keeps the trail preserved and is really cool about letting people in. He didn’t charge us anything! And he gave us his phone number, so you can call him before going, just for him to know. I totally recommend you go to this wonderful, off-the-beaten-track spot! This is how to get to the Laguna Verde de Tausa (Tausa is the closest town).

Misiades Salazar’s (the owner) phone number: (571) 312 4938840

How to get to the Laguna Verde de Tausa

*The map to get to the Laguna Verde from Bogota is at the bottom of this post!

In a car

With a GPS (highly recommended): type in “Laguna Verde Tausa” in Waze or Google Maps. Make sure you picked the one in Tausa, Cundinamarca, Colombia and follow the directions.

Without a GPS:

*Some tips before you read: (1) this will all make more sense if you can see it, and Google Maps has Street View all the way to step 8, so use it to get your bearings, and (2) you’re probably going to have to ask locals for directions as you go, so brush up on your Spanish!

  1. In Bogota, drive north on the Autopista and leave the city. Keep heading north until you reach the first bridge. Don’t go over it. Follow directions to Chia, taking a road to the right, which will then curve to the left, under the bridge.
  2. Stay on this road until the next bridge. Go over this bridge, staying on the right. Continue on this road until you see a Homecenter on your right. Shortly after, you’ll take a right where there’s a sign for Zipaquira and Ubate.
  3. Stay on this road until you get to yet another bridge. Stay on your left to go over the bridge, which will take you to the right, following the sign to Ubate.
  4. Shortly afterwards, you’ll run into a round-about. Take the third exit, staying on the main road.
  5. From here on out, having a GPS is best because you’re going to take a left on a corner where you’ll see two stores named ‘Viejo Mao’ and ‘Alejo 2.’ There are no signs to Cogua or the Laguna Verde.
  6. Stay on this main road, and you’ll get to Cogua. Where the road seems to end, take a right and then immediately take the next left. Then, still in Cogua, stay left where three roads intersect.
  7. Soon enough, you’ll get to an obvious fork in the road. Go left. If you take a right, you’ll see a sign that says LA PAZUELA 2, and you’ve gone the wrong way. Stay on the road to the left.
  8. After you pass the Rio Borracho (Drunk River), take a right on a downward sloping dirt road to the right. Drive down to a house at a small intersection before the beginning of the trail and park there. The house is at the very bottom, where everywhere else you go is up.
  9. Walk to a fork in the road. To the left, it goes up, and to the right, it goes down. Take the road to the left, go through a gate, and begin the hike! It’ll last about an hour.

On public transportation

  1. You can get on a bus that says ‘San Cayetano’ at Bogota’s Bus Terminal (Terminal de Transporte) or at the North Bus Terminal (Terminal Satélite Del Norte).
  2. Take this bus for a while, passing Cogua. Tell the bus driver you’re getting off at the entrance after the Drunk River to go to the Laguna Verde. He probably won’t know English, so say: “Voy para la entrada a la Laguna Verde después del Rio Borracho.” Good luck!
  3. You’ll be dropped off at a downward sloping dirt road to the right. Walk a good 15-20 minutes to the beginning of the trail, following the main road.
  4. You’ll get to a fork in the road. To the left, it goes up, and to the right, it goes down. Take the road to the left, go through a gate, and begin the hike! It’ll last about an hour.

Check out our video!

What to do at the Laguna Verde:

Camp: the friend we made, the man who owns the property that includes the Laguna Verde told us to give him a call if we ever want to camp, for two reasons. First, just to let him know so he can make sure everything is good and second, because he offered to rent us a small house there is on the property. The house is in really bad conditions, though, so I would just camp outdoors… right next to the lake. Much better, huh?

Breathe fresh air: I only mention this because I think it’s important to do it consciously!

Have a long picnic: there’s a few really nice spots quite close to the lake to have a picnic and enjoy the view for a good long time. Bring your choice of food and enjoy! The ground will probably be soggy, because this ecosystem is just very wet, so bring a blanket or jacket to sit on or just get your bum wet, it won’t hurt!

Go on a double, triple or quadruple date: seriously, there’s no better way to enjoy nature than with friends. So grab some people you love and go on this adventure!

Take pictures: of course! Pick up your camera and capture some earthy, wet, moody, beautiful shots in this gorgeous place.

Some things to know:

  • Though our friend, who owns this property, will let you in for free, the township of Cogua doesn’t really love people going to the Laguna Verde because it’s such an important body of water (it feeds the Neusa Dam and 17 towns). Please take care of this wonderful place – don’t leave your trash, try to stay on the trail – so that it doesn’t get taken from us. It’s true, this place should be pristine because of its importance, but I also think it’s important for people to enjoy special outdoor places like this one. Both can be true. Let’s keep it that way.
  • Call Misiades Salazar at (571) 312 4938840 just to let him know you’ll be going!
  • Like I said, everything is free: entrance to the property and parking at a farmer’s house, but give the people some money as thanks. They aren’t obliged to help us out, but they do.
  • A car can make it all the way to where the trail begins in good conditions, but definitely not if the road is wet. If it’s been raining, you’ll have to park further up the road or be in a car with 4-wheel drive.

Now that you know how to get to the Laguna Verde, make sure you go! So recommended. Let us know how it went!

If you saw a big lake on your way to Laguna Verda, it was actually a dam. The Neusa Dam! Click here to find out how to get there.. or click here to see a list of places to have outdoor adventures close to Bogota!

Travel Guide

How to get to Las Moyas Trail

Posted on September 11, 2017
How to get to Las Moyas Trail, hike in bogota, colombia, nature

The Las Moyas Trail, or Sendero las Moyas, was closed for years. But it’s been open to the public since 2022, and the whole process was re-organized to be efficient, quick and safe. I appreciate Live Happy Colombia and the land owners, who opened this trail for people to enjoy it, while still taking care of the area and all its beauty. This is how to get to Las Moyas Trail!

But first, a comment from the heart. Bogota, with its mountains, could be like Santiago, Chile or Boulder, Colorado. If Colombia’s Eastern Mountains (Cerros Orientales) were full of hiking and mountain biking trails, Bogota would be completely different. However, that culture just doesn’t exist, and trails get damaged due to bad use or over-use when they do open. The only way that culture can change is by organizations taking the initative and taking the risk of opening lots of trails to share the load, teach people to take care of what they have and regulating their use. It looks like that’s already starting to happen, and we’re SO excited for what the future holds!

If you like hiking, click here to read about Quebrada la Vieja, which is 6 blocks from Las Moyas!

How to get to Las Moyas Trail

*Note: You can find the map to get to Las Moyas Trail at the bottom of this post!

Walking:

  1. Get to the Transmilenio station called Calle 76 and then walk to Carrera 7 (towards the mountain).
  2. Cross Carrera 7, and keep walking towards the mountain on Calle 74. You’ll get to the Circunvalar, which is Carrera 1. Cross it and continue on Calle 74, which bends to the left becoming Carrera 1 East.
  3. Turn right on Calle 77 and then take the next left, which is Carrera 2 East.
  4. Walk along this road until you find the entrance to the Horizontes – Las Moyas Trail. It’s on the right after a sign that points you to the Metropolitan Club.
  5. Hike for about 2 hours until you get to a boulder field past the antenna on the summit.

In a car:

With a GPS: Use Waze or Google Maps to look up “Umbral Cultural Horizontes” and follow the instructions. Parking is prohibited on the street, but there’s a parking area for the hike next to the Metropolitan Club (I marked the spot on the map).

Without a GPS:

  1. In Bogota, get to the Carrera 7 and go up towards the mountain on Calle 74 until you get to Carrera 2.
  2. Take a right on Carrera 2 and then take the next right turn and then your next right turn again to be on Diagonal 76. Cross the Circunvalar, which is Carrera 1.
  3. Once you cross the Circunvalar, the road will turn left becoming Carrera 1 East.
  4. Take the first right turn onto Calle 77 and then take a left where the street ends, which is Carrera 2 East.
  5. On this road, go right and park at the Metropolitan Club. The spot is marked on the map below. The Las Moyas Trail begins at the end of the road going up to the right.
  6. Hike for about 2 hours until you get to a boulder field past the antenna on the summit.

Some things to know:

  • The trail opens from Tuesday to Friday from 6-9:00 AM and you have to be starting the hike between 6 and 6:30 AM. Entry on the weekends is subject to group outings, which are organized on their Telegram.
  • The entry fee to Sendero las Moyas is $15,000 pesos, and you can buy a monthly “membership” for 60,000 pesos. This money goes towards the trails conservation and some social inclusion projects.
  • The trail is totally safe during the authorized hours.
  • The hike is 4.2 kilometers or 2.6 miles long.
  • To make a reservation and pay, click on this link to go to Live Happy Colombia’s website and follow the instructions. You’ll also find your QR code at that link, which you have to show to start hiking the trail.
  • Pets are not allowed.

What to do in Las Moyas:

Picnic on top of a rock: have your breakfast at the summit of Las Moyas Trail, with amazing landscapes whichever way you turn.

Take care of your surroundings: people sometimes damage beauty while they try to enjoy it, like when they’re eating on top of a boulder. Don’t graffiti the boulders or even engrave anything on them. Take everything you brought with you back to the city, even organic waste. The beauty of a pristine place is that it’s pristine. Let’s keep it that way.

This hike is my favorite one on Bogota’s eastern mountains, partly because it has some amazingly photogenic views. The only thing missing is the Pine Forest of Quebrada la Vieja but, you know, nothing’s perfect! I hope you get to it now that you know exactly how to get to Las Moyas Trail!

Read some more posts about outdoor adventures close to Bogota to get psyched for more!

Travel Guide

How to get to Iguaque Park

Posted on August 16, 2017
How to get to Iguaque National Park, favorite hike, paramo, close to villa de leyva, adventure

For me, the hike up to see the Iguaque Lagoon (at  3,800m or 12,500 ft) is the best in the world because it’s the first actual hike I ever did… when I was 3. Although, at that age, I mostly went up and down the mountain on my dad’s shoulders… asleep. Oh well; since then I’ve visited the Park quite a few times and I always come down blissful.

Last time I was at the Iguaque Fauna and Flora Sanctuary I didn’t make it all the way up to the lagoon because of the rain, but boy is that a story.

I was with Lala, her sister and her husband, and Guille, a life-long friend who has lived his entire life on the coast of Colombia, where it’s HOT and there’s little rain. We started hiking up and got to the paramo, or above the tree line, easily. The path gets steep there, so we took a break before continuing our hike.

A few minutes later, it started drizzling. It doesn’t matter, we said, it’ll stop. Well, it didn’t stop and it only got harder. Soon, the rain was hitting us horizontally, sped up by the mountain’s winds. When we got to a flatter part of the hike that goes around the tip of the mountain to start the descent towards the Iguaque Lagoon, we found a boulder and used it as a shelter to stop and eat.

It wasn’t a rock you’d ever say is perfect as a shelter – it’s a vertical rock- but the rain was so horizontal that the boulder, which was taller than us, kept us away from the rain.

I remember that scene to this day and it makes me laugh. I see Guille to my left and Lala to my right, both of them sitting down, eating, and trembling completely soaked. The funniest part was seeing Guille, who’s life has been spent under the scorching sun, experiencing the famously cold and wet Colombian paramo in full. What an experience! And we had shorts on!

We never made it to the lagoon, but it was one of the best experiences I’ve had at Iguaque because it was different (I had never experienced rain on that hike before), pretty rough, and it happened with amazing friends. That’s the kind of experience that creates an image in my mind that remains.

How to get to Iguaque Park

All of the instructions below are assuming you’re in Villa de Leyva, a historic town in Colombia about 3 hours from Bogota.

*Note: You can find the map to get to Iguaque Park at the bottom of this post!

Without a car:

Getting to the Iguaque Flora and Fauna Sanctuary is difficult if you don’t have a car because there is no public transportation that will take you all the way to the entrance. Here are two options.

Take a taxi: find a taxi to take you all the way to the Iguaque Visitor Center or ask your hotel or a tourism business in Villa de Leyva to get someone to take you. If you find someone you won’t have to walk any extra miles.

Take a bus: there is a bus that will take you to “Casa de Piedra” that leaves the Villa de Leyva bus terminal until 7:00 AM. When you leave, tell the bus driver to drop you off at “Casa de Piedra.” It’s 1.5 kilometers (1 mile) from there to Iguaque. There is a big sign where the bus will drop you off that shows you which way to go.

In a car:

With GPS: use Waze or Google Maps to look up “Visitor Centre Iguaque National Park” and follow the directions.

Without GPS:

  1. Get to Villa de Leyva.
  2. From the main plaza drive the opposite direction from the church and the mountains until you find a paved road. That road is Carrera 13 (13th street).
  3. Take a right and drive 6 kilometers (4 miles) on that road, which becomes unpaved.
  4. Once you’ve driven 6 kilometers be very attentive because the sign for Iguaque is small. You’re going to take a right on a road that goes up. The sign is made of wood and has a drawing on it.
  5. From there on out it’s easy to get to Iguaque because there are signs at every major fork in the road. If you do get lost, ask a local the way. They’ll know!
  6. Almost all cars can make it to the Visitor Center, but if it’s rainy it’ll be difficult for cars that are low to the ground. If that is the case, there’s a farm that consists of two houses with a metal gate about 1 kilometer from the Center. Ask the family for permission to park there and they’ll probably let you.

Some things to know:

Entrance fee:

  • $17,000 COP or about $6 dollars for Colombian adults.
  • $9,000 COP or about $3 dollars for children 5-12 and students.
  • $44,500 COP or about $15 dollars for foreign adults.

Parking: $13,000 COP or about $4.5 dollars.

There is a restaurant and hostel a few minutes from the Visitor Center along the path towards the lagoon.

  • The hostel costs $50,000 COP or about $18 dollars per person per night.
  • Breakfast costs $13,000 COP or about $4.5 dollars.
  • Lunch costs $19,000 COP or about $6.5 dollars.
  • Dinner costs $16,000 COP or about $5.5 dollars.

There is also a camping zone with bathrooms, electric showers, and an area to prepare food. The cost per person per night is $10,000.

The time to start hiking is between 8:00 and 10:00 AM. Sometimes the park rangers don’t let you start if you arrive after 10 because they don’t want it to get dark while you’re still hiking.

Take a towel and clothes to change into in case you get in the water (more info below) or it rains!

The rainy season is between April and May and October and November. The dry season is between January and March and September and December.

What to do in Iguaque:

  • Camp or stay at the Furachiogua Hostel: the nights and mornings in Iguaque are beautiful whether it’s cloudy and foggy or clear. They’re worth experiencing.
  • Drink an agua-panela when you get back down: one of the best things about a tough hike is the reward at the end. On the mountain, the reward is the view and my recommendation is that your reward back at the restaurant be a hot agua-panela. It’s a drink that’s a mixture of water, raw cane sugar, and lime. So good!
  • Hike up and keep hiking: when you get to the lagoon, take a breather. There’s a path crossing the creek where the lake water runs down the mountain. Take this path and go all the way up. From the top, you can see two more lagoons on the other side. Look for a big boulder to eat lunch on way above the Iguaque Lagoon. The people down there look like ants.
  • Bathe in the creek close to the hostel: the path between the Visitor Center and the hostel runs parallel to a creek. I have the tradition of getting into that ice-cold water for a few minutes. It’s refreshing and gives me renewed energies. On top of that, it makes me feel like a badass (although you probably won’t think it’s that cold if you’re from anywhere where there’s snow). There’s a section of the creek that’s perfect for about 4 people to fit easily.

Read some more posts to get psyched to go an adventure, or read our last post!

 

Travel Guide

How to get to Pionono Park

Posted on July 13, 2017
How to get to Pionono Park, ecological, nature, outdoor adventures close to bogota, hiking, sopo, alpina, what to do, colombia

We got to Sopó excited, not knowing what to expect.

Getting to know the small town that we used to know only because of Alpina, a famous Colombian dairy and food company located there, Lala and I looked at the mountains that loom over Sopó looking for a tiny cross. There it was… and that was where we were going.

We took the shortest, steepest route and we couldn’t help but laugh at how ridiculously steep the road was. Only a 4×4 could have gone up it, and on a bike, you would surely fall backwards. (There is an easier way to get to Pionono – see below for directions!)

After walking for about 2 hours, we reached the entrance of Pionono Park and we began the hike within the park. Once inside, we were pretty much already on top of the mountain, so the hike seemed easy and short in comparison to what we had already walked. We passed three beautiful lookouts: Cacique Sopó, Alto de las Aguilas and Valle de Sopó.

Sadly, the path to the cross was closed, and still is, because the path is really sketchy. Hopefully someday it will reopen, but at least every lookout has spectacular views.

Pionono was a great destination for a day trip, but I would have preferred to stay a night. Since it’s an ecological park, you feel like you’re in wild nature even though Sopó is about 600 meters below you.

Hiking down was much easier, although our knees wept (yeah, we took the steep way down again) and we laughed at how steep the path was the entire way down.

I’ll leave you with this thought that summarized the hike for me. At one of the lookouts, I gazed out at the grassy tropical plain and thought, “This savannah that raised me and that I take for granted… sure is beautiful!”

How to get to Pionono Park

*Note: You can find the map to get to Pionono Park at the bottom of this post!

Without a car:

Your adventure will begin at the North Portal (sounds like sci-fi, right?), which is the bus terminal in the north of Bogotá right on the main highway, or autopista. Get on a bus that says “Sopó” and tell the bus driver to stop in front of Sopó’s Hospital, which is right after Alpina. Tell him: “Pare en frente del Hospital de Sopó, después de Alpina” (good luck pronouncing that!)

From here you have three options (they’re on the map!):

  1. Take 6th street, which is the first left turn you can take after the round-about, in front of the Hospital. It turns left into 3rd street and, staying on that main road, you will get to Pionono Park. There are signs everywhere, so it’s hard to get lost. If you do get lost, just ask a local, “Como llego a Pionono?”
  2. The other option is even steeper (the one Lala and I took), but shorter. Instead of taking 6th street take 4th street, which is two blocks further from the round-about. Go up 4th street for about four blocks until you see an archway that says, “Santuario del Señor de la Piedra.”
    1. There, take a left. Follow this road, which curves to the right. A few meters later you have to pick between left (steep) and straight (steeper). Keep going straight, taking the steeper route. Be impressed.
    2. Follow this road for a while. It’s hard to get lost and you will eventually link with the main road, having completed the road less taken. There are signs everywhere, so you’ll arrive at Pionono Park without a problem
  3. Take a cab up to Pionono. These cabs drive down 6th street in front of the hospital (the first left turn you can take after the round-about). It costs $14,500 Colombian Pesos or $5 USD per trip, so if you take it with a group of 4 people, it’s nice and inexpensive.

In a car:

With Waze: look for “Parque Ecológico PIONONO Sopó” and follow the directions.

Without Waze:

  1. Leave Bogotá heading north on the main highway (Autopista) and stay on the main road for about 30 minutes. Pass El Corral on your left, and after 500 more meters (1,500 feet) take a right towards Sopó.
  2. Stay on this road until you get to a round-about and take the second exit.
  3. Right after Alpina’s parking lot, in front of a hospital, take a left on 6th street (it’s the first left turn you can take after the roundabout).
  4. Stay on this road until you get to Pionono. There are signs everywhere, so it’s hard to get lost. If you do get lost just ask a local, “Como llego a Pionono?”

Some things to know:

The park is open Wednesday to Sunday and Holidays from 9:00am to 4:30pm.

There is no parking at Pionono Park during the day, but you can park outside on the road. There are always park officials there during the day watching over the entrance and taking payments. If you’re camping, you can take your car inside all the way to the camping area from 5pm to 9am.

Camping per person per night: $24,600 Colombian Pesos or about $9 USD.

Entrance fee: $4,900 Colombian Pesos or about $2 USD.

Taxi up to Pionono Park: $14,500 Colombian Pesos or about $5 USD

What to do in Pionono Park:

  • Go Paragliding: one kilometer before the Pionono Park entrance is a detour left through which you can get to Parapente Paraiso, one of the most well-known paragliding centers in Colombia. It’s easy to get to, they have comfortable facilities (restaurant, parking, etc.), and the view of the Tominé dam is spectacular.
  • Go Camping: to really feel in the middle of nowhere, you have to camp. The climate is near-alpine, so it’s cold at night, but with a good jacket, I can just imagine the sunrises and sunsets. If you’re lucky, you might even get a beautiful starry night. Plus, Pionono Park’s camping infrastructure is prepared with bathrooms, water, and grill to make food… or a barbeque.
  • Take a lot of Pictures: from every vantage point. The landscape is beautiful all around. If it’s cloudy, there are plants, insect, birds, and flowers that would love to pose for you. If you camp, you should have a camera ready to capture the sunset, sunrise, and stars. Yeah, you’re not gonna sleep much.
  • Reward Yourself at Alpina: especially if you walked all the way to Pionono Park! Sopó is known for being Alpina’s center of operation. At the cabaña de Alpina (Alpina Cabin), which is right next to the Hospital I mentioned in the directions above, you can eat. A LOT. My recommendations are fresas con crema (strawberries and cream), the repollas (cream puffs), and, of course, some chocolate milk. There’s nothing like a yummy prize at the end of an adventure.

We hope this guide is helpful!

To learn about another beautiful place near Bogotá, read our post about the Tatacoita Desert!

Here’s a video to motivate you to go to Pionono Park!

Travel Guide

How to get to Isla Fuerte

Posted on June 29, 2017
How to get to Isla Fuerte, caribbean, scuba diving, adventure, isla fuerte ecolodge

The ocean, scuba diving, food, and hammocks. Those are the 4 things that come to mind when I think of Isla Fuerte.

I’ve had the privilege of visiting scuba diving destinations since I was young because my dad is a Scuba Instructor. One of those places is Isla Fuerte.

The ocean and the diving in Isla Fuerte are spectacular. The visibility underwater is almost always great. You can go on beautiful dives 5 minutes from the coast on a boat, you can dive a wreck, and even dive at a reef an hour away from the island in the open ocean.

From the time you place foot on Isla Fuerte you get pampered, especially with the food. The time of arrival is always right before lunch and the initial surprise at how good the food is never fades. In fact, what I know I will miss most every time I leave Isla Fuerte is the food.

And the hammocks. Oh the hours you spend in a hammock. The sun and scuba diving are tiring – and those are two things that you will surely find in Isla Fuerte. What better way to rest than in hammocks by the sea?

Isla Fuerte is a hidden paradise.

How to get to Isla Fuerte:

*Note: at the bottom of this post you can find a map to get familiar with where all the places I’ll mention are!

There are a few airports you can fly into to get to Isla Fuerte, but one route that’s the simplest – arriving in Monteria:

  1. Fly to Monteria’s Aeropuerto (Airport) los Garzones.
  2. From there, take a taxi to Paso Nuevo, a town on the coast of Cordoba close to San Bernardo del Viento. It usually costs $150,000 COP or about $50 dollars. People at the hostel you’re staying at on the island probably know some taxi drivers they trust. Make sure you ask them! The ride is beautiful, following the riverbed of the Sinu River and going through the landscapes that make Monteria and the region famous for its cattle.
  3. There’s only one way to get to Isla Fuerte from Paso Nuevo and that’s on a boat. Talk to the people at your lodging in Isla Fuerte and they will arrange to pick you up (they usually do that in the morning). You can find my hostel advice below!

Other places from which you can get to Paso Nuevo:

  • Cartagena: fly into Cartagena and take a bus or a car for 4 to 5 hours to Paso Nuevo. If you’re going on a bus you’ll have to get off at Lorica and take a taxi to Paso Nuevo.
  • Medellin: fly into Medellin and take a bus or a car for 10 to 12 hours to Paso Nuevo. If you’re going on a bus you’ll have to get off at Monteria or Lorica and take a taxi to Paso Nuevo.
  • Barranquilla: fly into Barranquilla and take a bus or a car for 7 to 8 hours to Paso Nuevo. If you’re going on a bus you’ll have to get off at Lorica and take a taxi to Paso Nuevo.

Some things to know:

My hostel advice (totally non-sponsored, I just like them): The best hostal by far on the island is the Isla Fuerte Ecolodge. Being privileged in having a scuba instructor for a Dad, I’ve stayed at this hostel around 5 times and the experience has always been incredible. On an isolated island with no water source and only recently electricity, the hostel is big on sustainability. They invest heavily in Isla Fuerte’s natural environment and native community. On top of being great people, you just have a good time. You can dive, kayak, aqua-plane, there are beautiful walks, and the food is spectacular 100% of the time. You also leave Isla Fuerte having made a bunch of friends. It’s really a unique, joyful place.

Something to take into account, as comfortable as the hostel is, is that since there’s limited water and electricity there’s no air conditioning.

Read more at islafuerte.com

Taxi from Paso Nuevo to Monteria: about $150,000 COP or $50 dollars.

Parking in Paso Nuevo: before you get on the boat to Isla Fuerte, you can park in Paso Nuevo if you drove. When you get off the main highway to enter Paso Nuevo, go all the way until the paved road ends. There, take a left and on the first corner of the second block you’ll see a yellow house with a big patio to its right. Tell them you need to park and they’ll show you how to go about it. They have a huge parking lot behind the house.

Trash: all the trash on Isla Fuerte must eventually be taken to the mainland, but even on the coast trash is handled badly and will end up in the ocean. Take your trash as far inland as you´re going!

Water: be careful with how much water you use. Isla Fuerte does not have a natural source of water, so all their water is collected during the few rainy months they get on the Island.

The lighthouse of death: one of the hikes in Isla Fuete leads you to a lighthouse. Usually people dare each other to climb up it, but please don’t. When I was in Isla Fuerte recently, my plan was to climb it until a local showed us a rung that had rusted off the ladder all by itself and fallen to the ground. All the rungs are probably in the same condition. (If you’ve ever climbed up, I’d love to hear your experience in the comments though!)

What to do in Isla Fuerte:

  • Go see the Bonga: this tree is gigantic. You have to go see it. You think the ocean is amazing? There are epic things on land too, like this tree!
  • Swing on the Roots of the Walking Tree: this tree is an enormous Ficus whose canopy spans 70 meters. Roots grow from its branches, which hold the canopy up as it expands. Some of these roots haven’t reached the ground and are so strong that you can climb up them or swing on them.
  • Morgan’s Cave: they say this cave got its name because the Pirate Morgan has a cave in San Andres, Providencia, Islas del Rosario, and everywhere really, so there had to be one in Isla Fuerte. You won’t find his treasure or his body, but there are bats and tiny frogs.
  • Quibbes: one of my traditions is to stop in Cerete on the way to Paso Nuevo and eat quibbes, which are Arab empanadas. You can get them filled with curdled milk, eggplant, or meat. They may not sound that appealing but they are amazing.
  • Scuba, kayak, paddle boarding, and aqua-plane: being on an island and not doing all these ocean activities is pretty much a sin. You can do all of these in Isla Fuerte. My favorite is the aqua-plane, which is like a plane underwater. You can maneuver it above and below the surface of the water and make it turn around like an airplane doing pirouettes as you hold onto it and a boat pulls you. Two people can hang on it while one drives. The challenge: who can hold on the longest?
  • Go birdwatching: this tiny island has 83 species of birds to watch for days! Birds migrate to Isla Fuerte during winter, finding the perfect place to reproduce and making it a heavenly place if you’re a birdwatcher.

Check out our tourism tips for exploring Bogota if you’re there for some time or read some more posts to get psyched to go an adventure!

Here’s a small glimpse of what a few days in Isla Fuerte are like!

Travel Guide

How to get to the Tatacoita Desert

Posted on June 13, 2017
How to get to the Tatacoita Desert, Desierto de la Tatacoita, hiking, outdoor adventures close to bogota, bike

How my feet hurt. That’s what happens when you’re not sure how to get somewhere new on foot. It happened to me getting to the Tatacoita Desert (not to be confused with the well-known Tatacoa Desert).

In fact, my trip to this desert is what motivated me to create this website. I got frustrated looking for how to get there because when I searched for it on Google, I only found company’s websites offering tours. But I don’t like tours. I prefer enjoying nature with a group of friends.

I finally found a page with directions to the Tatacoita Desert, so we followed them. And how my feet hurt! We walked twice as much as it said. So I, being the extremely detailed person I am, thought it would be great to have detailed guides about how to get to relatively unknown places like the Tatacoita Desert.

Still, despite the pain in my feet, I always enjoy an adventure like this one. We had a great time visiting the desert – that’s how awesome it is. It’s a unique landscape.

I hope this and all the guides to come will help you plan your adventures!

How to get to the Tatacoita Desert

*Note: You can find the map to get to the Tatacoita Desert at the bottom of this post!

Without a car:

  1. The adventure begins at the Portal Norte (Northern Bus Terminal) in Bogota. Take a bus to Zipaquira. Once in Zipaquira, take a bus to Nemocon.
  2. Get off the bus in Nemocon before the bus takes a right, ‘cause you’re going left. From here, you have two options: walk to the park (about three hours) or ask a motorcycle-taxi to take you as far as it will.
    1. Walking: keep going until you get to a fork in the road. In the middle of the fork there are signs that say “Finca la Macarena,” “Sumicol,” and “Las Nubes.” When I went in December there was also a manger-scene. Go left. One kilometer (about .7 miles) later, take a right. Walk along that road until you pass a small bridge. A little after the bridge you’ll see a steep road going upwards to the right. Go that way and when the road forks again, take a right. You’ll arrive at a red door that is the entrance to a farm. There may not be anyone there, so you can call 3102279771 and ask for Juan Jose. Tell him you want to enter the Desierto de la Tatacoita. The entrance fee is $5,000 COP or about $2 dollars.
    2.  In a motorcycle-taxi: ask a moto-taxi (a motorcycle with a compartment behind it that makes it a taxi) to take you to the Desierto de la Tatacoita or as close as it can. If it can’t drive through the last bit of road, which is an unpaved road in bad conditions, it will at least save you 2.5 hours of walking. This service costs $15,000 COP or $5 USD. You’ll arrive at a red door that is the entrance to a farm. There may not be anyone there, so you can call 3102279771 and ask for Juan Jose. Tell him you want to enter the Desierto de la Tatacoita. The entrance fee is $5,000 COP or about $2 dollars.

 In a car:

With GPS: look up “Desierto de la Tatacoita” on Waze or Google Maps and follow the instructions.

*Note: a GPS will take you a way that I am not sure actually exists, so you may want to follow the directions without a GPS below.

Without a GPS:

  1. Exit Bogota north. Follow directions to Chia (to the right and under the first car bridge) but don’t enter Chia. Keep going until you get to another bridge and stay to your right on the bridge. This is the road to Zipaquira.
  2. When the road divides in two again, get on the bridge, which will take you right towards Zipaquira and Ubate (following the signs). Stay on this road until you reach a round-about and take the second exit.
  3. A few minutes later you will run into a stoplight and a sign that indicates Zipaquira is to the left, Ubate is going straight, and Nemocon is to the right. Go right. You’ll get right to Nemocon that way.
  4. Again, and not for the last time, you will come to a fork in the road once to get to Nemocon. Go left and stay on that road until you once again get to a fork in the road. In the middle of the fork there are signs that say “Finca la Macarena,” “Sumicol,” and “Las Nubes.” When I went in December there was also a manger-scene. Go left. One kilometer (about .7 miles) later, take a right.
  5. Drive along this road until you see a sign that reads “Tienda Santana” and go in. This is where you will park your car if you’re not in a 4×4. You’ll have to walk the rest of the way.
  6. If you’re going in a 4×4, ignore step 5 and continue along the road until you reach a small bridge. A little after the bridge you’ll see a steep road going upwards to the right. Go that way and when the road forks again, take a right. That’s where the unpaved road gets really bad.
  7. You’ll arrive at a red door that is the entrance to a farm. There may not be anyone there, so you can call 3102279771 and ask for Juan Jose. Tell him you want to enter the Desierto de la Tatacoita. The entrance fee is $5,000 COP or about $2 dollars.

Some things to keep in mind:

Entrance fee: $5,000 COP or about $2 dollars.

Moto-taxi fee: $15,000 COP or about $5 dollars.

There is no parking at the Desierto de la Tatacoita, but ask the man that lets you in where you can leave your car or talk to the folks at “Tienda Santana” and, if they let you, leave your car there.

Bus to Zipaquira: $6,000 COP or about $2 dollars.

Bus to Nemocon: $3,000 COP or about $1 dollars.

What to do in the Desierto de la Tatacoita:

  • Camp: I sadly didn’t go camping here, but I have heard that it’s amazing because you feel so far from civilization. It’s also a great place if you love gazing at the stars.
  • Ride your bike: there are trails inside the desert that are awesome. If you can’t take your bike in a car, you can get to the Desierto de la Tatacoita on your bike or ask the bus driver if he’ll let you take your bike in the bus’s baggage compartment. The fee for that is usually half to all of your fee.
  • Take pictures: the way the earth has eroded in the Desierto de la Tatacoita is beautiful! Take pictures of the huge dunes, the green and orange landscape, and, if you camp, the stars! And post those pictures on your social media so that more people can get to know this desert even if it’s just in photos.

To learn about another beautiful place near Bogotá, read our post about Chingaza National Park!

Here’s a video about our adventure in the Tatacoita Desert:

 

Travel Guide

How to get to Chingaza National Park

Posted on May 15, 2017
outdoor adventures close to bogota, how to get to Chingaza National Park, lagunas de buitrago, lagoon, national park, colombia, hiking

How to get to Chingaza National Park

*note: You can find the map to get to Chingaza National Park at the bottom of this post!

*Carrera means roads that go north-south and Calle means roads that go east-west. Both translate to “street,” so I used the words in Spanish in the directions.

Without a car:

There is no public transportation available to take you all the way to the Visitor’s Center, so…

  1. In Bogota, take a bus (TransGuasca or Flota Valle de Tenza), which you can find on Carrera 13 with Calle 72, about two blocks towards the mountain from the Calle 72 Transmilenio station. The bus’s final destination is Guasca.
  2. Tell the bus driver to leave you at the entrance to Chingaza.
  3. Go up and to the right on the unpaved road where the bus driver drops you off. From here on out you’ll have to walk or hitch a ride.
  4. Stay on the main road for 20.5 kilometers, making sure you pass an enormous abandoned cement factory. There are signs along the road that’ll help you get to Chingaza National Park. If you get lost, ask a local!
  5. Good luck walking!

In a car:

With GPS: use Waze or Google Maps to look up “Centro Administrativo Piedras Gordas PNN Chingaza” and follow the instructions.

Without GPS:

  1. In Bogota, get on the Carrera 7 and head up the mountain on Calle 84. Go north, which is left, on the Circunvalar, or Carrera 1.
  2. A few hundred meters along this road there’s a fork in the road. To the right is a tunnel. Go left instead towards La Calera and stay on this road 18.2 kilometers.
  3. Once you’ve passed La Calera you’ll see a Terpel gas station and the Asader el Rancho de la Gallina restaurant. Close by, there’s a big entrance going up to the right. Go that way.
  4. This entire road is unpaved, but any car can make it through. Stay on the main road 20.5 kilometers, making sure you pass an enormous abandoned cement factory.
  5. There are signs along the road that’ll help you get to Chingaza National Park.

You can access these trails from the Piedras Gordas Visitor Center:

  • Cuchillas de Siecha Trail
  • Lagunas de Buitrago Trail
  • Laguna Seca Trail
  • Suasie Trail
  • Laguna de Chingaza Trail

*a guide is necessary on some of these trails. Visit Corpochingaza’s Facebook page to book a local guide!

Some things to keep in mind:

Entrance fee:

  • Colombian Adults : $14,500 COP or about $5 dollars.
  • Children 5 – 12 years old: $9,000 COP or about $3 dollars.
  • Non-Colombian Adults: $42,000 COP or about $15 dollars.

Parking: $13,000 COP or about $4.5 dollars.

Take some water-proof clothes or a change of clothes in the car in case it rains. And more importantly, don’t decide not to go to Chingaza because it’s cloudy or rainy. Chingaza National Park is even more magical and mysterious when it’s not sunny.

The trail to the Lagunas de Buitrago (lagoons), which is practically an unpaved road, keeps going a while after getting to the lagoons. If you’re feeling adventurous, you can keep going to the end and then follow a smaller trail towards the mountains where the Cuchillas de Siecha are. This less-well known trail meets with the trail that starts at the Visitor’s Center and end in the Cuchillas de Siecha. Judge for yourself – if you’re not very good with directions or for knowing where you are, don’t get off the big path.

What to do in Chingaza:

  • Go up: if you go to the Lagunas de Buitrago you can hike up to the peak that looms over the lagoons. The view from the top is spectacular!
  • Run: a lot of people go to Chingaza to go for a run. Like I’ve said, the trail to the Lagunas de Buitrago is practically an unpaved road and is perfect for trail running. There are sometimes races there too!
  • Get to know the place: as you may have read, there are a lot of trails in Chingaza because it is a huge park. My advice is to stay a few days to get to know all the hikes you can or go back a few times. Since it’s so big, the park has a lot of features that you need to see.
  • Look for animals: there are lots of animals in PNN Chingaza such as the spectacled bear, which can grow up to 2 meters standing on 2 legs, two deer species, and condors. So be on the watch!
  • Take pictures: as always, you gotta take pictures. There’s a different natural beauty around every corner and behind every mountain.

Hope this blog post is helpful, it was our first blog post ever! Check out our About Us page to learn more about our mission!

To learn about another beautiful place near Bogotá, read our post about Pionono Park!

Here’s a video to motivate you to head out to Chingaza!

 

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