Los Llanos
Los Llanos
Why Go?
As you head southeast away from Bogotá, the jagged Andean terrain soon flattens out as if a giant guillotine dropped down across the mountains, revealing an endless sea of green grasslands. This is Los Llanos (the Plains). Teeming with wildlife, Los Llanos harbors more than 100 species of mammals and more than 700 bird species, including some of the planet’s most endangered species.
Until a decade ago much of this area was essentially off-limits to foreigners, but today, with the surrender of the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) and the retreat of drug traffickers and paramilitaries, the area is largely safe again and is quickly opening up to tourism. The biggest attraction here by far is Caño Cristales, the extraordinary multicolored rivers inside the Parque Nacional Natural Sierra de La Macarena, but elsewhere in the region you’ll find fascinating archaeological sites, natural wonders and the warmth and earthy humor of llaneros in abundance.
When to Go
- Apr The height of the dry season; very hot weather, but the best time to see wildlife.
- Jun The annual Torneo Internacional del Joropo happens in Villavicencio.
- Jul–Nov Caño Cristales takes on its famous red color as its unique plants roar to life.
Best Places to Stay
Los Llanos Highlights
1 Caño Cristales Witnessing the extraordinary combination of colors that explodes to life for a few months a year in these remote rivers.
2 San José del Guaviare Basing yourself in this lovable provincial town while exploring the surrounding countryside.
3 Nueva Tolima Cave Paintings Staring up in wonder at the fascinating messages left for posterity by long-vanished indigenous peoples.
4 Parque Nacional Natural El Tuparro Taking an adventurous trip to this truly remote slice of Los Llanos.
5 Traveling by river to the Amazon Undertaking the ultimate Colombian adventure: the two-week river journey through Los Llanos to the mighty Amazon River.
8Dangers & Annoyances
Despite the great success of the peace process in Colombia, the security situation in Los Llanos remains very fluid and can change very quickly – always check current situations with authorities and/or travel agencies before embarking anywhere in this region. Get detailed travel advice regarding trips into any remote areas.
8Getting There & Around
Villavicencio is the region’s main transportation hub, just a three-hour journey down the highway from Bogotá or a short hop on several daily flights. The highway now extends all the way to San José del Guaviare too, after which things get decidedly more tricky. Villavicencio, as well as Bogotá and Medellín, have direct flight connections to La Macarena for access to Caño Cristales.
Villavicencio
%8 / Pop 495,000 / Elev 467m
The heavily militarized highway heading south from Bogotá leads to Villavicencio – ‘La Puerta al Llano,’ the gateway to the plain – 75km southeast. It’s a bustling though not particularly interesting city with a serious penchant for nightlife and grilled meat. The city is a good base for exploring the plains, and though it’s no longer a requisite jumping-off point for trips to Caño Cristales, it does offer the most thrilling ride there: in an ancient and creaky 1940s-era DC-3!
zFestivals & Events
Torneo Internacional del JoropoDANCE
(
hlate Jun)
Every year in the last week of June the streets of Villavicencio become open-air dance floors for those who love joropo, a dance not dissimilar to the fandango that is much loved and practiced in Los Llanos. Dance enthusiasts from all over Colombia and Venezuela compete for prizes.
4Sleeping & Eating
As a busy commercial center, Villavicencio has a good provision of hotels. In general, budget and midrange options can be found downtown, while smarter top-end hotels are generally located on the outskirts.
Asaderos (restaurants serving roasted or grilled meats) dish up the regional specialty mamona (baby beef), and can be found all over town.
Hotel Sol DoradoHOTEL$$
(%8-662-3671; hotelsoldorado@hotmail.com; Calle 37 No 29-66; s/d incl breakfast from COP$88,000/132,000; 
a
W)
This friendly place is one of the most comfortable and more salubrious of the downtown hotels. Some of its 31 rooms border on the garish, but they’re clean and well looked after. Those at the front are noisy but have balconies and natural light, while the ones at the back are a little dark and cell-like but quiet.
Estelar Villavicencio HotelBUSINESS HOTEL$$$
(%8-663-1000; www.hotelesestelar.com; cnr Av 40 & Calle 11, Costado Norte Metro Kia; r incl breakfast from COP$255,000; aW
s)
Yes it may be out of the downtown area, but if you’re looking for comfort, modernity and service, this is the splurge for you. Rooms are massive, spotless and have great bathrooms and comfortable beds. There’s a lap pool and bar area, and the restaurant serves good meals.
(Carrera 30A No 38-46; set meals COP$10,000-15,000; h7am-8pm Mon-Sat, 8am-6pm Sun)
A comida corriente staple since 1967, this popular downtown choice dishes up traditional set lunch plates served by friendly waiters (in cowgirl outfits on holidays). It does a great breakfast as well.
OFF THE BEATEN TRACK
A VILLAGE FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
Off the beaten path, Gaviotas, about 100km southeast of Villavicencio, is a ‘green’ success story. The UN called the village a model of sustainable development, and Gabriel García Márquez called founder Paolo Lugari the ‘inventor of the world.’ The village of 200 people is operated on wind and solar power. Residents farm organically and have planted millions of trees. The town has become a world-class research and development center for green technologies and the commune-like society has no police, no mayor and no weapons. The village was profiled in journalist Alan Weisman’s book Gaviotas: A Village to Reinvent the World.
Gaviotas is not set up for tourism, however, and with no hotels, restaurants, public transportation or methods to pay for services (money is not exchanged for goods or services), it would be tricky if you tried to engineer a visit on your own. Those who are curious to visit should contact Friends of Gaviotas (www.friendsofgaviotas.org) to see if there are any tours planned.
8Information
Turismo Villavicencio (%8-673-1313; www.turismovillavicencio.gov.co; Calle 41 No 31-42; h9am-5pm Mon-Fri)
8Getting There & Away
The spectacular journey from Bogotá should not be missed as the magnificent highway pushes through the mountain valleys, first ascending and then descending towards Los Llanos. From the town’s busy Terminal de Transportes (%8-660-6535; www.terminalvillavicencio.gov.co; Av Los Maracos) numerous daily buses connect to Bogotá (COP$25,000, three hours) and San José del Guaviare (COP$47,500, six hours). Buses to La Macarena (COP$97,000, 24 hours) depart three times a week and take forever as the road circumnavigates the national park.
Villavicencio’s Aeropuerto de la Vanguardia (%321-762-2520; Carrera 19) has daily charter flights to La Macarena (COP$450,000) with Satena (%8-664-8512; www.satena.com; Carrera 19, Aeropuerto de la Vanguardia). Planes leave from here in six-seat Cessnas, and on Saturdays in a massive 1940s-era DC-3. There are also several flights a day to Bogotá with Avianca.
San José del Guaviare
%8 / Pop 65,600 / Elev 185m
Likable San José del Guaviare may be the capital of Guaviare state but it feels much like any small town in Colombia. It’s a mercantile and friendly place perched on the southern bank of the Río Guaviare with dusty roads and a bustling grid of shopping streets. San José’s moment may have come as tourism to Los Llanos continues to grow and grow, with San José looking set to become its main center.
While the town may not have much obvious tourist appeal itself, it does boast a number of interesting sights nearby that make spending a day or two here very worthwhile. These include Guaviare’s numerous archaeological sites, natural wonders and its all important position between Bogotá and the Amazon, which can be reached from here in two tough but exhilarating weeks of boat travel via the Guaviare, Orinoco and Yaví rivers.
1Sights
There’s not much to occupy you in San José itself, although there’s a pleasant mirador (Calle 7 & Carrera 23) overlooking the mighty Guaviare River as it curves around the bend on which the town is built. The main sights outside the town can conveniently be found along the dusty road towards Nueva Tolima, making them perfect for a day trip.
Pozos NaturalesNATURAL POOL
(COP$3000; h9am-5pm)
These lovely natural swimming holes hewn from the rocky riverbed are a wonderful place to relax and cool off once you’ve sweated your way around the other sights along the Nueva Tolima road. It’s a five-minute walk through a series of signed paths down to the river, and there are several gorgeous pools, some as deep as 8m, which are perfect for a lazy bathe.
The setup is rather an odd one, however. There are two entrances to the pools from the main road: the first one you come to if you’re approaching from San José is often unmanned, so you may well need to go to the second one a kilometer further along the road to pay and then return to the first gate, which has the easiest access to the pools.
Nueva Tolima Cave PaintingsARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE
(Nueva Tolima) 
F
This fascinating site 22km from San José is the most easily accessible of the numerous cave paintings in the department of Guaviare, though it’s still quite a challenge to find. Leave the dirt road at the sign for Finca Villa Nueva and then walk through farmland (it’s best to greet the farmers and ask permission to cross) and climb up the hillside. At the top you’ll find extraordinarily well preserved indigenous cave paintings open to the elements.
Ciudad de PiedraNATURAL FEATURE
F Located 17km from San José del Guaviare along an unpaved but normally quite easily passable road, the so-called ‘City of Stone’ is a very unusual natural feature that attracts a steady stream of visitors. A number of large stone monoliths here give the sense of man-made streets and human-scale construction, even though it’s purely a product of geology. Wandering around this site is enjoyably weird; you’ll usually be the only one here.
OFF THE BEATEN TRACK
BY RIVER TO THE AMAZON
There’s plenty of opportunity for great adventure in Colombia, be it mountain climbing, extreme sports or diving in the Caribbean, but if you’re looking for the ultimate adventure then it’s hard to imagine anything more challenging and exciting than the epic river journey from Los Llanos to the Amazon. This is a trip through almost total wilderness, where the largest settlements are remote indigenous villages set among hundreds of thousands of square kilometers of dense jungle, fast-flowing brown rivers and thick humidity. It’s only become possible in recent years as guerrilla and paramilitary camps were gradually abandoned as part of the peace process.
While the journey is now possible, it’s still a long way from easy or particularly comfortable, and you’ll need at least two weeks to complete the trip from San José del Guaviare to Leticia, not to mention plenty of run-up time to arrange transportation through a travel agency. Attempting this without logistical support from an experienced operator would be extremely dangerous.
Contact travel agencies in Leticia to inquire about making the trip. Alternatively speak to staff at hotels in San José del Guaviare and ask if they know reliable guides. Either way ensure you begin the process several months before you want to undertake the journey and follow the travel agencies’ advice regarding any changes in regional safety.
4Sleeping & Eating
(%8-584-0823; hotelcolombiabiaggd@hotmail.com; Carrera 23 No 7-96; d/tr COP$60,000/80,000; aW)
Located above a popular heladería (ice-cream parlor) of the same name, this curiously designed place has some of the smartest and cleanest rooms in town. It’s very comfortable, even if the Colombian folk art is at turns charming and awful. It’s certainly the only place in town to offer chaise longues as standard. The welcome is warm.
Hotel YuruparíHOTEL$
(%313-263-2695, 8-584-0096; www.hotelyurupari.com; Calle 8 No 22-87; s/d without air-con COP$45,000/70,000, with air-con COP$60,000/90,000; aW)
This friendly and wonderfully central midrange hotel is our pick. The multigenerational family running the place is delightful, and while rooms are simple and unremarkable, they are spotless and great value.
Hotel El JardínHOTEL$
(%313-322-1120, 8-584-9158; Calle 9 No 24-34; s/d/tr COP$40,000/45,000/85,000; aW)
Though there’s little sign of the titular garden beyond a row of plants along a paved corridor, this is San José’s best budget option for now. The rooms are clean and simple, and include fridges. You’ll have to find breakfast elsewhere though.
(cnr Calle 10 & Carrera 23; mains COP$10,000-20,000; hnoon-11pm; W)
With its tables outside on the street sheltered by the market awning, Nomada looks at first glance to be just like any small comida corriente, but one look at the menu will tell you otherwise. There’s a selection of burgers, meat grills, wraps and even pancakes to choose from. Service is super-friendly and the entire place is rather stylish.
8Information
Tourist Information (%314-281-8830; Calle 7 No 23-07; h8am-6pm Mon-Fri)
8Getting There & Away
Flota La Macarena (%321-205-5270; Carrera 20 No 12A-10) connects San José to Villavicencio (COP$47,500, six hours) and Bogotá (COP$63,000, nine hours) from its tiny bus terminal at the edge of downtown.
It’s possible to take a bus to La Macarena (COP$80,000, seven hours) from here too, with departures on Tuesday, Friday and Saturday. Contact Constrans Guaviare (%321-205-5270; Carrera 20 No 12A-10) to reserve a spot.
There’s a small airport (Calle 10 & Carrera 25) just north of the town center with a few flights a week to Bogotá on Satena (%311-236-2988; www.satena.com; Carrera 23 No 7-85).
Caño Cristales
%8 / Pop 33,000 / Elev 233m
Caño Cristales, a series of remote rivers, waterfalls and streams inside the wilderness of Parque Nacional Natural Sierra de La Macarena (www.parquesnacionales.gov.co; COP$87,000), has been called everything from ‘The River of Five Colors’ to ‘The Liquid Rainbow.’ This is due to a unique biological phenomenon that takes place for a couple of months between July and November when an eruption of algae forms an underwater blanket of bright red. This transforms the crystal-clear water into a river of cabernet that contrasts magically with the lunarscape of ancient, hollowed-out riverbed rock and the surrounding savannah landscape.
The main waterfalls and swimming holes are Piscina del Turista, Piscina de Carol Cristal, Cascada del Aguila, Cascada de Piedra Negra and Caño la Virgen. All access to the park is from the town of La Macarena, which sits just south of the park on the other side of the Río Guayabero. You will be guided throughout the park, and to keep tourism impact low, groups are divided up into different parts of Caño Cristales.
Coming here involves some expense, a lot of sweaty hiking and some fairly unexciting meals in the town of La Macarena, but the pay-off is immense. You’ll no doubt agree when you dive into one of the numerous swimming holes, waterfalls or natural pools along the river, or come face-to-face with the impressive local wildlife.
Caño Cristales is no secret – Colombians swarm to it on long weekends (called puentes) when the maximum daily visitor count of 180 isn’t always enforced. These holiday weekends are best avoided. Come midweek if you’re able to.
8NATIONAL PARK RULES
Access to the PNN Sierra de La Macarena is closely controlled by the park authorities and there are several unusually strict rules that all visitors must follow. Most important of these is that sun cream and mosquito spray cannot be used on the body prior to entry into the park, as the introduction of chemical compounds to the water could pollute the otherwise pristine waters and adversely affect the unique ecosystem that produces the rivers’ extraordinary colors. Visitors are also banned from bringing in plastic bottles, from walking in sandals and from wearing shorts. There are checks by park rangers when you enter the park to ensure that these rules are not broken.
What to Bring
As you won’t be able to wear sun cream or mosquito repellent, it’s important to have a sun hat, long pants and long sleeves to avoid sun burn – bear in mind that shade is almost nonexistent inside the national park. Bring a large water thermos to supply yourself with plenty of water throughout the day, as it’s unsafe to drink the river water. Sunglasses and good walking shoes are also advisable, as there is a lot of walking to be done, as well as several sections of scrambling over uneven rocks. As yellow fever is present in this area, it’s important to have a vaccination card to present if you’re asked for one.
Taxes & Fees
There are several local taxes and entry fees payable on arrival at La Macarena Airport . These include a COP$37,000 town tax, a COP$6000 airport tax and a COP$87,000 park entry tax.
TTours
You cannot visit Caño Cristales on your own – you are obligated to go into the national park with one of the official local guides, even if you do make it to La Macarena under your own steam. Most tours include air transportation to La Macarena, hotels, meals and guide services. You’ll normally be in a group of up to 12 people with a couple of local guides and will sleep in La Macarena and spend the days inside the national park.
oCristales Aventura ToursOUTDOORS
(%313-294-9452, 300-693-9988; www.cano-cristales.com; Calle 5 No 7-35, La Macarena)
Friendly English-speaking experts Cristales Aventura Tours are very used to dealing with foreign visitors and offer a flexible range of packages to suit all interests. You can make your own way to La Macarena or buy an all-inclusive package in Bogotá, Medellín or Villavicencio.
Cristales MacarenaOUTDOORS
(%313-499-6038; www.viajescristalesmacarena.com; Carrera 3 No 8-50, Hotel La Fuente, La Macarena)
Doris Mora runs her own travel company offering tours to Caño Cristales from inside the Hotel La Fuente. As well as organizing the usual Caño Cristales itineraries and travel from elsewhere in Colombia, Doris can arrange camping and horseback riding in the national park.
Ecoturismo Sierra de La MacarenaOUTDOORS
(%311-202-0044, 8-664-8400; www.ecoturismomacarena.com; Aeropuerto Vanguardia, Villavicencio)
Macarena TravelsOUTDOORS
(%312-884-9153; www.macarenatravels.com)
This company doesn’t have an office, but will arrange everything for you by phone or email. It offers a range of itineraries starting out from Bogotá and Villavicencio.
4Sleeping & Eating
Hotel Antony’sHOTEL$
(%321-846-4402; Calle 8A No 3-71, La Macarena; r COP$40,000)
You’re right on the Parque Central here at this simple but clean place where some of the rooms even have natural light (quite a rarity here!). There’s no restaurant on-site, but there are several nearby for breakfast.
Hotel Punto VerdeHOTEL$$
(%310-341-8899; Carrera 9 No 4-12, La Macarena; per person fan/air-con COP$50,000/70,000; aWs)
This is the best hotel in town, but you’ll need to travel with Ecoturismo Sierra de La Macarena to stay here, as it leases the entire property during the tourist season between June and November. There’s a large pool, gorgeous tropical garden and good cafe to boot.
Hotel La FuenteHOTEL$$
(%312-365-5107, 313-496-7701; hotelafuentejn@hotmail.com; Carrera 3 No 8-50, La Macarena; per person COP$80,000; aW)
This brand-new place is one of the most comfortable in town, with bright and airy rooms surrounding a garden where a pool, bar and restaurant were in the planning stages during our last visit. It has friendly staff and a few pleasing design touches.
(Carrera 9 No 4-66, La Macarena; mains COP$12,000-25,000; h6am-9pm)
This is the only restaurant in town that really stands out, and even if it is a very big place aimed at groups, it’s by far the smartest place in La Macarena. There’s a big meaty menu (though vegetarians are well catered for too), a busy bar, a big stage for live musical performances and a huge central fireplace.
8Information
La Macarena has two ATMs and several money-changing offices, though it’s always a good idea to bring cash with you instead of relying on being able to withdraw it in a remote small town.
8Getting There & Away
Most package tours include transportation to La Macarena Airport by charter or schedule flight from Bogotá, Medellín or Villavicencio, though it’s perfectly possible to book your own transportation and arrange your tour to begin at the airport.
Easy Fly (%Bogotá 1-414-8111; www.easyfly.com.co) offers direct flights from Bogotá three times a week (COP$495,000) in high season (July to November). Alternatively, get yourself to Villavicencio (an easy bus ride from Bogotá) and then take one of the daily flights to La Macarena from there (COP$250,000).
Ecoturismo Sierra de La Macarena arranges charter flights from Villavicencio, including (rather adventurous!) Saturday outings in an aged DC-3.
If you want to reach La Macarena overland, contact Constrans Guaviare (Carrera 7 No 4-26), which offers three buses a week to and from San José del Guaviare (COP$80,000, seven hours).
Parque Nacional Natural El Tuparro
The 548,000-hectare nature reserve, Parque Nacional Natural (PNN) El Tuparro (www.parquesnacionales.gov.co; Colombian/foreigner COP$12,000/35,000) is on the Venezuelan border. This biosphere of sandy river beaches and green grasslands is home to some 320 species of birds plus jaguars, tapirs and otters. Getting here is not easy, and there’s almost no infrastructure for tourism, but those with plenty of time and cash on their hands may well find it very rewarding.