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Colombia Information

Map of Colombia

2013/06/04 03:57

Archaeological park at San Agustin

Advice from a Nevada lawyer:

A Las Vegas lawyer blog on San Agustin

Jan 28, 2013, 2:10 PM

If you're interested, here is my report on my trip: …blogspot.com/2012/09/day-6-part-i-san-agust…

There are some parts of the Colombian Amazonian jungle (and some areas near the Venezuelan border) that are very risky. But no tourist would ever have any reason to travel through these parts of Colombia. The majority of the country is quite safe by Latin American standards. The people are incredibly friendly. The food is awesome. The scenery is fantastic. If you have any concerns about security, hire a guide to keep you on the safe paths. Hire a guide anyway for the Archaeological Park, as you will get more out of the trip.

When you go, I would highly recommend the Anacaona guest house. And in San Agustin, eat at the Donde Richard.

From Tripadvisor in the UK

What is the specific risk? What is the problem with the road from San Agustín to Popayán that causes the FCO to suggest people do not use this route? The road passes through El Páramo de Puracé, another hugely popular nature reserve and a magnet for international tourists. San Agustín's archeological site itself is yet another destination that draws thousands of tourists each year.

“If entering or leaving from or to Ecuador via the Pan-American Highway, you are advised not to stop en route between the border and Pasto, the route between Cali and the border with Ecuador is considered to be volatile.”

Not to stop for example somewhere like Las Lajas in Ipiales? Colombia's most famous church and a destination for international pilgrims, another site visited by literally thousands of national and international tourists every single year and without incident. Of course as a Brit, I shouldn't be in Pasto anyway because of that volcano that erupted in 2010.

3) I have always used Columbus Direct for travel to South America, previously Chile and they were the only travel insurance company that would state in no uncertain terms that I would be covered in Colombia. I subsequently made a dental claim and they paid up. I would recommend them.

Here’s a shortcut to the Company’s San Agustin tour option;

thecolombianway.com/en/…san-agustin.html

While we’re on the subject of another UNESCO credited archaeological zone, you could also pencil in Tierradentro ; here’s a brief description on their tour information.

http://www.thecolombianway.com/en/our-trips/package/san-agustin.html

http://www.thecolombianway.com/en/our-trips/package/tierradentro.html

Yup, need more details. If you're looking for information try the following sites:

www.off2colombia.com

www.seecolombia.travel/blog

2013/06/03 06:26

Colombian Consulate Quito

—-

589,500.00 COP = 309.899 USD

required for pensionado is three (3) times monthly minimum of $309 - around $900 x month

January 9, 2013

On 28 December 2012, the Government issued Decrees 2738 and 2739, the first one by which the monthly minimum salary is increased to COP589,500 (previously, COP566,700), and the second one by which the commuting allowance was set at COP70,500.

The new minimum salary and commuting allowance are effective as of 1 January 2013.

from Ernst & Young

Visas

Special Pensionado visa

Pensionado visa requirements —-

Dec 22 (Reuters) - Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa on Saturday announced a 9 percent increase in the minimum wage for private-sector workers for 2013, a move that may help consolidate his February re-election bid that polls broadly show him favored to win.

The leftist Correa, who has won strong popular support for a range of measures including expanding access to health care and improving roads and highways, hiked the minimum wage to $318 per month from $292 per month. —

Travel to Colombia

From Northern Station Carcelen

Av. Eloy Alfaro and Av. Galo Plaza Lasso

Taking buses from the Carcelén Terminal

The northern bus terminal at Carcelén is smaller and more grimy than the southern terminal. Buses here head north from Quito, the main reason to come here is to get to Otavalo or Mitad del Mundo. To get to this bus terminal via public transit you'll need to take the Metrobus and transfer at Estación Ofelia, which will take approximately one hour. From here you will have to take the “feeder buses” to get there. To get to the terminal via taxi will cost approximately $8 from La Mariscal, more during busier periods. The journey will take just 20 minutes or so with no traffic, longer during rush hour periods.

At this bus terminal you will find baggage storage, food stalls and telephone and Internet. There are 16 booths from which to buy a ticket. All have their destinations listed on the wall above each individual booth. Sometimes you can pick up a bus outside the terminal that is already leaving and just get on there, paying the driver instead of the company representative at the booth. Bus companies and destinations from Carcelén:

TransEsmeraldas leaves to Atacames and Esmeraldas from booth 2 at 4:00 a.m., 10:30 a.m., 2:10 p.m., 3:50 p.m., and 11:15 p.m.

Unión de Nor-Occidente leaves to Los Bancos, Puerto Quito, Santo Domingo, Mindo, Perovicente from booth 3 every 30 minutes from 5:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.

San Cristobal leaves to Tulcán from booth 6 every hour from 2:00 a.m. to 12:00 a.m.

Expreso Tulcán leaves to Tulcán from booth 7 every hour from 1:00 a.m. to 12:00 a.m.

San Gabriel leaves to San Gabriel from booth 10 every 30 minutes from 5:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Espejo leaves to Masquerida, Mira, San Isidro, El Angél, Otavalo, Ibarra and Tabacundo from booth 11 every hour from 4:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Flota Imbabura leaves to Atuntaqui, Otavalo, Ibarra, and Tulcán frequently from booth 12.

Taca Andina leaves to Ibarra and Santo Domingo every 20 minutes from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. from booth 13.

Crossing to Pasto

Yes, you can cross into Ecuador and return to Colombia a week later. About a year and a half ago my sixty day visa was set to expire. I crossed the border into to Ecuador and spent about four nights in Otovalo before returning to Colombia; had no problems on re-entry. You should be fine.

So are you asking about the bus trip from Bogota to Quito or from Pasto to Quito? I know there are buses that go direct between Bogota and Quito. You should expect about a thirty hour trip each way.

The trip from Pasto should take about 8 hours to reach Quito (maybe more depending or road and border delays). You will have to take a van from the Pasto terminal to Ipiales (20,000). From Ipiales to the border you will have to take a taxi or collectivo (1,500 collectivo). Do your business at the border and take a taxi or collective to the terminal in Tulcan (1-2$ taxi). A bus to Quito should cost around 6 dollars.

agree with #1. Only that the taxi from the border to Tulcan (Ecuadorian border town) costs 3 dollars, but if you take a van it's like 0,80 or you can share a taxi with others. The bus from Tulcan to Quito costs $ 4,80 and takes 5 hours. Careful with the money changers at the border, there are some crooks. You may want to stop in Otavalo to visit the town/market. There are some nice places to visit around Otavalo like the Laguna Cuicocha, the walk around the lake is very nice and takes about 6 hours. You get there from Cotacachi, another nice town to visit. Otavalo is about half way between the border and Quito.

From QUITO you can travel to :

1 - border Tulcán - Ipiales, then take transportation to Pasto and from Pasto you can go to Mocoa or going up direction Popayán Cali (travel at daytime) 2- border Lago Agrio - San Miguel, then take transportation to Mocoa. From Mocoa you can go up north to San-Agustín etc… (border crossing only at daytime)

If you are interested to get a touch of the amazons, see beautifull nature escenery, take a look at Mocoa http://www.casadelriomocoa.com

We arrived at about 7 pm and I jumped straight in a taxi for $4000 to the Koala Inn hostel in central Pasto. I’d hoped to meet other travellers there, but it was quite deserted. I didn’t care. At $18,000 COP, with WiFi, a private room with double bed and TV, and a hot shower, this was a bargain. It was just a shame I had to get up so early again the next day.

If you do stay here and you need some dinner, turn right when you leave the hostel and take the first right to find a couple of restaurants serving food until 9 pm. One is cheap with local almuerzo dishes, and the other is a pizzeria with a massive menu.

Day Two:

The next morning, I left at 6 am and caught a cab from the corner. The bus terminal had plenty of companies with shuttle buses to Ipiales. I chose SuperTaxis for $7000. You have to wait for the shuttle to fill up with passengers before it sets off, so I was sitting around for 30 minutes. Pulling out of the station, we were met by a glorious sunrise.

Try to avoid the back seats as they have less space and you will end up squished into a corner with no headrest, clinging on to the ceiling as the driver swerves like a maniac round all the bends.

The journey to Ipiales takes roughly 1 hour 30 mins. I arrived at 8 am and decided I had enough time to detour to the nearby Las Lajas cathedral. It’s a stunning building that spans a massive gorge and it’s well worth stopping at for an hour or so if you have time.

I got back to Ipiales at 10 am and hopped in another cab to the border for $7000 COP. I was there by 10:30 am.

You have to get an exit stamp before walking across the bridge and then queueing to get your entry stamp for Ecuador. It would be easy to miss one or both because no one would actually check if you strolled straight over and got in a cab. Make sure you don’t have any food or drink with you. They didn’t check me, but it’s better to be safe than detained.

I was in the queue for 1 hour 30 mins. Keep a book or iPod handy. Check they stamp you in and that it has enough days for your planned trip, then hop in yet another cab to Tulcan for about $3.50. I shared with a bunch of Colombians who’d also just passed through immigration.

My bus to Quito left Tulcan just after I arrived there at 12:30. It cost $4.80 and took just over 5 hours. From the bus terminal, it’s one final cab to the city centre.

I wasn’t sure whether to stay in the new town, where the Mariscal district has many hostels, tourism agencies, and bars and clubs, or the old town, which is prettier and a better base for sightseeing. Having heard that robberies are quite common in the more touristy areas, I chose a sociable-looking hostel called Secret Garden. It has fantastic views of the city and they offer plenty of travel advice – both local and further afield. They also serve meals and drinks and have WiFi.

Arianwen Morris says: December 10, 2012 at 1:21 am I was in the same situation. I’m pretty sure a bus ticket is sufficient as proof of onward travel, but it’s annoying having to decide a date to leave the country and risking losing money if you don’t end up catching that bus. Another option, which a lot of people do, but sounds quite dodgy, is to pretend you have a flight out of the country. If you go through the booking process with Copa Airlines (ie, book a flight from Bogota to Quito), you get sent a confirmation email before you’ve paid. You can then edit the email in Photoshop so it no longer says you still have to pay. This way, if they ask for proof and they check the flight number you can be sure it exists and you should be ok. They didn’t check any proof when I flew there from the UK via the US. I don’t think they enforce it as strongly as a lot of countries, but it’s good to have a backup plan. Good luck!

From Tulcan to Pasto

Once in Tulcan you have the option of getting to the border crossing, Rumichaca, by way of taxi for $3.50 or colectivo for $0.75. The taxi is obviously the most unencumbered method.

…. Once in Colombia, the border control was a snap. I waited in line for five minutes, answered some easy questions and the immigration officer stamped my passport with 90 days. I was especially please about the 90 day bit because I had heard and read that the standard for Colombia was 60 days and you had to beg if you wanted 90. I didn’t even intend to use 60, but it still felt like a victory. After getting checked in, I split a taxi to the bus terminal in Ipiales, Colombia’s main border town, with my new friend for 7,000 pesos.

The second option is to get a lower rate, I got 1707 pesos to the dollar instead of 1775 (not much of a bank breaker), with the official money exchange place in a building across the street from immigration. I was happy enough going here since I was only exchanging enough to get me to the terminal where I would withdraw more money at a better rate at an ATM.

2013/06/05 20:13

1 US Dollar equals 1901.77 Colombian Peso

visiting Pasto

South western Colombia Pasto is known as the city's surprise Colombia. This beautiful land, invited and expected to own and others to receive recognition each year to the Carnival of Blacks and Whites.

City is also called “Surprise”, a name that comes because people who visit for the first time southern Colombia, was stunned by the warmth of its people, the infrastructure of the city, the temples that stand on every corner, labeled as architectural gems world-class cuisine of the region, the rumba and the many ways that welcome tourists and identify it as a more Pasto.

San Juan de Pasto is located on Atriz Valley 795 miles south west of the capital of the República.Su height above sea level is 2559 meters, the average temperature is 14 degrees Celsius, its area is of 1,181 square kilometers and its average annual rainfall is 700 mm.

Founded by the Spanish explorer and conquistador Lorenzo de Aldana in 1539 under the name of Villaviciosa de la Concepcion, now officially known as San Juan de Pasto originated in the name of the indigenous community grazing areas inhabited the region to the arrival of the conquistadors Spanish. Administrative, cultural and religious heritage of the region since colonial times.

The most important sites of this beautiful city are:

Plaza de Nariño. Also known as the Plaza of the Constitution. This square is the most central and important part of Pasto, in the middle of the square stands a statue of Antonio Nariño, which is a point of reference for those who pass by on the star known as “The Sun of the Grassland” .

Plaza del Carnaval. This square is relatively new, so you should know. It was created in 2003 to celebrate the Carnival of Blacks and Whites. This is the official site where parade floats. At the entrance you can itemize the Carnival Pasto allusive sculptures.

Plazuela Rumipamba. This square is opposite the church of San Andres and is steeped in history, if you want to know, feel free to ask any of the inhabitants of the area, you will surely enjoy a chat history.

Pandiaco Cultural Center-Museum of Carnival. It contains all the figures referring to the Carnival of Blacks and Whites in the wall you will understand the activities taking place at the event.

Corpocarnaval Museum. Taminango House Museum. If you want to know about arts and culture Narino, this is the place, declared a national monument for its impressive architecture.

The University of Nariño, Academy of History. Here you can read books and documents that comprise the history of San Juan de Pasto.

Museum Maria Goretti School. 3350 pieces make up the bulk of the collection covers various fields, Founded in 1973, is a reference point for research and education in the capital of Nariño.

Museum of the History of Nariño. There you can enjoy in-depth knowledge of Narino culture, their traditions and customs.

Museo del Oro Nariño. In it you will know all about pre-Columbian cultures that inhabited the territory Surcolombiana. Has 460 pieces of cultural Capulí, Piartal and Tirza. It is part of Centro Cultural Leopoldo López Álvarez.

Lorenzo Lucero Juan Historical Museum. Created by Jaime Alvarez's father, this museum is named after the most famous former Pasto seventeenth century.The museum displays evidence of the historical and cultural heritage of the region as well, you can see a complete collection of religious art, sculptures from different times, memories and relics of characters in public life, both political and religious and artistic. The museum includes a large library of Nariño authors, books, magazines and brochures author of the department.

During the visit, you may recall the ancient customs of the inhabitants of Nariño, their idiosyncrasies and their chores.

People around Pasto. About Pasto concentrated near picturesque 20 populations representing the folklore and traditions of Nariño, so if you are in San Juan de Pasto no longer go through Calambuco, Tescual, Raccoon, Jongovito, charm, and genius Canchal some of these peoples. Taminango Museum. It recognizes the arts and popular traditions of Nariño, not only for its collection of articles and photographs of the crafts of grass:varnish, wood carving and textiles, but also by the Taminango mansion, declared a National Monument in 1971 by his great historical and architectural value.

the Cathedral. Imposing and majestic in the center of town, renowned for its architectural beauty lighting and interior design.

San Juan Bautista Church. Which is regarded as a living example of baroque architecture, as reproduced in stone facade designed by Michelangelo. This Church is recognized as one of the oldest in the city, there lie the remains of the first settlers of the city distinguished.

Church of Christ the King. Which is located near the College Javeriana, where you can see the statue of San Francisco and the splendor of its windows.

The Temple Our Lady of Mercy. Is the patroness of the city, La Virgen de la Merced, which suffered severe damage in the earthquake of 1935, but was skillfully restored.

The church of San Sebastian. The windows are unique, so it is a tour you must do, Pasto as recognized by the Church of the Bakery, is very visible pink color of its façade.

Laguna de la Cocha or Lake Guamuez, Which is the second largest lake in South America with 90 meters deep, yes, go well abrigadito. For accommodation in the lake area perfectly suited operate two hotels.

Environmental Center “CHIMAYOY.” Which is located 4 km from Pasto, where you will learn: Research and Environmental Education, Conservation, ecological and rural tourism.

Paragliding. In any Nariño, expeditions doing takeoffs from different places in the geography of this beautiful apartment.