It was time to discover another hidden jewel of Colombia: San Jose de Guaviare and its surroundings with the national parks La Lindosa and Chiribiquete.
[gallery_bank type=”images” format=”thumbnail” title=”true” desc=”false” responsive=”true” animation_effect=”” album_title=”false” album_id=”217″]
San Jose de Guaviare unfortunately still has the reputation of being a dangerous region in Colombia but this trip convinced us that the area is safe and should be explored by travelers. It is a totally relaxed town with friendly inhabitants (111.000 inhabitants live here) where you can stroll calmly through the streets. We stayed at the hotel Aeropuerto just across the street from the airport which provides a swimming pool, restaurant and nice rooms with hot water – so basically everything you need!
During our city tour through San Jose de Guaviare we passed the shopping street, the town square filled with sellers of fruits, ice cream and other snacks. Then we headed on to the river and local market place where the fresh fish was sold! After this visit a delicious lunch at the restaurant “Donde Juliana” awaited us where we enjoyed the typical meat of the region “la carne llanera” for lunch! Just delicious with a refreshing glass of “agua panela” – sugarcane lemonade!
[gallery_bank type=”images” format=”thumbnail” title=”true” desc=”false” responsive=”true” animation_effect=”” album_title=”false” album_id=”218″]
Now we were ready to go for our 5km hike through the so-called “Valle de los Labirintos” in the national park La Lindosa. We passed beautiful landscapes full of different trees, plants and stone formations. The highlight was the stone formation “La puerta del Orión” – a huge stone gate in the middle of the wonderful green landscapes!
[gallery_bank type=”images” format=”thumbnail” title=”true” desc=”false” responsive=”true” animation_effect=”” album_title=”false” album_id=”220″]
After that the beautiful river Caño Algas awaited us with the red plants that can only be seen from July to November and for which Caño Cristales (in the Meta region) is famous for! So this should be another reason for you to visit this beautiful region of Colombia! Walking along the river we found a great place “Tranquilandia” to take a bath in a natural pool – it was very refreshing as the climate is very hot and humid!
[gallery_bank type=”images” format=”thumbnail” title=”true” desc=”false” responsive=”true” animation_effect=”” album_title=”false” album_id=”221″]
Our day finished with the visit of an indigenous community who told us more about their culture and traditions. We also tried the typical food – fish and some bread with a delicious jam after the kids presented their traditional dances.
[gallery_bank type=”images” format=”thumbnail” title=”true” desc=”false” responsive=”true” animation_effect=”” album_title=”false” album_id=”222″]
The following days more highlights awaited us with the visits of the wall paintings “Pinturas de Nuevo Tolima” and the valley of different stone formations “Valle de las Formaciones” and tunnels as well as the spectacular overflight of Chiribiquete National Park! Of course you can read about these great travel experiences in my next blog article.
[gallery_bank type=”images” format=”thumbnail” title=”true” desc=”false” responsive=”true” animation_effect=”” album_title=”false” album_id=”223″]