UNESCO SITES
OF COLOMBIA

Day 2: DISCOVER BOGOTA

In the morning you will have the ideal introduction to Colombia and its culture, by  discovering part of the historic center of Bogotá by foot. An English-speaking guide will take you on a discovery tour through La Candelaria, the oldest part of the city.

The main square of Bogotá will be your first stop and from there on you will continue through the colorful and bustling streets of Colombia’s capital. The tour lasts around 3.5 hours.

After a lunch-break, your guide will take you to visit the two UNESCO tentative sites of Bogota: the University City of Bogota and the Virgilio Barco Library.

Accommodation: Hotel Casa Deco

Day 3: TRANSPORT TO TATACOA DESERT

Our driver will bring you to the airport for you to take a flight to Neiva. From Neiva you will be driven to the magical Tatacoa desert. 

This is a drive of about 1 hour, and you will be able to see how the landscapes gradually change and the temperature rises as you get closer to the desert.  

You will be brought directly to your hotel in the town of Villavieja, which is located right at the start of the desert.

The hotel is a renovated colonial-style mansion with a very nice courtyard and a refreshing swimming pool.

Accommodation: Hotel Casa del Angel

Day 4:  DISCOVER THE TATACOA DESERT

You will start the day with a typical Colombian breakfast and after that it will be time for the Tatacoa desert tour.

Together with a local guide you will discover the weird landscapes of one of the most arid zones in Colombia.

The tour lasts around 4 hours and you will notice that a part of the desert is reddish while another part is rather yellowish or greyish.

You will see giant cacti and weird rock formations everywhere along the tour  (click here for more information about this tour).

The Tatacoa Desert has been on the UNESCO-tentative-sites list since 2012 due to its importance to nature, archaeology and paleontology.

After lunch, you will be driven to one of the most important UNESCO sites of Colombia: San Agustin. The drive takes around 6 hours through gorgeous landscapes.

Accommodation: Akawanka Lodge

Day 5: DISCOVER SAN AGUSTIN

You will start day 5 with a visit to The Archaeological Park of San Agustin. This is the perfect place to learn more about the mysterious pre-Columbian San Agustin culture.

The park is an open-air museum and is an important UNESCO world heritage site. An English-speaking guide will make sure to tell you everything there is to know about the many statues the park holds. 

After visiting the park, it will be time to visit a couple of places in the surroundings of San Agustin.

Your guide will drive you to some locations in the mountains where you can find different statues and tombs belonging to the San Agustin culture so you can admire these archaeological findings in their original site. Click here for more information on this tour.

Don’t forget to keep your eyes open while driving around because the surroundings are wonderfully green, with all kind of plantations on the hillsides, and with hidden waterfalls between the bushes and forests.

Accommodation: Akawanka Lodge

Day 6: MORE SAN AGUSTIN & TRANSPORT TO POPAYAN

You will have the morning to enjoy the last moments in San Agustin, so you will take advantage of this time to visit some more archaeological sites and natural attractions in the surroundings with an experienced guide.

In the afternoon, you will be driven to Popayan. The ride takes around 5 hours through gorgeous mountain landscapes.

 Accommodation:  Hotel La Plazuela

Day 7: SILVIA INDIGENOUS MARKET

Today is Tuesday and this is an important day in the entire province. It is the day that the indigenous group, the Guambianos, descend to Silvia. They live in the mountains around Popayan and on this day they always wear their traditional clothing to sell their products in the village. This market day gives an interesting insight into the life of this traditional community.

You will be brought to Silvia after breakfast so that you can see the whole event with your own eyes. Be sure to take a look at the market hall, but also just in the streets where the Guambianos promote their products along the side of the road. They come and go this day in their typical colourful buses that are called Chivas.

After noon, when the market is coming to an end, you will be brought back to Popayan so you can enjoy some time in this colonial white city!

Accommodation: Hotel La Plazuela

Day 8: CONDOR SPOTTING & PARAMO WALK

At 7:30 in the morning you will be picked up in the lobby of your hotel by your local guide, and taken to a specific place that is known to have wild condors. This valley is located at an 1.5 hours´ drive through the mountains from Popayan. The impressive condors normally fly around in this valley and they are fed on a specific rock next to a canyon.

You will have to hide behind some bushes and then hope to see the condors descending to feast on the meat. The birds will be about 10 meters in front of you. A local native guide will be with you to ensure that everything runs smoothly and safely.

After the condor feeding, you will be taken for a walk in the mountains near the condor-spotting place so that you can admire the typical mountain´s nature, like the paramo eco-system. After this walk it is time to set course back to Popayan.

Accommodation: Hotel La Plazuela

Day 9:  TRANSPORT TO TIERRADENTRO

Today you will be taken to Tierradentro, a very important destination in your trip as here you will be able to visit one UNESCO site (The Archaeological Park) and a couple of the Catholic Doctrine Temples that are a UNESCO tentative site.

The drive takes around 4 hours through some of the most beautiful mountains you will see in Colombia.

Accommodation: Hotel El Refugio

Day 10: DISCOVER TIERRADENTRO

In the morning, you will go on a our of the National Archaeological Park of Tierradentro, a UNESCO site since 1995. Our local indigenous guide will bring you to the first circular tombs that can be found all over the region. 

Not only the tombs are absolutely beautiful but also the spectacular mountains of Tierradentro and the department.

The not-to-be-underestimated walk will take 4 to 5 hours, but you will be given time to rest, enjoy the views, get explanations by your expert guide, and have lunch in the nearby town of San Andrés de Pisimbalá.

In the afternoon, you will have some free time to discover the Catholic Doctrine Temple of San Andrés de Pisimbalá, one of the best examples of this UNESCO tentative site.

Accommodation:  Hotel El Refugio

Day 11: TRANSPORT TO THE COFFEE ZONE

Today you will be taken to the gorgeous Coffee Zone of Colombia, where your next UNESCO site is located.

The drive takes around 8 hours, through gorgeous landscapes. Along the way, you will make all the necessary stops to eat, stretch your legs, go to the toilet and take pictures.

Accommodation: Hacienda Combia

Day 12: THE COFFEE CULTURAL LANDSCAPE

Confirmed as a UNESCO Site on 2011, the Coffee Cultural Landscape of Colombia is what you will discover and experience today and tomorrow.

After breakfast, you will leave your Traditional Coffee Hotel. You will be driven across almost the entire Coffee Area, from south to north.

Along the road, you will get to witness the amazing hilly landscapes full of coffee plantations and visit 2 of the most iconic and colorful towns of the area: Salento and Filandia.

In the late afternoon, you will arrive to Salamina, the northern-most town of this area.

Accommodation:  Hotel Casa Lola

Day 13:  SALAMINA AND SURROUNDIGS

Today you will have the entire day to discover the gorgeous town of Salamina on your own. You will have our car and driver at your disposal in case you would like to visit the Samaria Valley or any other place in the surroundings.

Alternatively, you can take a Coffee tour in one of the nearby plantation so you can learn everything about the process of producing some of the best coffee in the world.

Accommodation: Hotel Casa Lola

Day 14: TRANSPORT TO CARTAGENA

In the morning, you will still have some time to enjoy Salamina. Afterwards, you will be taken to the airport so you can catch a local flight to Cartagena, the Pearl of the Caribbean.

Upon arrival, you will be taken to your hotel in the old colonial center of Cartagena.

Accommodation: Hotel 3 Banderas

Day 15: DISCOVER CARTAGENA

Cartagena’s Port, Fortresses and Group of Monuments are one of the most iconic UNESCO Cultural sites of Colombia. Today, you will get to discover them.

In the morning, you will take a fantastic 4-hours long city tour of Cartagena, a palce that captures the heart of all its visitors because of its colors, Caribbean climate, warm people and its historical legacy.

This tour starts by picking you up at your hotel to take you to La Popa monastery. In this place, you can view Cartagena entirely from a viewpoint and learn about the history of this monastery.

Afterwards, you will be driven to the San Felipe’s Castle, a strong fort built on top of a mountain by the Spanish as a strategic point to gain control of the bay and where incredible battles were fought during many centuries. There we’ll have the opportunity to discover the impressive architecture and history behind this fort.

The Cartagena city tour continues with some great walks around the 2 oldest and most important neighborhoods of Cartagena: Getsemani (famous for its graffiti and colorful streets) and El Centro (surrounded by a defensive wall and the best preserved area of the city).

In the afternoon, you will have some free time for you to enjoy the city on your own.

Accommodation: Hotel 3 Banderas

Day 16: TRANSPORT TO MOMPOX

The Historic Center of Santa Cruz the Mompox is the next UNESCO Cultural site that you will discover!

You will be picked up in the lobby of your hotel in Cartagena and taken to Mompox. The drive takes around 7 hours and crosses different types of landscapes.

For the last part, you will take a ferry to cross the wetlands and a part of the Magdalena river. An unforgettable experience.

Accommodation: Hotel Portal de La Marquesa

DAYS 17 – FREE DAY MOMPOX 

Mompox is a town that seems to have been frozen in time.

It is a fine colonial village with gorgeous churches and houses. It used to be an important harbour on the Magdalena river, but nowadays it is a pretty sleepy town.

The surroundings are perfect for bird watching and for a trip along the Magdalena River, which is the biggest of Colombia.

During this free day, you can choose whether you stay enjoying the town or go explore the surroundings. It´s up to you.

Accommodation: Hotel Portal de la Marquesa

Day 18: TRANSPORT TO TAYRONA

Today you will leave Mompox and go to one of the most biodiverse places on earth, and a UNESCO Tentative site: the Tayrona and Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta.

Along the way, you will also get to visit parts of another UNESCO Tentative site: the United Fruit Company Infrastructure.

The direct drive takes around 6 hours, but you can make it as long as you wish by stopping in some of the attraction spots in the area as Aracataca, Rio Frio, and Orihueca.

Accommodation: Hotel Villa Maria Tayrona

Day 19: TAYRONA PARK & FLIGHT TO BUCARAMANGA

Today you will have the morning free to visit the Tayrona National Park. Your hotel can arrange for you to be brought to the entrance of the park so you can discover the beautiful beaches and jungle walks of this park.

In the late afternoon, you will be brought to the airport of Santa Marta to catch a flight to Bucaramanga.

Accommodation: Hotel Trypp

Day 20: CHICAMOCHA CANYON & BARICHARA

You will leave Bucaramanga early in the morning in the direction of Barichara. The drive takes around 4 hours through one of the most amazing landscapes of Colombia: the Chicamocha Canyon.

The Cultural Landscape of the Lower Basin of the Chicamocha River, has been a tentative UNESCO site since 2012, and along this drive you will get to see parts of this stunning area.

In the afternoon, you will have some time to enjoy the gorgeous town of Barichara. Some say it is the most beautiful town of Colombia.

Accommodation: Hotel Casa Barichara

Day 21:  FREE DAY

Today you will have a free day to enjoy Barichara on your own.

If you feel energetic and would like to discover some of the cute surrounding villages, you could to the walks over colonial paths to Guane or Carbrera.

Accommodation: Hotel Casa Barichara

Day 22: TRANSPORT TO VILLA DE LEYVA

Today you will leave Barichara and go to another gorgeous village: Villa de Leyva. The drive takes around 4 hours.

Along the way you will pass some of the areas included in the UNESCO tentative site called South of the Ricaurte Province.

Accommodation: Hotel Posada de San Antonio

Day 23:  DISCOVER VILLA DE LEYVA

In the morning, you will be picked up by an English-speaking guide. He will take you on a trip back in time to the prehistory of Villa de Leyva.

On your way you will learn where once the prehistoric sea was located and you will see weird rock formations and natural phenomena like Pozo Azules.

You will also visit a couple of museums that are dedicated to the study of the many fossils found in the region. One of them exhibits a giant Kronosaurus.

Furthermore, you will discover a museum about the colonial history of the area and a gorgeous working monastery. Additionally, you will visit “El Infiernito”, which is a sacred place for the local indigenous people.

At the end of the tour you will pay a visit to the Terracota house to see how local natural materials are used for house building.

Accommodation: La Posada de San Antonio

Day 24: ZIPAQUIRA AND BACK TO BOGOTA

Our driver will pick you up after breakfast and bring you to Bogota.

On your way to Bogota, you will make a stop in the Laguna de Guatavita and in Zipaquirá where you will pay a visit to the impressive salt Cathedral.

After around 2.5 hours driving, you will first visit Guatavita, where the sacred lake hides among mountains and mist.

Inside this natural reservoir, dotted by forest vegetation, you will learn about the connection of the ancient Muiscas with nature and the symbolism behind the gold offerings that awoke the lust for gold of Spanish bounty hunters.

Afterwards, you will head towards Zipaquirá, one of the towns included in the UNESCO Cultural Landscapes of the Salt Towns.

Upon arrival in the Salt complex, you will have to go to the ticket to get an audio-guide and visit the Cathedral and mine on your own.

Finally, you will be brought to your hotel in the center of Bogota.

Accommodation: Hotel Casa Deco

Day 25:  RETURN HOME

At the appropriate time you will be transported to the airport so you can catch your flight back to your country. This means that the end of your trip has come.

We are sure you are going to fly home with good memories of this magical country with its impressive lush nature, kind people, and beautiful beaches and mountains!