Yampu Latin America Tours » Colombia » History and Desert - Bogota, San Agustin, Tatacoa Desert and Cartagena

Starting Price:	$4,206.00
Trip Length:	10 days

Interests:

Walking/Hiking
Historical and Cultural

Bogota

San Agustin Monolith

Cartagena

History and Desert - Bogota, San Agustin, Tatacoa Desert and Cartagena

Description Pricing Itinerary Hotels

This tour will take us to Bogotá and its colonial city center composed of buildings of profound Spanish influence. This visit includes the main squares, churches and museums including the Museum of Botero hosting great pieces of art of well known artists such as Picasso, Renoir, Matisse among others. We will also visit Cartagena, a city many times attacked by pirates and buccaneers and whose history is evident by just walking through its alleys and streets.

Approximately 5000 years ago, one of Latin America’s ancient cultures rose in this location. The Agustinians were born sculptors: they sculpted enormous statues on sacred ground; huge monoliths represent a diversity of figures of nature. The neatness of the details stubbornly preserved through time is striking. In the same department of Huila locates the Tatacoa Desert or Valle de la Tristeza. It is a favorite habitat for wolves, vipers, spiders and bats. Do not miss this magnificent desert populated by eroded rock formations, a great variety of cactus and red earth or yellow sand dunes.

We offer a choice of 3, 4, 5-star and deluxe hotels. In Bogotá, the deluxe option includes the Sofitel Bogotá Victoria Regia and in Cartagena, the deluxe option includes the Casa del Arzobispado or the Quadrifolio Hotel. In the Tatacoa Desert, we will stay at Hacienda Anacaona, a two storey colonial coffee plantation house, with an eclectic decoration of antiques, old everyday objects and bamboo roofs and stairs. Surrounded by lush flowered gardens and with a wonderful view from its balconies, it is pleasantly located three km outside town on the way to San Agustín.

This tour includes international airfare from Miami (US), on non-holiday dates. You do not need to fly via Miami; Yampu will fly you the most direct way to your city of destination. Depending on your travel dates and proximity of travel, we will quote you the most economical surcharge from your city or country of origin.

Additional information on this trip:

Days of Week the Trip can Start:
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday
Dates this trip is NOT available for online booking (please submit a regular request):
06 April - 12 April

20 December - 02 January
Visited Cities:
Bogota, San Agustín, Cartagena

Day 1

Bogotá
Upon arrival to Bogota's airport, transfer to your hotel.

Day 2

Bogotá City Tour
After breakfast, we start our private tour to the historic center known as La Candelaria. The ancient blocks, of great patrimonial and architectural importance, are formed by old “casonas” or grand houses of profound Spanish influence with iron windows, thick wooden doors, balconies and internal patios that hide beautiful gardens. The area unfolds around the Plaza Bolívar with a statue of Simón Bolívar, El Libertador, right in the center. Originally called Plaza Mayor, it was used for civil and military events, as a market, bull ring and execution platform.
The cathedral is next to the square, on the site of Bogotá’s first church built in 1539 and holds an important collection of liturgical, textile and ornamental objects collected over four centuries. Next to it, the Capilla del Sagrario, the religious architectural jewel of the city. Nearby is the Capitolio, built between 1847 and 1926, of Ionic, Neoclassical and Renaissance influence, it was made of white stone and was built by several generations of stonemasons. The central area is occupied by the Salón Elíptico, where the meetings of congress take place, and the wings house the current Cámara de Representantes and Senate. The internal patios are lined by busts of former presidents and of General Tomás Cipriano de Mosquera and Rafael Núńez, composer of the national hymn. The visit continues on to the Palace of Justice and to the seat of the Alcaldía Mayor, Edificio Liévano, which are always on the Plaza Bolívar.
Following is a visit to the Museo Botero that houses works donated by the artist Fernando Botero and others by Picasso, Renoir, Dalí, Matisse, Monet and Giacometti, to mention a few. Next, we’ll visit the Museo del Oro which features nearly 34.000 gold objects and 20.000 in stone, ceramic, textiles and precious stones of the Quimbaya, Calima, Tayrona, Sinu, Muisca, Tolima, Tumaco and Magdalena cultures and is considered the most important collection of its kind worldwide.
Afternoon at leisure for individual activities (we recommend visiting the city’s various museums).

Day 3

Bogotá - Neiva - Tatacoa Desert
Transfer to the airport and flight to Neiva. Upon arrival, transfer to your hotel. We will have a private tour to the Tatacoa desert or Valle de la Tristeza, as it was called in 1538 by the conqueror Jiménez de Quesada. The name Tatacoa comes from the black “cascabel” or rattlesnake, an inoffensive local reptile called Tatacoa. Formerly inhabited by the Totoyoe and Doche Indians, this semi arid area extends from the middle of the fertile valley to the banks of the Magdalena River. The climate is hot and dry and the temperature is around 27 degrees. It is populated by eroded rock formations and a great variety of cactus and red earth in the area known as “Cuzco”, while in “Los Hoyos”, the landscape changes and the rocks transform into yellow sand dunes. During the tertiary period, the Tatacoa was a garden with thousands of flowers and trees, which little by little dried up and transformed into a desert. In fact, in the middle of this region eroded by the wind, it is frequent to come across petrified mollusks. A wonder for geologists and paleontologists.
Later, transfer to San Agustín. Upon arrival to your hotel, we will have dinner.

Day 4

San Agustín
After breakfast, we will have a private visit to the San Agustin Archaeological Park, to the Mesitas A, B, C, and D, to the Fuente Ceremonial del Lavapatos and Museo Arqueológico. In the afternoon, we will visit the wonderful Colombian massif and of the strait of the Magdalena River, a spectacular rocky gorge that forces the river to pass through only 7.22 feet. Return to San Agustin with a short visit to the town. Upon arrival to the hotel, dinner will be served.

Day 5

San Agustín - San José de Isnos - San Agustín
After breakfast, we will visit in private, two other parks listed as UNESCO World Heritage: Alto de los Idolos and Alto de las Piedras. Later, we will visit the majestic landscape of the Colombian Massif and the spectacular Mortino waterfalls (600 feet) and Salto de Bardones (1,050 feet). After visiting the waterfalls, we will return to the hotel and have dinner.

Day 6

San Agustín - Neiva - Cartagena
After breakfast, there will be a morning transfer to Neiva’s airport to take flight to Cartagena. Upon arrival, transfer to your hotel.

Day 7

Cartagena City Tour
After breakfast, we will visit in private, the city’s colonial district, starting in Parque Bolívar, which is surrounded by large tress and four fountains with a statue of El Libertador in the center. Around the square, we will see the Museo de Oro exhibiting pre Hispanic objects, and the Palace of the Inquisition, recognizable from its baroque entrance door. The meetings of the tribunal took place in the palace, and it housed the prison and torture chambers for the alleged opponents of the Catholic Church. The visit continues to the Santo Domingo church and the cathedral to end in the Ramparts and the Museo de Las Fortificaciones.
Afternoon at leisure for individual activities.

Day 8

Cartagena
Day at leisure for individual activities. An excursion to the Rosario Archipelago is recommended.

Day 9

Cartagena
Day at leisure for individual activities.

Day 10

Cartagena - Bogota
After breakfast, transfer to the airport for flight to Bogotá. In Bogotá, you will take your international flight back home or overlap with an add-on of your choice.

Suggested Hotels by City and Category *

Bogota
3-star	Dann Norte
4-star	Morrison
5-star	Sofitel Victoria Regia
Deluxe	Charleston Bogota
San Agustín
Standard 2 nt package	Package 3/2. 2 nights in San Agustin - simple hotel + transfers + HD archaeological park; HD Isnos +Full Board
Standard 3 nt package	Package 4/3. 2 nights in San Agustin - simple hotel & 1 night Neiva + transfers + HD archaeological park; HD Magdalena River; HD Tatacoa; HD Isnos +Full Board
Cartagena
3-star	Hotel Caribe, Almirante Estelar, Hotel La India Catalina – Cartagena (surcharge will apply Apr 3-Apr 13 and Nov5-Nov12, DBL 151 SGL 297)
4-star	Hotel Hilton Cartagena(located in Bocagrande area - private Beach), Hotel Bovedas de Santa Clara (old city)
5-star	Sofitel Santa Clara (Old Town), La Merced Hotel Boutique (Old Town),
Deluxe	Casa del Arzobispado Hotel Boutique (Old Town), Quadrifolio Hotel Boutique (Old Town),La Passion Hotel (SGL473, DBL 379 *Dec20 – Jan10)

* Subject to confirmation at time of booking

Occupancy Type	3-Star	4-Star	5-Star	Deluxe
Double	$4206	$4479	$4947	$5305
Single	$6292	$7147	$7966	$8683

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