Parque Arqueológico Nacional de Tierradentro — Attraction in Inzá

Parque Tierradentro is an exceptional place, a must visit if you're in this part of Colombia. Basically, these are subterranean burial sites appr. 1400 year old. It's possible to visit on your own, with public transport, below I'll explain how.

From Popayan, there are several buses daily (schedule attached). The trip costs 40k one way. Takes about 3 hours. The road is terrible, I wouldn't recommend coming by car. On the bus try to take front seats, you'll be jumping and shaking a lot. The bus won't take you all the way to the park, but will leave you at "El Crucero" (search on Google maps). From there it's a 1km+ walk to the park entrance. There is also bus connection with La Plata if you're coming from Tatacoa.

For foreigners, the cost of the entry is 50k. Factor in a night to spend in San Andres, because the last bus is at 4pm, and the sites close at 4pm too, it's impossible to visit everything by then. I visited on Tuesday, and was the only person at each site. The park is very well organized and clearly marked.

Next to the entrance, there is a museum, worth a 15-20 min stop. All the sites are accessed through hiking trails, with beautiful views, some of them - especially Aguacate - quite steep, so keep that in mind. On the first day you can easily visit Segovia, El Duende and El Tablón, and then arrive to San Andres where you'll stay overnight. There is a cheap (30k) hospedaje next to the church. All in all, it will take you 3-4 hours.

The following day you can hike to San Andres site (15 min) and Aguacate (1h 10 min), and then make your way down to take a bus (1 h). I went down towards Inza (gasolinera el Hato) instead of returning to the museum to save myself some minutes of shaking in the bus. I was pretty exhausted by the time I was down.

You'll need to bring water and maybe some snacks, as in the sun the hikes can be pretty demanding. But overall, the combination of the incredible views of the surrounding mountains, pleasant hikes and ancient archeological sites make it a really special...

Definitely worth the visit! There are 5 sites with underground tombs, some of which are beautifully painted and decorated. The hike itself to all the locations was beautiful with well marked paths and great views. Costs $65,000 per person which gives you a two day pass to the hiking trails and archaeological sites. We did the first part, Segovia to El Tablón the first day, stayed the night in the village of San Andrés, and did the second part, alto de San Andrés and alto de aguacate, the next day. The second hike up to aguacate is quite steep but not too long, the view is worth is though! The village is small with a lovely church, only a couple restaurants. We stayed at la Terraza for 25,000 per person per night, but ate at La Portada because they were much friendlier. Next time would stay there instead. Not many tourists, we were the only ones at the sites and on the trails both days so visiting the tombs felt really special. Overall it was a...

Incredible site to visit and completely worth the trek to get here. If you just want to do the most noteworthy parts, it's doable as a daytrip from Popayan. Take one of the earliest (6:30am or 7:30am) buses towards Inza, and shortly after you'll arrive at El Crucero, taking upwards of 4 hours because of how awful the roads are. It's about a 20 minute walk to the entrance. From there, you can complete Segovia and Duende in about 2-2.5 hours, then walk towards El Tablon. Watch carefully for the sign since it faces the opposite direction than the direction you're headed. Head back down towards the entrance to view the museum. Should leave you plenty of time to walk or take a collective (if one passes by) to El Crucero or Inza, where you can wait for the bus back to Poayan. The last two both arrive around 4pm at El Crucero but sometimes slightly earlier (happened to me). Hope this helps somebody as it was difficult to find...