The Secret
Heart of Colombia

Day 1: Arrival in Bogota

Arrive in Bogota and transfer to the hotel, located in the historic heart of the city. The rest of the day is at leisure to either explore or relax. If you have arrived early you may wish to visit the interesting Gold Museum which is very close to the hotel, housing one of the most important collections of pre-Hispanic metallurgy in the world, offering an insight into this lucrative but controversial activity which has brought wealth, war and fortune-seekers to Colombia’s shores for many centuries. Overnight at Hotel Casa de la Vega or similar. No meals are included today. 

Bogota

Colombia’s capital was established as a Spanish settlement by conquistadors in the 16th century, displacing the indigenous Muisca population that for 2,000 years had farmed the plateau on which the city now stands. Following independence from Spain in the 19th century it became capital of a federation of states that included Panama, Ecuador and Venezuela, eventually settling for being capital of just Colombia. As with many cities in Latin America, Bogota has a rich architectural heritage and nowhere is this more apparent than in the historic quarter of La Candelaria, with its cobbled streets winding between brightly coloured colonial buildings and its contrastingly wide boulevards. Once renowned as one of the most violent cities in the world, in recent years Bogota has undergone a tremendous and most welcome transformation as social policies have made the city a far safer place – forget what you have heard and come to experience the reality of a bustling, modern metropolis, imbued with vestiges of a rich cultural past. 

Day 2: Bogota sightseeing

Spend the first full day on tour in Bogota exploring this vibrant city on foot and by vehicle. Firstly take a guided walk around La Candelaria – the historical centre of Bogota with colonial and baroque style buildings and cobblestone streets and plazas, and visit the Emerald Museum which catalogues the country’s rise to being the world’s largest emerald producer (make sure you bring ID) and then the San Francisco Church, a sixteenth century delight which still draws pilgrims as the oldest Christian site in the city. Continue to the Paloquemao for a visit to the bustling and colourful public market, essentially an authentic farmer’s market on an epic scale: a genuine cornucopia of foods and eating places, wander through the myriad of stalls and perhaps sample an arepa or pan de bono. Continue for spectacular views of Bogota City from one of its mountainous peaks at the Monserrate monastery, a seventeenth century shrine to ‘The Fallen Lord’. Overnight at Hotel Casa de la Vega or similar (BL) 

Day 3: Bogota - Zipaquirá – Raquira - Villa de Leyva (Overall approximate driving time today: 4 hours)

Drive to the famous Salt Cathedral of Zipaquira, carved into the tunnels of a salt mine, and experience the surreal journey into the heart of the mountain’s holy site. From here, continue as far as the charming village of Raquira, famous for its handicrafts and pottery. After a short break to admire local craftsmen’s skills, continue to the beautifully preserved and traditional town of Villa De Leyva, characterised by its clusters of white-washed colonial-style buildings and sweepingly elegant central square. Overnight at Hotel & Spa Getsemani or similar. (BL) 

Zipaquira

The ‘Salt Cathedral’ of Zipaquira is both unique and extraordinary: it is carved into the walls of an ancient salt mine, once exploited by the Muisca Indians as early as the 5th century, 200 metres inside a mountain. Although not officially a cathedral, it attracts worshippers every Sunday, and its interior consists of winding passages and rooms, with fourteen small chapels representing the Stations of the Cross.

Starting off life as a small chapel for the miners, the construction of the present-day cathedral involved the extraction of 250,000 tons of stone from the mine. Colombia’s most famous artists have contributed to the various side chapels which culminate in the soaring main church, with its 21 metre high roof and the focal point of an exquisitely carved ‘floating’ 15 metre-high illuminated cross.  Deep below the religious edifice, the mining still goes on and a combination of tourism and salt-extraction makes Zipaquira a relatively wealthy town. Nowadays the passageways throng with an eclectic mix of pilgrims and curious visitors, the former of which swell to number many thousand during Semana Santa, or the Christian Holy Week leading up to Easter. 

Villa de Leyva

Nestling against the slopes of the high Andes which thrust colossally into the dramatic clouded slopes that loom it, Villa de Leyva is one of the most picturesque towns in Colombia, if not all Latin America, with gorgeously well-preserved colonial buildings, cobbled streets and a tradition of excellent handicrafts. Standing at over 2100m above sea-level, the town is an excellent place to while away a few hours exploring, watching the world go by from pavement cafes and getting lost in its circuitous backstreets. In particular, visitors are drawn to experience the huge central Plaza Major, reputedly the largest cobbled square in South America, where time seems to stand still: empty cobbled expanses, an idiosyncratic well and the surrounding terracotta-roofed buildings lend an air of the sixteenth century and a sense of abandonment. In fact, the town has maintained much of its original charm and tranquillity owing to a lack of mineral deposits nearby and the relative aridity of the surrounding desertified landscape. 

Day 4: Villa de Leyva Sightseeing

Spend the morning exploring Villa de Leyva, visiting the central plaza with its churches, restaurants and handicraft shops. Take a guided walk through its atmospheric streets, many boasting huge cobblestone paving that boast colourful bougainvillea spilling from balconies, patios, courtyards and white-washed buildings with pan-tiled roofs. Continue to the “Santo Ecce Homo” Dominican convent, constructed in 1620 by the Spanish from local stone, studded with a profusion of fossils.  The site offers a real window on the colonial era and religious missions from Europe. Having passed through the delightful gardens, within you will find a dozen beautiful galleries adorned with religious art and impressively informative guide materials. Later, continue to the extraordinary Museo el Fósil, which houses the 7-metre-long remains of a crocodile-like ancestor, the Kronosaurus, dated between 100 and 150 million years old, and beached here when the whole area lay on the shores of a tropical sea. Finish the tour at the Casa de Terra Cotta, claimed by architect Octavio Mendoza to be the largest piece of pottery in the world. Explore the whimsical rooms inside, fashioned entirely from clay, baked hard by the sun. The afternoon is at your leisure to further discover this charming town. Overnight at Hotel Hotel & Spa Getsemani or similar (BL) 

Day 5: Villa de Leyva – Tunja – Bogota – Girardot (Overall approximate driving time today: 5.5 hours)

Leaving Villa de Leyva behind, drive back towards Bogota taking an alternative scenic back-road via Tunja, capital city of the department of Boyacá. Stop at the most important monument in Colombian history: the Boyacá Bridge, a tiny, white-washed stone crossing which belies its national significance. On that site Simón Bolívar won his most decisive battle against Spanish settlers which directly paved the way for independence from the Spanish Empire and the establishment of ‘Gran Colombia’. On arrival back in Bogotá, pay a visit to the foundation of Hogar de Paz and learn about their vital work to shelter and support adolescents with family difficulties by supporting them via community projects.  Finally, continue south to Girardot. Overnight GHL Relax Hotel Club el Puente or similar (BLD) 

Girardot

Girardot is a city with over 100.000 inhabitants located on a plain beneath the Cordillera Oriental uplands, about 3 hours southwest of Bogotá. The modern city only dates from the nineteenth century; prior to that the region was rural, with goat farming the main agriculture.

Despite its relative proximity to the capital city, Girardot enjoys a year-round tropical and hot climate which attracts tourists from Bogotá especially on the weekend, escaping the capital's often high precipitation. The Parque de la Locomotora, home to the antique tourist train, is a pleasant spot near the river and the main plaza and modern cathedral, ideal for an ice cream and photography of the Magdalena River.

Day 6: Girardot – Villavieja/Tatacoa Desert (Overall approximate driving time today: 3.5 hours)       
After breakfast start the journey to Neiva along the reliable tarmac of Route 45 which gradually gives way to narrower roads alongside which are villages with clusters of houses amidst scattered woodland approaching Villavieja, a little village close to the Tatacoa Desert. In the afternoon we take a trip through the arid scrub where we will pass the labyrinthine profusion of eroded dry gullies in ochres and greys which make for some stunning photographic opportunities. We continue to Neiva where we spend the night. Overnight at Hosteria Matamundo or similar (BL)

The Tatacoa Desert

The Tatacoa Desert is located very close to Neiva in the department of Huila. It is a striking landscape of eroded cliffs and gullies, sculpted by the infrequent, but sometimes substantial rain. Once you are amidst the surreal pinnacles of sand and soil and the copious canyons that wind where water once flowed chaotically, the dry, clear air becomes a real feature. Incidentally, this combination of air quality, lack of light pollution and location in close proximity to the equator, makes Tatacoa a great spot for stargazing – the skies above both the Northern and Southern hemispheres are spread out for all to see. Despite its appellation, Tatacoa isn't a true desert, although the thermometer states otherwise – it can hit 50°C at times! It's technically a semi-arid dry tropical forest, whose vegetation comprises of succulents and thorny bushes. The name Tatacoa is taken from an now extinct snake-like reptile which the Spanish discovered here; in its place there is still an impressive range of flora and fauna to watch out for: scorpions, snakes, cacti, and up to 72 different species of birds in the area, such as Great caracara, American kestrels, Blue ground-doves and Shining-green hummingbirds and the wonderfully-named and ubiquitous Pearly-vented tody-tyrants. 

Day 7: Villavieja - San Agustin – Excursion to Rio Magdalena (Overall approximate driving time today: 5 hours)

We leave Villavieja in the early morning and drive through a vivid landscape, rising through dramatic mountain-scenery with the Rio Cabrera and then the Rio Ambica as constant companions. As the route winds around the edges of hills and wooded ridges, near the archaeologic hotspot of Colombia –San Agustin. We spend the next two nights imbibing the splendour of the area and its archaeological wonders. In the afternoon we drive to the famous Rio Magdalena Strait. Here, the longest river in Colombia narrows to a raging torrent just two metres wide. Returning to San Agustin, we visit a ‘trapiche’ traditional factory producing unrefined panela sugar from sugar cane. The rest of the day is at leisure to relax or explore independently. Overnight at Akawanka Lodge or similar. (BL) 

Day 8: San Agustin Archaeology

Spend today exploring the village of San Agustin and its Archaeological Park, which comprises three main sites: Las Mesitas, the Fuente de Lavapatas, and the Bosque de Las Estatuas, all of which will astound and bemuse you in equal part. The visit ends with a fascinating visit to the Archaeological Museum which will provide fascinating context to what was seen throughout the day. The rest of the afternoon is at leisure to enjoy the tranquillity of the hotel. Overnight at Akawanka Lodge or similar (BL)  

San Agustin

San Agustín is an isolated village in the upland southern department of Huila, about 230km from the nearest population centre at Neiva. Originally founded in 1752 by Alejo Astudillo, the village has seen some dramatic moments of violence during the colonial era: successful attacks by indigenous people destroyed it entirely and it wasn’t until 1790 that Lucas de Herazo y Mendigaña managed to re-establish a permanent village. 

The climate here is gentle, averaging around 18 °C year-round which has clearly made it highly attractive to a series of different races and tribes through the ages. Amazingly, the extraordinary and unique abundance of archaeological sites that have survived beyond the pre-Columbian peoples’ demise remain largely uncelebrated and the incredible culture which produced these religious relics in such profusion is as yet unnamed and still demands a huge amount of research. The larger area, known as San Agustín Archaeological Park, has several areas worthy of a lengthy visit: Las Mesitas is an amazing conglomeration of burial mounds, terraces, funerary structures and idiosyncratic squat stone statues; the Fuente de Lavapatas is a ritualistic site, unusually carved into stone bed of a stream where acred washing seems to have taken place; the wooded Bosque de Las Estatuas site is again a collection of a rich array of examples of stone statues from the area, with huge heads, hunched shoulders and unmistakably Mayan-Aztec-Inca-styled carved features. In recent years, the number of visitors has grown and the sites generate significant revenue to the economy. In 1995, UNESCO declared it a World Heritage Site. 

Day 9: San Agustin – Isnos - Popayan (Overall approximate driving time today: 4.5 hours)

After breakfast, continue to Popayan stopping at Village Isnos where nearby we will observe some impressive tombs and statues at Alto de Los Idolos, dating from the 1st century BC to the 5th century AD. In all, 16 tombs and 17 sculptures were built on an ambitious man-made platform between two hills. The region’s largest funerary statue, at 7m tall is also to be found there. Continue traversing the beautiful Puracé National Natural Park, named after the active volcano in this stunning mountainous region. Experience the unforgettable landscape of the Andean cloud forest where the road winds and climbs through lush vegetation which tumbles thick and steaming down the hillsides. On its fringes, pass through the little-known landscape of the Paramo: residing between exposed mountain-sides and forest, this wetland offers incredible biodiversity from over 200 orchid species, rare trees such as the Colombian Pine, Andean Oak and Wax Palm, and animals worth keeping a beady eye out for – like spectacled bears, cougars, howler monkeys, mountain tapir and the world’s smallest deer, the pudu. The sharp-eyed visitor may also spot circling Condor in the skies above. We expect to arrive in Popayan – known as The White City – around midday. This afternoon, take a walking tour to discover what the city has to offer. Overnight at Hotel La Plazuela or similar (BL) 

Popayan

Popayan is the capital of the Cauca department. Founded by the Spanish conquistador Sebastian de Belalcazar in 1537, the city is located in the Valley of Pubenza between the Western and Central Cordillera in the southwest of the country. In the early Spanish era, its central location and mines meant that it produced gold and silver coinage for the country. The old and historic centre of Popayan is considered one of the most beautiful and best preserved in Colombia as well as in all of Latin America. After suffering badly in the earthquake of 1983, the city has rebuilt substantially and boasts many cultural attractions. The oldest of these, El Morro del Tulcán, is an ancient pyramid of uncertain origins; elsewhere, European settlers have dominated the landscape: the bell-tower and Catedral Basílica Nuestra Señora de la Asunción lie in the central area, but the city is dotted by exquisite churches, dating back as far as 1546. The city was also awarded the status of UNESCO City of Gastronomy owing to its slavish dedication to local cuisine; a visit to one of the many eateries here is a must. The miniscule ‘La Fresa’ is a renowned example, selling scrumptious handmade potato and peanut empaňadas. 

Day 10: Popayan – Silvia – Timbio - Popayan

After breakfast we visit Silvia, where on Tuesdays, the indigenous Guambiano people come together dressed in their royal blue and fuschia native costumes to offer and buy their products at the market and to converse with one another. This takes place at the famous market in Silvia, which creates a special opportunity to see and meet these ancestral groups that are so fiercely proud of their culture. Depending on the length of the visit, we either have lunch in Silvia or back in Popayan, before we continue to Timbío, one of the few places where the silk production, which was initiated by the state about 40 years ago, still persists. Here, the entire production process – from cultivating the mulberry leaves to the production of the silk threads – is entirely in women’s hands. We are welcomed by the strong women whoshow and tell us everything about their daily work on a tour through the mulberry fields, the nursery and pupating stations of the silk worms, as well as the final processing of the raw silk. After a delicious local snack and a visit of the local silk craft store, we head back to Popayán. Overnight Hotel La Plazuela or similar (BL) 

Day 11: Popayan - Buga - Qimbaya (Coffee Region)

Today we leave Popayan and head towards the Coffee Region, where we stop in Buga, where the famous Basilica del Señor de los Milagros is located – founded to celebrate the miracle of the gift of a crucifix from the local river to a generous and pious old woman. We then continue on to our charming hotel in the coffee region. Overnight Hotel Vila Nora or similar (BL) 

Day 12: Excursion Cacao Tour – Cacao Finca (approx. duration 6 hours)

We leave our hotel towards the city of Armenia. In case of bad weather we change to Willy jeeps to make our way to Hacienda Evelyza, where we visit the plantation of different native and non-native varieties of cocoa. The owner of the Hacienda shares his profound knowledge of the cultivation, history and culture of cacao. During the tour through we taste various cacao fruits, and see how the grafts for no new seedlings are made. Finally we arrive at the main house where we experience the fermentation-, drying- and artesanal grinding-process. After tasting a delicious, selfmade hot chocolate, we return to our accommodation. Overnight Hotel Vila Nora or similar (BL) 

Day 13: Qimbaya – Alarcá – Manizales

Today we take it easy and enjoy the grounds of the finca in the morning, before we drive north towards Manizales. On the way we stop at a typical “trapiche”, where sugar cane is processed to raw sugar cane blocks called “panela”. Panela is used in every Colombian household and is a great alternative to white sugar. We either have lunch close by or continue to our final destination of Hacienda Venecia in the outskirts of Manizales. Overnight Hacienda Venecia or similar (BLD) 

Day 14: Menizales – Half Day Coffee Process

Spend the morning learning about the fascinating life and culture of those who inhabit the coffee region and learn about the complex process that transforms the humble coffee bean into one of Colombia’s most renowned exports as well as enjoying tastings of the farm’s product (this tour is shared by other visitors to the Hacienda). This afternoon will be at leisure for you to relax or explore further. Overnight at Hacienda Venecia similar (BL) 

The Coffee Zone

For most people, the area where coffee is produced forms the beating heart of Colombia, its cultural epicentre. Indeed Columbia, the third largest coffee producer in the world, grows more Arabica beans than any other nation on earth. To the first time explorer, the landscape itself seems magical: the sinewy roads through the rolling hillsides are laden with coffee plantations and each new turn offers you a fresh and spectacular panorama. The landscape produces crops teetering on the edge of plunging valleys which give way to broad terraces with dizzying views across this incredible scenery. Campasino (‘rural life’) continues unabated as it has done for generations: the locals harvesting coffee, plantains and many other fruits in this verdant and luxuriant land. Three departments make up the Triangulo Del Café: they run in a North-South line, following the Central Andean Cordillera. Caldas is the most northerly of the departments, followed by Risaralda and, most southerly, Quindío. The pristine snow-capped peaks of the Parque Natural Los Nevados gaze solemnly down from the east and the climate is accordingly one of extremes: cold air from the lofty ridges meets the warm humidity of the Rio Cauca, the region’s largest river. The watercourse has its source in the high mountains of Cauca, thence to its merging with the Rio Brazo and then the Rio Magdalena further north. 

Day 15: Manizales – Honda (approx. driving 4 hours)

After a leisurely morning we leave Manizales and head to the quaint little city of Honda for two nights. Overnight Hotel Casa Belle Epoque or similar (BL) 

Day 16: Honda

Today take a half day walking tour through this historic river town, founded in 1643, located directly at the Magdalena River. Visits include the market (plaza de mercado), the puente Navarro Bridge, some colonial houses and the “Museo del rio”. The rest of the day is at leisure. Overnight Casa Belle Epoque or similar (BL) 

Day 17: Honda – Bogota Departure (approx. driving time 4 hours)

Today we drive back to Bogota via the central Andes mountains. Upon arrival and at a suitable time you will be transferred to the airport for your departure flight (B)