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Tatacoa desert

The Tatacoa Desert is the second most extensive arid zone in Colombia after the La Guajira Peninsula. It is one of the most attractive natural settings in Colombia, with earth of ocher and gray colors with touches of green from the cacti. The Tatacoa Desert has two characteristic colors: ocher in the Cuzco sector and gray in the Los Hoyos area.

Tatacoa, or the Valley of Sorrows, as the conqueror Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada called it in 1538 due to the traces of deterioration he noticed in its territory, is not exactly a desert, but a tropical dry forest. Its name “Tatacoa” was also attributed by the Spaniards, referring to the rattlesnake and not, as one might think, to harmless black snakes. As scientists reveal, Tatacoa, during the Tertiary Period, was a garden with thousands of flowers and trees that gradually dried up to become a desert.

This semi-arid region is located north of the Huila Department, 38 kilometers from the city of Neiva and 10 kilometers from Natagaima in Tolima. The Tatacoa Desert is a rich fossil deposit and a great tourist destination.

Expeditions

3 days

Tatacoa desert

Expeditions to the Tatacoa Desert in your car

In the Tatacoa Desert we will walk through the Culebra Canyon and the valley of the Xilópalos (fossilized tree trunks), Los Hoyos with its "ghosts", Cuzco with its red Martian earth and as if that were not enough we will refresh ourselves in a natural pool in the middle of the desert and observe in amazement through powerful telescopes under the direction of a professional astronomer, the Milky Way, our sister planets and the occasional nebula in the depths of the galaxy.

Available dates

From $ 590.000

3 days

Tatacoa desert

Expeditions to the Tatacoa Desert from Neiva

The Tatacoa Desert is a must-see, home to lunar formations and landscapes of astonishing colors. We'll hike through the Culebra Canyon and the Valley of the Xilópalos (fossilized tree trunks), Los Hoyos with its "ghosts," Cuzco with its red Martian earth, and, as if that weren't enough, we'll cool off in a natural pool in the middle of the desert and, under the guidance of a professional astronomer, gaze in awe at the Milky Way, our sister planets, and the occasional nebula deep within the galaxy through powerful telescopes.

Available dates

From $ 990.000

6 days

Tatacoa desert

Expedition to Tatacoa Desert and San Agustin

We will explore, taking short walks of 2 or 3 hours, the Tatacoa Desert and the San Agustín Archaeological Park, two unmissable places where we will find formations and lunar landscapes, with amazing colors and the largest necropolis in the world.

Available dates

From $ 2.690.000