A Weekend in Colombia's Eastern Plains

Friday

5pm: Monumental walk

Trinidad is a small town, easily explored on foot. The central plaza, lined with restaurants and shops, is a good place to start.

Centro Trinidad Casanare Park

@Mateo

You'll find everything you need--restaurants, shops, pharmacies--around Trinidad's central plaza. It's also a pleasant place to observe the rhythms of everyday life and meet friendly locals.

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From the plaza, you can visit two parks--Parque Lineal and Parque de los Novios--to explore their respective cultural monuments.  If you’re interested in a more in-depth understanding of Trinidad's culture and history, Trinidad Tours (yobis3188@hotmail.com, +57 310 867 1676) offers a two-hour tour that includes a visit to the parks with an English-speaking guide, followed by a short joropo dance session. They can also provide dinner if you let them know a day ahead (100,000COP w/food 120,000COP).

Otherwise, Cataleya and Balcon Paisa are open (relatively) late and offer your standard mix of fast food, chicken, and fish. They also have a healthy cocktail menu.

El Balcon Paisa

@Mateo

I didn't get a chance to eat here, but I heard good things from the locals.

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Saturday

8am: Breakfast on the corner

The main bakery (the one located on the main plaza) often sets the tone for the rest of the town. If the setting is unpleasant and the pastries are tasteless, you’re in trouble. Fortunately, Trinidad’s Deli Valle offers comfortable outdoor seating, friendly service, and a decent breakfast.

Panadería DeliValle

@Mateo

A solid bakery with tables overlooking the main plaza. Have a cafe, a fresh pastry, and watch daily life unfold.

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9:30am: Llanero safari

If you’ve ever dreamed of putting on a cowboy hat, getting on horse, and charging out into the wild, this is your chance. Trinidad is located near two hatos (large farms) that can accommodate even novice horse riders.

Reserva Natural Hato Berlín

@Mateo

A beautiful 800-hectare farm populated with giant anteaters, howler monkeys, turtles, caimans, hundreds of birds, and capybaras, the world’s largest rodent. It's only 15 minutes from Trinidad and for 368,000COP you're provided a horse outing in the morning, a second horse outing after lunch, and a canoe ride at sunset.

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Reserva Natural El Encanto de Guanapalo

@Mateo

This hato is 45 minutes from Trinidad, but it has 9000 hectares of roaming space and offers the opportunity to see all the aforementioned wildlife as well as pumas and anacondas (at certain times of the year). For 431,000COP, you do a walking tour in the morning and a horse outing after lunch in the afternoon.

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(Both hatos offer overnight and multi-day packages; day prices are reduced if you’re in a group of two or more)

7pm: Evening outing

In addition to grilling up a mean chorizo, the folks at ChoriRico, a homey restaurant off the main plaza, make a delicious cow foot stew. It might not sound appetizing, but I had two servings.

After dinner, head to el muelle/the dock, for cold beers and loud llanero music. If you're lucky, you’ll see some locals displaying their joropo skills.

Sunday

11:30am: Mamona time

This is Colombia’s livestock region and the meat here is goooood. It’s also one of the best places in the country to eat mamona/veal. Cooked on skewers over an open wood fire, this local specialty is succulent, tender, and ridiculously flavorful. Personally, I dream about it.

There are numerous places that prepare mamona around Trinidad. They range from traditional restaurants (Estadero La Sabana Trinitena, Asadero Donde Leiva) to more informal places by the dock/el muelle or in a parking lot. You can settle at one, but I recommend contacting Yilmer (+57 3118215463, 3144937882), a local guide, who can take you on a tour (65,000COP) to sample mamona at all four places.

4pm: Local Rodeo

Part sport, part social event, Coleos, Colombia’s answer to the rodeo, are held on occasional weekends near Trinidad. People from all over the region assemble to drink, chew tobacco, and sit on high, unforgiving rails inches from two cowboys on horseback pursuing a bull down a long, narrow tract of sand. The competitors earn points based on how quickly they’re able to pull down the bull by the tail and how many times the animal flips over before coming back to its feet. It’s certainly not an event for animal lovers, but it is a one-of-a-kind experience.

Accommodation

Hotel Porvenir

@Mateo

For 30,000COP, I enjoyed a clean, decent-sized room with a balcony, a block from the main plaza. The people that worked there, like everyone else I met in Trinidad, were easy going and friendly.

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HOTEL JESALEY

@Mateo

Another recommended budget option.

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Hotel Paraíso Tropical

@Mateo

A good option if you want a pool and you’re ready to stay a little further from the center of town.

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Transport

To get from Bogota to Yopal, Libertadoes offers frequent bus departures for 93,000COP. The ride takes roughly nine hours. Alternatively, you can fly to Yopal with Avianca or Latam for 300,000COP. Flights take one hour.

From Yopal, Libretadores operates frequent busses to Trinidad that leave the main bus terminal every half hour. The ride takes roughly 90 minutes and costs 24,000COP.

UN CAFÉ CON LIBERTADORES

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