Tierradentro & San Andres de Pisimbala | All you need to know

By Connected Horizons

One of the most interesting archaeological sites in Colombia is found just next to San Andres de Pisimbala, a tiny tiny village (not even 1000 inhabitants) tucked away in the middle of the hilly countryside. The site’s name has a history that goes back to the first conquistadores who explored the region and while on the tracks of some cannibal tribe ended up in a mountainous region full of hiding spots, which is known today as “Tierradentro”.

Nowadays, the area has very little tourist facilities and its considered an off-the-beaten-track destination for those willing to endure the long bus ride from either Popayan or San Augustin. Over the years, the town has been overshadowed by another nucleus of small hospedajes and restaurants (still in a limited number) popping up just next to the entrance of the Tierradentro Archaeological Site.

The bus we took in Popayan

How to get there

Currently, the more direct way to get to San Andres & Tierradentro is by getting the one-per-day bus operated by Sotracauca leaving the town of Popayan at 10.30am every day. The journey is supposed to be only 4h but currently the state of the road is very very bad and can take anywhere between 5h30min to even a hellish 7h30min (which is what happened to us). The price for this is 25’000COP/pp.

Alternatively, one would catch any of the buses heading to Balcazar, ran by the company Belacazar Taxi, that will drop you off at the Cruce San Andres, a junction located at 1.5km from the Tierradentro entrance and 3.5km from San Andres de Pisimbala. Walking to either places is the only option available. The price for this is 21’000COP/pp.

If you’re coming from Neiva or San Augustin (via Pitalito) your other option is to grab one of the jeeps that leave from La Plata and head to Tierradentro. Times vary a lot but during the day there are several jeeps, so as long as you get there not too late in the afternoon, finding your transport to Tierradentro should be an easy thing. The trip take around 2h. The price for this is 10’000COP/pp.

Things to do

VISIT SAN ANDRES DE PISIMBALA
The small village doesn’t really hold any undiscovered treasure worth visiting. The village’s church is an ok place to see but don’t expect to spend more than 15min wandering around town.

HIKE AROUND TIERRADENTRO ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE
Located 2km before town, you can find the entrance of the most important attraction of the place. On top of holding a small number of statues/idols (similar to the ones found in San Augustin), the real deal of this sire is the uniquely decorated hypogea (underground tombs) found nowhere else in the country!

The tombs vary a lot in size, depth, decoration style and conservation – and are scattered over five different locations over the surrounding hills (Segovia, El Duende, El Tablon, Alto San Andres & El Aguacate). The trails to reach these locations are well-marked (read more on our Guide to Hike Tierradentro) and the site also offers two museums showing off the artefacts found in the past. Price for the entrance is 25’000COP for adults and 10’000COP for students but tickets last two days.

VISIT EL HATO ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE
This other site located close to Inza is located at just a 30min walk from the Cruce San Andres. Hardly visited by any tourist, the site doesn’t hold much but a couple of caves dating back to the conquistadores and an ancient well-conserved frog statue that is now the symbol of the site itself. Short tours to visit this and La Piramide can be organised at the Tierradentro office or just by asking around.

VISIT LA PIRAMIDE
Even though many referred to it as a construction, this pyramid-looking rock is nothing but a huge boulder from which to enjoy beautiful views over the nearby valley. It’s located around Inza on the road to Popayan and even local guides don’t seem to know much about it other than its ancient and looks like a pyramid.

Our “home” during our stay in Tierradentro

Where to sleep

Mi Casita: 15k/pp shared, 20k/pp private, hot water, kitchen, no wifi
Hospedaje Tierradentro: 18k/pp double room shared, 25k/pp private, hot water, kitchen, wifi. Breakfast not included but available at 6’000COP/pp.
Hospedaje Lucerna: 20k/pp double room shared, hot water, kitchen, no wifi. Breakfast not included but available at 6’000COP/pp.
Tienda Superjugos: 20k/pp double room shared, no hot water, kitchen, no wifi. Breakfast not included but available at 6’000COP/pp.
Hospedaje & Restaurante Pisimbala: 20k/pp shared private, 25k/pp private. Breakfast not included but available at 6’000COP/pp.
Hotel & Restaurante La Portada: Only rooms with private bathroom starting at 60k, hot water, no kitchen, wifi. Breakfast not included but available at 6’000COP/pp.
El Refugio: Only rooms with private bathroom starting at 80k, hot water, no kitchen, wifi. Breakfast included.

The small nucleus of restaurants, hospedajes and shops of Tierradentro

Where to eat ?

Cacique Bar & Restaurant (Tierradentro): Small more like a fast-food bar restaurant. We ate here the first night after the electricity went off but found it to be quite expensive for the place. All mains such as vegetable rice, chicken wings or fried chicken cost 12’000COP whereas sandwiches, hamburgers and hot dogs you get them at 9’000COP. Artisan beer is available at 4’000COP.

Hospedaje & Restaurante Pisimbala (Tierradentro): Locally owned homestay which also offers restaurant service. Offers the BEST DEAL in town with a daily lunch or dinner which also includes a fresh juice, at the cheap price of 7’000COP. Also offers breakfast at 6’000COP. Beer is available at 3’000COP.

Hotel & Restaurante La Portada (San Andres): Locally owned homestay which is also considered the best restaurant in town by many. Offers daily lunch or dinner which also include fresh juice, at 11’000COP. Also offers breakfast at 6’000COP. Beer is available at 4’000COP.

How long to stay

Well, this depends entirely to how much time you’ve got in Colombia, what you want to visit and how much of a fit hiker you are.

Consider that on the first day you’ll be mostly travelling and if you’re lucky you might be able to barely see the two museums.

The second day, some people decide to spend the morning hiking one of the two loops of Tierradentro (read more on our Guide to Hike Tierradentro), visit the two museums if they didn’t manage the first day and then get the bus back to Popayan at either 1pm or 4pm from the Cruce San Andres.

Some people (like us, highly suggested), would spend the whole day hiking around the two loops of Tierradentro (read more on our Guide to Hike Tierradentro), visit the two museums if they didn’t manage the first day and then stay the night. The morning after just get the bus back to Popayan at 6am.

Other people, would spend the morning hiking one of the two loops of Tierradentro (read more on our Guide to Hike Around Tierradentro), visit the two museums if they didn’t manage the first day and then stay the night. The morning after hike the second loop, relax and possibly visit both La Piramide and El Hato site. The next day get the bus back to Popayan at 6am.

We thought the option 2 days and 2 nights was the best and nicest option to visit the place without being on a rush nor at a slow pace, but independently of how much you spend here, we’re sure you gonna be enjoying this place a lot!


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One thought on “Tierradentro & San Andres de Pisimbala | All you need to know

  • Søren February 1, 2020 at 12:05 am Reply

    San Andres.. A mountainous city of culture and nature. We went to San andres and tierradentro in late 2019, thinking we would stay for maybe two days for the hikes.. We ended up staying for more than a week in an eco-hostal/camping spot in San Andres. A perfectly situated place, economically very affordable and view from the garden to the mountain peaks. The garden packed with vegetables and fruit trees, served us 3 homemade/homegrown meals a day with tales from the ancients past on the side. It was the perfect place to rest. All rooms had shower and toilet facilities. El dueño was very kind and welcoming. He invited us to celebrate new years eve with his family in the neighbooring city called, well, San Fransisco. We improved our spanish markedly in the few days we spent there!

    Highly recommendable!

    .

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