圣奥古斯丁考古公园

我们驱车从内瓦到圣奥古斯丁,一路上风景如画。把车停在皮塔利托的"巴尔加斯穆尼奥斯"店买一些美丽的陶瓷工艺品是必须的。这个公园是相当有意思的,但是必须做好步行的准备,这里没有残障通道。最好在售票处要一份旅游指南,以便于介绍各种雕像。在去公园的路上,我们在"东杰理查德"吃了一顿中午饭。最好是选择骑马的方式,看看比较远的雕像,享受优美的环境。

Great site, great museum with English information. Museum opens at 9 am, whilst the rest of the site opens at 8 am. This is so that you are coerced into employing a contract guide, but their attitudes stink and they do not give you anymore info than the museum does. Enjoy.

Well maintained grounds & clear interpretation of the chronology and culture that built these burial monuments and mounds.

Very special place in a very quiet and beautifull environment. You need several hours to go around. We went early and were all alone in the park with the strange and mythical statues. Ancient Colombia.

When we first settled on a trip to Colombia, I started the search as to what to visit/see. When I saw the photos of the pre-Colombian statues, I started to plan our trip around this site. We spent four hours touring this amazing historic area. The park is divided in to four Mesitas which are spread out over a very large area. Wear your walking shoes and cover yourself with sunscreen as you will need both for the tour of this park. We even visited the two more colorful statues hence newer, by horseback later in the day. These sights are known as El Tablon and La Chaquira. We had our guide with us, Frank, and also the park guide, Hernan Daza, who was a total wealth of knowledge. It was so worth coming to this area. The shock for us was that only 162 Americans visited the park in 2014 as you sign a book at the Museum at the end of the tour. The Museum is wonderful, filled with more of these amazing statues and a written history of the area. A visit well worth making.

Touring San Agustín was a unique and exciting experience. The park contains the largest group of religious monuments and megalithic sculptures in South America displayed in a wild, spectacular landscape.During the first day our guide and driver led us through burial sites that were some distance from the main Archaeological Park.The sites we toured on day one included the following:•El Tablon•La Chaquira•La Pelota and El Purutal•Esteecho del Magdalena – a canyon containing the narrowest point of the Magdalena River where it opens on its way to the valley below•Salto de Bordones WaterfallThe hundreds of stone statues at San Agustin were created some 3,300 years ago and discovered in the middle of the eighteenth century. Mystery still surrounds the ancient civilization that built the monoliths. No one knows exactly how the statues got there or what group built them.They contain burial remains of indigenous nomadic people and it’s believed the culture disappeared before the Spanish arrived. Many also believe those who created the statues did so under the influence of coca leaves or some other hallucinogenic. It's said that by eating coca leaves the masons who built the stone statues were able to work longer without getting tired.Archaeologists have studied the ruins for years trying to grasp their significance. However, even experts can only guess the history of the people, statues, and area.San Agustin Archaeological Park is in a unique geographical location where the Andes Mountains split into three separate cordilleras – east, central, and west. At these same location Colombia’s two major rivers – the Cauca and Magdalena – meet. Both rivers flow the entire length of Colombia into the Caribbean Sea. Burial ruins are scattered throughout the valley. Each statue is different but some of the things they have in common include:•When there are two faces carved into a statue, the lower face portrays individuals as they were in life and the face on top is of their higher self.•If the statues are holding something in their hands it supposedly signifies what they did in life – warrior, etc.•Many of the statues had guard figures stationed outside the tomb.•The tombs contained ceramic artifacts and gold.•It’s believed that some of the images depict ancient myths, religious rituals, and animals.•The graves of kings and wealthy people have markers and were higher up in the mountains than the unmarked graves of poorer members of the group.•Replicas of the original stone statues have been created but the stone always deteriorates or develops mold and has to be cleaned. This is not the case for the original statutes which remain the same through time.•Only 60% of the ruins are excavated. Further excavation will depend on the Colombian government.•There has been a constant problem with tomb raiders who loot the sites looking for gold.•The ruins are a protected UNESCO World heritage site.During our second day of touring we walked the main archeological park for hours to view other Mesitas (small tables in Spanish). Most of the statues in the park were larger than the ones we saw the day before. Many of them were found in the jungle near the place they were displayed.Many of the statues were mask-like with fierce animal characteristics like sharp teeth and claws. These statues were used to guard tombs and crops. One statue was part eagle and part snake symbolizing heaven and earth. Some of the statues depict a combination of human and animal traits. Animals included birds, felines, frogs, snakes, lizards, crocodiles, monkeys, and rodents.One tomb was supposedly a second burial site that contained the bones of a family that were taken from their original graves, combined, and buried together in one mound so they could go to the next life together. There wasn't enough time to visit many of the other interesting places in San Agustín. One that would have been especially fun is the butterfly farm. There you can coat your fingers with juice to attract the butterflies and within minutes butterflies cover your hands!For sure, the archeological sites at San Agustín are special experience and like nothing I have ever seen before!

The various sites are a comfortable two day pass tour, the second day in a jeep. The parks are all really well laid out, comfortable distances and interesting. You don't need a guide. Surrounding bird and flora very good too. Scenic locations. Cafe and stalls are generally available. The carvings and burial chambers require 'slow looking' to appreciate their intrigue. Let your eyes penetrative and imagination wander....

The park is very well kept, a way to learn about pre-Columbian cultures. Try to find a guide called Ernesto. Beautiful place. Easy to visit by foot. Takes the whole day.

A must visit in Colombia. While sadly most of what is known about the ancient tribe is limited the park offers a wonderful insight on possible connections within America in prehispanic times.Will return to see more as there are quite Few sites we missed!

I used Living Col(Sindy) in Ibague to get me on a luxury public bus from Ibague to San Agustin Park. Sindy also organised an English speaking guide to meet me and transfer me to the backpackers (Ecological Farm San Agustin - you can take a whole room with ensuite shower in a pretty cabin).Bus drivers and passengers were fantastic - I spoke no English but they made sure I got off at the right place. excellent food to-go at all the bus terminals we stopped at. Trip is about 9 hours each way and very easy. I was a woman on my own and felt safe all the way.

This park is very beautiful and definitely worth a walk-around. Entry price includes a passport which is valid for 2 days and lets you into the the Idols Park. The statues are very interesting to look at, but you would definitely get more information going with a guide. Took 2.5 hours to see everything, without a guide. Highly recommended.

In my opinion, San Agustin is one of those gorgeous places that will eventually be discovered. It is a mission to get there ( for me - i ended up taking a couple of flights, taxis and a bus) and many still think it is a red/danger zone in Colombia (which it is no longer is ). So once people discover it is actually safe and perhaps when slightly better transport routes are in place, I think San Agustin will become a popular tourist destination. But for now, it is still a bit off the beaten track. Part of the reason why I feel this way about San Agustin is due mainly to the archaeological park. It was amazing and made my long travel to San Agustin well worth it! The park is well organised and the statues (there are over 100 ) are well maintained and protected. I highly recommend getting a guide from the park as they are formally trained. The information and stories of the statues and tombs in the park were invaluable to my experience there. Otherwise, I would have spent a couple of hours wandering around, looking at statues which would all start looking the same because I don't know the significance of them. If you've made it all the way to San Agustin, it would seem silly not to pay a little extra to hire a guide. My guide, Gustavo was excellent. Not only was he knowledgable but he was animated when telling the stories. I could tell he truly enjoyed sharing the information. I was there on a weekday and most of time, it felt like I had the whole park to myself. It took 3 hours to go through it so be sure to give yourself time even though it does go quickly. The entry fee also includes admission to another park, slightly outside of San Agustin. I definitely don't regret taking this "detour" to travel to San Agustin and very happy that I got to visit this lesser known yet amazing and impressive archaeological park.

One of the most important archeological parks, you can find items as old as 3.000 to 5.000 years old. There is not certainty about the origin of many of this findings and this gives a lot of mysticism to this trip. Beautiful sculptures and beautiful nature surroundings!

The site is well laid out and when we visited was quiet. Our local guide was very knowledgeable and informative, but most only speak Spanish so if you don't make sure you have a translator. the little museum is worth going round.

definitely go if you're in the country but it probably shouldn't be the reason that you go to Columbia. Definitely go early in the morning- it gets hot. after all, it is in Columbia. Like a lot of the old ruins, seeing so many at one time can become redundant. It was a very pretty walk and it was nice because you could get so close. We didn't have a guide and didn't appear to need one. If you're interested in this kind of activity, definitely check out the other ruins which include the underground burial tombs and was fantastic.