铁拉登特罗国家考古公园

We walked the 14km circuit anti-clockwise, left at 0815 and got back at 1600. This was with a reasonable pace and we still saw most of the tombs, visited the museum and stopped at a restaurant for lunch.The more decorated tombs are fascinating, the walk is great and the views are outstanding.We arrived in the late afternoon, walked the circuit all the next day, left the following morning. It´s doable and very enjoyable. Stay at La Portada in San Andres de Pisimbala, 2km up the road.

We came from St Augustin archaeological park where we had experienced the unique and enigmatic carvings. A bus from Pitsligo, then to La Plata, then a bus to the cross roads near St Andres Pisimbala where you will have to flag down a pick up truck or similar. Go up the hill and way past the Museum and park headquarters to St Andres village itself. Stay with Leonardo in La Portada where the accommodation is rustic, the food fantastic and the hospitality genuine.Leonardo will provide a decent map for the 14k walk. You will need mountain boots, water and snacks. Walk anti clockwise, directly on the path adjacent to La Portada. This avoids climbing the steep slope up from the museum half way round, you will be pleased to descend it. First half of the day is a delightful walk to two sights, buy your pass at the first. The ridge at just over 2000m is a fantastic view point, and is reminiscent of Machu Pichu in its commanding view and ancient purpose.Now descend to the museum where you will walk uphill for 200 metres to a spotless restaurant where we enjoyed a lunch and picked up more water.Museum was brief, exchange pass for passport. They will tell you that the sites close at 4.00 pm. If you have really explored the sites, enjoyed a Craic with the the guards and walked steadily, then you will arrive at La Tablon before 4 pm having started at 8 am. Take a torch, a camera and lots of imagination. The big site just above the museum in the afternoon contains the best tombs.Don't bother with this if you are a party animal, want to be entertained, can't cope with quiet rural communities and want Disney World. This is a conosieurs choice for the mature traveller.

One more member of my group of exhibitions that expands the limit of five starts. Yes it is a very long trip to a remote area in Andes mountains, but worth while. 6.5 hours driving from Cali and 4.5 hours return. Due to road construction in mountains we had some delays. However I was amazed how construction workers tried to flattened the bumpy road to make it possible for us to pass. The long transport was absolutely not waste of time. We had a very fine impression of the rough Andes mountains, the daily life of poor rural people in small villages we were passing. Quite another picture of Colombia than Cali or Bogota. Beauty of this country is amazing and well seen from car. I had hired I guide and driver from ccs in Cali. Good and reliable guys. Car service in Cali. The guide (Gabriel) new almost everything about history if Colombia and of this mysterious site Tierradentro. Tierradentro was fantastic interesting place to visit. The tombs were little difficult to climb down to. The tombs and statues are located over a quite large area, several km. Two small but quite interesting museums are located just next to the main entrance. Very good information signs to each tomb and at main entrance. I still feel the mysterious history that it is unknown what people created these tombs and statues.

Unlike the reviewer just prior to me, my husband and I felt that Tierradentro was one of the great visits of our lives and we're extremely well travelled. The archeological park is unique (and great if you, like us, have it all to yourself with just the guards), but the great experience is interacting with the community that surrounds the park. I strongly urge everyone to visit Luz Amalia and her husband, who has what looks like a candy shop across from the El Refugio hotel. Luz Amalia is currently a council member of the Nasa-Paez indigenous community and she is very eager to talk to people about it (in Spanish). If you have time, she can also arrange for a visit to the Nasa-Paez secondary school that is about 4 km. away and has traditional arts classes, including a flute group that can perform. Luz Amalia's husband was a governor (top officer) of the community, but he is much shyer. You will know them as soon as you see them because they are both dwarves. By the way, there aren't many restaurants in the area, but there are several people who will make a very good meal for you if asked -- Luz Amalia is one of them. She also has beer and if you want a bottle after visiting the park, Basically, if you can see tables and chairs from the street, they'll cook for you on request. By the way, it's very, very inexpensive. it's a good place to stop. There are some people in the area who will make a full traditional Caldo de Gallina for you in their home, but you have to ask around to find that. As in the rest of Colombia, there seems to be no concern about getting a stomach problem here. Hygiene is very strong and the water quality is good. We never had a problem on this trip.Uphill in the next village (about 1 km away) is a primary school and if it's in session, I strongly urge you to stop by and chat with the kids. To say the school is clearly short of funds is an understatement, but the teacher and the kids were great. Very happy to interact with outsiders and tell about their lives. They study English as a foreign language, but clearly have no practice, so, you can pull some English out of them, but you'll need to communicate in Spanish if you really want to talk. Hiking to the "tunnel/pyramid" section, which is on private land, but available, we met high school girls and boys who we interacted with and they gave us a tip for another, much longer tunnel, which unfortunately we didn't have time to visit.By the way, for those worrying about security in the area, it's been fine for several years.

First of all: it's hard to rate a sight like this and everything depends on your travel itinerary. That said, I don't think it's worth going all the way down here if you're only in Colombia for a short time since it's not that spectacular and it takes some time to get here.I also thought it looked better on pictures since the tombs are very small and you're only able to see them from behind a wooden fence that keeps you from actually going inside; taking decent photos is not easy. There's just a couple of them that are nicely decorated.If you're really fanatic about culture or history, or just want to see all of Colombia, then definitely go.For the usual backpackers doing the Gringo Trail, there's far better stuff to see in the rest of South America. Keep in mind that the town receives few visitors and accommodation and restaurants are basic, albeit not without its charm.

I recently spent 2 days in the park and thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience. There is about two days worth of sight-seeing to be done here though the main trail (14km) could be done in one full day if you start at 8am (when the site opens), though I wouldn't recommend this as it wouldn't leave much time to see the many tombs or the museum. Plus, it's a good 6 hours by bus from Popayan at the moment due to the road works so you really owe it to yourself to spend two days and just take it easy. The whole area is very picturesque and you will scarcely see another tourist at the moment given the difficulty involved in getting here. There are 4 buses here from Popayan and 4 back in the other direction. I took the last us from Popayan at 3pm and arrived in 4.5 hours (less than the usual 6pm) as by this stage the road workers have knocked off for the day and we weren't held up by them. On the way back I took the 9am bus and it turned out to be a journey of almost 7 hours due to these interruptions. it therefore might be worth considering the later buses to and from Tierradientro due to the ongoing roadworks (not much progress seems to have been made considering they started in 2013). The bus will drop you off at the "cruz" from where it's a 2km walk to the park entry and 4km to San Andres which has a range of accommodation, shops (which close around 7pm), a restaurant, and an internet cafe. There are also many accommodation options with locals around the park entry and one can land a decent private room for 12,000 pesos (approx. $7) a person. The place I stayed at was nice though didn't have hot water, which made shower times a little daunting as it gets cold here at night. Some places do have hot water so look around if it's important to you. The park entry is 20,000 pesos and the ticket is good for 2 days. Tickets can be bought at the park entry which also houses two decent museums. The 14km loop also starts from here and is effectively divided by the only road passing through this area. The main site of Aguacate and Alto de San Andres is a good 3 hour walk in total with about 30 minutes needed to see the tombs at Aguacate and 15 at San Andres, hence it takes the best part of 4 hours all up depending on your fitness level. The hike to Aguacate from the park entrance is extremely steep so if you're not super fit count on it taking a while. The hike from Aguacate to Alto de San Andres is predominately downhill and passes by some remote communities and farming folk. The views over the valleys both side of the hill are spectacular. At the end of the hike you'll arrive in the town of San Andres where there's a decent restaurant and shops where you can stock up on supplies. I would recommend buying everything you can here if you're going to stay near the park entrance as the prices are lower, especially for water (1,000 pesos vs. 2,000 for a small bottle). On the topic of water, bring as much as you can from Popayan as it's impossible to buy anything other than over-priced small bottles in the whole area. Something else to take in mind is the 4pm closing time of the sites. Apart from at Aguacate, the tombs have locked gates over them and can only be opened by the attendant between 8am - 4pm (they seem to knock off earlier though). So if you're considering doing the whole circuit in one day then it's essential to start at 8am or else you run the risk of missing the tombs. Also, bring a flash light with you for Aguacate as there may not be an attendant on duty from whom you can borrow one. The remaining sites can be done the same day or the next day at a relaxed pace. I only say Segovia and the adjacent site so can't provide much advice on all of the second section of the trail. Overall, the site is well worth a visit, not only for the tombs and the scenery but also for the opportunity to get a taste of rural life in Colombia. With the construction of the paved road I can only see tourist numbers (which are currently very low) going one way so the sooner you go the better.

Wear good footwear as well as clothes you can stretch as it will be more comfortable climbing in and out of the tombs. Take water with you. Its best if you start at the site called "El Tablon" then walk DOWN the hill. You can pay the admission fee at the museum at the end of the hiking.

Just great fun hiking country side. Tombs are unique. Good for seeing regular campesino life without sacrificing basic lodging comforts. Access from Popayan may soon be very improved as the road is being rebuilt and paved in concrete. Unless you need a swimming pool, don't stay at the hotel by the park. Stay in San Andres (~20-30 min walk). As the guidebooks say-one full day or two half days is fine. But maybe another day would be good for hiking between villages!

(I suggest storing your big backpack in Popayan if possible to lessen your load while bussing and walking the 4km to San Andres from the road (unless you get the 10am bus from Popayan, which drops you off right at the park).)Our experience, as told in the longest way possible:We left late in the day (1 pm because of our uncertainty on whether to actually bother to go), and when the bus attendant asked where we were going, I simply said "Tierradentro," I assumed that he would know that the only tourists on the cramped bus would want to go to the park. The bus ride was indeed rough, about 3/4 of it unpaved. Although it appeared they were in the process of building the road, it only made it worse because we had to stop for 30 minutes at a time for construction trucks and alternating traffic on the narrow track. The bus was also not in the best condition and kept overheating.As I didn't know that our destination was more specifically "San Andres," we rode the bus to the last stop, arriving around 7:30 pm. I then checked my iPod and saw that I had print screened the name of the town, and I asked the bus driver where it was (back where we came from) and where we were (Belalcazar). So our only option was to stay there and take a bus the next morning. The bus attendant walked us outside and pointed to a building with the word "RESIDENCIA" on the side in a tarnished gold where we got a room with two beds and a 2-channel TV that cost us only 13.000 COP (otherwise, just shy of $7). I was the only foreigner on the sign in sheet, and we were probably the only tourists to arrive to Belalcazar since maybe the last tourists to make this same mistake.(Fun fact: I learned that this small town, Belalcazar, was a very religious community teaming with missionaries that in the '80s had half the town wiped away by a mud-slide from the eruption of a nearby volcano.)That morning, we successfully caught a bus to San Adres to finally see the archeological park (2-day park fee was 20 000 COP).The first day, we went right up to the town and stayed at La Portada which had clean rooms (I bargained a 2 bed with no en-suite bathroom to 20 000 COP, but there are many hospedajes along the way to choose from - expect to pay about 10 000 COP for a single.). The food was great and the breakfast a particularly good deal (the staff was some of the most pleasant as well). Because we were only getting started around 10 am, we did the "easy side" (El Tablon, El Duende, Segovia) which was super easy if you start up from San Andres instead of from the museum. The carvings are nice to look at and the tombs are pretty incredible. There are a lot, though, so you can ask to see the best ones and you're not missing much. The nicest tombs are in Segovia. The museums were well kept and nice.The following day we did the "hard hike" up to El Aguacate at around 8:30 after a big breakfast. We hiked from San Andres, which is meant to be the easier way, and I am glad we did. It was still very challenging (you hike up one mountain, just to climb down almost to the valley to climb back up another mountain!). We were lucky because at the summit there were some archeologists excavating more tombs, which made for an interesting sight. As everyone says, the tombs on this side are less impressive, but the view is absolutely worth it. On our way down to the museums, we realized how much harder the hike would have been (a lot of steep uphill with virtually no breaks). We did the whole thing in 3.5 hours at a very comfortable pace, taking plenty of photos.The whole experience is pretty VIP as you are likely the only other tourists there at the time (at the tombs and the museums), and the guides are especially friendly. The guide at El Tablon said that days will go by where he sees no tourists. He had to be the most friendly of the lot of friendly guides. On that last day, we caught the 1 pm bus back to Popayan after the Aguacate hike. It was another rough bus ride (made worse by the rainfall from the previous day), but the whole experience was absolutely rewarding. I recommend it for those who want a peek at what real backpacking must have been like before Lonely Planet.

I didn´t go to San Augustin the other big site close to here but Im glad I went to this one! Was very unique, I have seen tons of ruins through Peru and Bolivia but never tombs or cave painting style stuff such as this. All the sites are worth going to also, the last one is far away and hard to get to but beautiful scenery and the tombs are some of the coolest because they are not completely set up for tourists so it feels like youre actually discovering something!

This was one of the highlights of my trip to Colombia! I cannot understand why I saw no tourists and met nobody on my walks. I first did the Alto del Aguacate route, the most difficult one. Took me 5 hours, I was absolutely finished when I got back but boy... was it worth it. You walk high in the mountains, the view is incredible and the hypogea (the underground tombs) dating back to AD 500 - 900 are beautiful. Although I must admit that those on the other side of the valley on an easy walk up the Alto de Segovia, are more impressive. GO THERE! You will so enjoy it. And remember for pensionadas (65+) there is no entrance fee, like most attractions in Colombia.

you have to do quite a bit of walking up and down some steep hills in order to get to the tombs, but the walks and views are beautiful and the tombs themselves are pretty impressive. well worth it!the guides at each location are also really friendly and helpful (they're probably a bit starved for company, no one else was there when we visited)the roads to access Tierradentro were among the worst I experienced in Colombia but in hindsight it was worth it

Everything. The display of stone statues, the tombs, the sacred stream -- and the scenery, all cotribute to a marvelous experience

We had do decide whether going to San Augustin (more statues, more tourity) or Tierradentro (less tourists, more tomds, great walks) - and are absolutely happy we went there.The place is lovely as are the loal people. The guides (they actually are only taking care of the tombs) were welcoming us (althoung we were walking opposite dircection) and answering all our questions. he museums are probably the cleanest I have ever see and the whole site is absolutely well taken care of. And that for only 10.000 COP... There are plenty of hostels there, so do not worry about that. However, if you only want to stay there one night you can take the bus on day 1, arrive in the afternoon an San Andres (4 km further than the entry), stay at La Portada hostel and visit the tomds San Andres and the villages church in the afternoon. THe next morning you walk to the statues ans then downhill to the other 2 sites (duende and ...) and arrive at the museum. THere you still have plenty of time to visit that one, have a lemonade and a milk-lime juice before you head for the 1 o clock bus back to Popayan. THis way you will miss aquacate with the great view, although the tombs are definitely better in the other two sites. THe only two things that might not work for everyone are the long bus drive (5 hours) that can be bumpy in between, and it definitely is a pro to speak little Spanish - as not everyone speaks English around there (same for the guides)

The road to San Andrés de Pisimbala is a real rough ride but worth it! The trip can easily be done with staying one night in one of the hostels right next to the museums (not in the actual village of San Andrés but about 2 km before). From Popayan you can take the 10:30 bus (Bus company 'Sotracauca', 18.ooo COP, 4-5 hours), this ist the bus not only to go to the 'Cruce' (from where you have to walk app. 25 min. to the museums) but to go directly to the museums and further to San Andrés before turning round an going on to La Plata (final destination).1. Day: Visit to the museums, having a 'jugo' and a dinner in one of the three restaurants there.2. Day: The best way of exploring the archeological sites is to do the round trip (you get a map when you pay the entrance fee of 10.ooo COP to the park) which takes about 7 hours including the visits of the main tombs. You have to start latest at 8 am so that you can reach the 4 pm bus which leaves at the Cruce (be there at 3:30 pm to be sure not to miss it) back to Popayan. The tombs theirself are really worth seeing and are quite simple but unique. Just bear in your mind that they are 3000 to 4000 years old. And the paintings you see is still the original colours used then! Until today not many tourist come to this place so that you will find something really special and not spoiled by tourism!