Tatacoa Desert - Colombia

Paula Suárez
Jul 2, 2016
2 min read

Tatacoa Desert is the second largest arid zone in Colombia after the Guajira. This place is near to Villavieja, this is a twon clouse to Neiva and occupies 330 square kilometers of land. Located 6 hours from Bogota, Colombia. In this place you can walk for a long time, because there are a lot of different routes, depending on the route, you need a local guide. When I was there an old man walked with me for 6 hours, that experience is curious because this man is lame, maybe he was 70 years old, good memory and bad shoes, nevertheless he never stopped. You can walk in two different scenarios, the first is ocher in the sector of ''Cuzco'' and second are gray in the area of ''Los Hoyos''. The most popular pictures are in the first place, because the color, and the formation of the earth are really special.

''It's a tropical dry forest. It was a time when innocence had brighter than evil. Perhaps that was the reason why beings of the dark came out on moonless nights with the mission of frightening.Suddenly it was to correct poor humanity.''

The temperature is high and at night it's really wet but with a lot wind, for that reason the best option if you want to sleep well, is the ''Hamaca'' outside. You have a distinct option to spend the night in rustic hotels, camping zone, a boutique hotel and ''Chozas''. At night you can see the starry sky with a big moon, for that maybe you don't need light, because you can see everything. In this place you can find the observatory for clear nights, sometimes the weather changes, it usually doesn't but sometimes it rains.

Besides walking you can rent a bike, ride a horse for one hour or more, four-wheelers, visit the observatory at night and play ''Tejo'' and drink something in Villavieja. Close to Villavieja in Neiva you can choose the most popular date ''Fiestas de San Pedro'' for this party a lot of people visit Neiva in July. This town has particular myths and legends, if you want to learn about our history, you can ask, and the local people can tell you about it.

Transport:

If you want go there, you have two differents options:

1. Take your car and drive for 6 hours. Go out Autopista Norte towards Neiva, when you arrive in Neiva you need to ask for Villavieja, it's really close to Neiva, drink something in the town, and continue to the Tatacoa desert. The road is easy because it has curves until Girardot, after this, it is straight, the views are nice if you go when it's sunset.

2. Take a ''flota'' or ''intermunicipal'' you can buy your ticket and start your trip in ''Terminal de Transportes'', wait in ''Portal del Norte'' or in front of the supermarket. if you travel in this transport it's possible to spend more time stopping on the path. When you arrive in Neiva in the same place you can take a Van to Villavieja, in this place you can walk to the desert or pay for a motorcycle.

- http://www.bolivariano.com.co/rutas-y-destinos/bogot%C3%A1-neiva

- http://www.cootranshuila.com/index.php/rutas-y-tarifas