World's Most Beautiful River and "Los LLanos" Culture
In addition to Caño Cristales, which travelers and the press have made famous, there are other unpublished rivers, less known, less visited, also extraordinary. They all collect the waters of the Serranía de La Macarena, show off the varied tones of their shreds of aquatic plants and cascade into magnificent waterfalls. Caño Canoas and Caño Siete Machos are two of them; We will also visit them during this tour.
Caño Cristales, Caño Canoas and Caño Siete Machos, like so many other small rivers that descend from the Serranía de La Macarena, carved their capricious beds on granites and very old sediments that date from the Precambrian and the Paleozolic to the Cenozoic; from more than 1200 million years ago to the present.
Diego Miguel Garcés is our guide on this trip. He has worked as an editor, chronicler, explorer and photographer for 35 years. His work appears published in more than 200 books and magazines, inside and outside the country. He currently alternates academic work with designing and guiding expeditions to the landmarks of remote Colombia.
ITINERARY
The Guayabero River, which receives the Duda and the Lozada from the west and which turns east at the southern end of the Serranía, is nourished by the waters of a network of small tributaries, Caño Canoas and Caño Siete Machos, among them, before joining the Ariari, taking the name of Guaviare and adding its flows to one of the largest systems of lagoons and Madreviajeas in Colombia. The “stinking guans” – Ophistocomus hoatzin –, which do not differ much from the first winged dinosaurs, feed on foliage on the banks of this colossal river, while the marmosets – Saimiris sciureus –, the howler monkeys – Allouata seniculus –, the corn trees –Sapujus apella– and the huicocos Callicebus ornatus–, roam the guamos –Inga– and the fig trees –Ficus–, and the terecay turtles Podocnemis vogli– and the squibs –Caiman crocodylus– sunbathe on the sand and mud banks.
ITINERARY
ITINERARY
ITINERARY
Day 1 We start our tour in Bogotá to take the direct flight to La Macarena, usually at 5:00am. After landing we paid local taxes, received a brief talk offered by National Parks and checked into the hotel. Then we board to El Mirador and walk to Caño Cristalito, where we will take a bath and have lunch. We will return along the same route to go to the hotel for dinner and rest.
ITINERARY
ITINERARY
Day 2. After breakfast we will navigate the Guayabero River to the Los Mangos village, where 4x4 trucks are waiting for us to take us to the Cafuche Spring, through a trail that runs through part of the Serranía. A path will then take us, through grasslands, stands of Vellozia and small forests of Clusia and Curatella, to Caño Cristales. We will bring lunch. In the middle of the afternoon the campers will leave us again on the banks of the Guayabero and we will sail back to La Macarena. We will have dinner at the hotel and then we will go to rest
Day 3 We will navigate through the Guayabero and the campers will then leave us at the beginning of the roads that run through Caño Cristales. We will take a different path than the one we took the day before. Again we will bring lunch and in the afternoon we will return to La Macarena to have dinner and rest. On the night of day 2 or day 3, we will attend a “Parrando Llanero” to appreciate a sample of traditional music and dances.
Day 4. We will follow the course of the Guayabero River to El Planchón. There we will take the 4x4 trucks and then we will walk for half an hour to go to the Caño Canoas waterfalls. We will bring lunch. Then we will travel back in vans to La Macarena, to have dinner and rest at the hotel.
Day 5. We will embark towards the rapid, that corridor of rocks that encloses the Guayabero River west of La Macarena. If the waters have not risen too much, we will look at the petroglyphs that the ancient aborigines carved on the rocks. We will have lunch on the sidewalk. If time is generous, we will walk to the Stone City. We will return again on the boat to La Macarena, we will have dinner and rest at the hotel.
Day 6 After breakfast we will take a walk through the town before going to the airport to take our return flight.
Included • Air tickets Bogotá-La Macarena-Bogotá. • Accommodation for 3 or 5 nights, depending on the plan, at the Punto Verde hotel. • All breakfasts from day 2 • All lunches from day 1 (include lunch on the last day only if the return flight leaves in the afternoon) • All dinners • All river transportation • All 4x4 land transportation • Local accompanying guides • Medical assistance card • Night of music and joropo with orchestra and llanero dancers • 24-hour assistance in La Macarena
Not included: • Income tax for Cormacarena and Natural Parks U$18 National - U$27Foreign. • Contribution to communities and risk management U$11 Municipal income tax U$9 Nationals and U$12 foreigners. • Airport tax U$2 • Expenses not specified in the itinerary.
PRICE 6 days $ 1,500 PER PERSON