Tatacoa Desert | Off the Beaten Path Colombia
Overview
If you're looking for a destination that is a little more off the beaten path (not Salento or Cartagena), you need to consider El Desierto de la Tatacoa. This destination offers amazing desert landscapes, stargazing at the observatories, and the chance to unwind in the small, unhurried town of Villavieja.
Villavieja is extremely safe and everyone is so nice. You definitely get a glimpse of local life by staying here. I also visited during the week, so there were absolutely no crowds. The desert is stunning and my guide and I often had the entire place to ourselves.
This trip can be done comfortably with a 2 night stay. I visited in May and it did not rain at all. Temperatures reached nearly 100F in the afternoon, but cooled off at night.
Note: Bring enough cash with you to Villavieja! Very few places accepted cards and there seemed to be one working ATM in town that everyone uses which can run out of cash.
Getting There
I took a bus from Bogotá Terminal Salitre (Terminal de Transporte S.A.) to Neiva. You can buy your ticket at the terminal or online. I booked my tickets on Busbud the night before my trip and it was super easy. Make sure to read the fine print - my tickets needed to be printed, not shown on a mobile device.
The journey took like 6-7 hours and cost 43.000 COP. There are different companies you can book with: I chose Expreso BOLIVARIANO and have no complaints. The first vehicle was a larger bus that had a bathroom, comfortable seats, and air conditioning. The return vehicle was a smaller van that got a little crowded and very sweaty. Thankfully, the drivers make a stop halfway for a restroom and snack break.
When you arrive in Neiva, just ask the people working at the station where to buy tickets for Villavieja and they will point you in the right direction. The one-way ticket cost 10.000 COP. Make sure you listen carefully for your destination to be announced over the speaker; I waited over an hour for the colectivo to arrive. The journey to Villavieja takes about 1 hour.
When you arrive in Villavieja, you'll be dropped off in the town square. This is a very small, quiet, safe town. If you're unclear where your hotel is, just ask someone for directions! I think almost everything in Villavieja is within a 5 minute walk.
Accommodation
There are limited accommodation options in Villavieja. Normally I look for hostels but there are only hostels in Neiva and in the desert itself. Based on the excellent reviews and prices, I booked my stay at Tatacoa Star Ecohotel for ~$30 USD per night. A typical Colombian breakfast (eggs, fruit, arepa, coffee) is included in the price. This is a family run hotel and everyone is so incredibly friendly. They will remind you, but be mindful that you must pay for your lodging in cash.
My room was comfortable and quiet until the roosters started crowing in the morning :) The air conditioner worked well ... which was definitely necessary when the temperatures reached nearly 100 F in the afternoon.
Food
There aren’t a ton of places to eat in Villavieja. For lunch one day I tried La Planta Brew Pub because I saw it on Google Maps and had nothing else to do to beat the afternoon heat. You have to pay 5.000 COP just to walk in the door and the food wasn’t amazing. However, the location has a lot of really cool decorations and there is also a pool available (for a fee of 20.000 COP) if you really need to beat the desert heat.
For dinner, I walked by a little grocery store at the end of the street I was staying on that turned into a restaurant at night. They served street food-style arepas, beer, fresh juices, etc. It was lovely to chat with the family and the food was amazing.
Activities
The main reason for coming to this region is to hike through El Desierto de la Tatacoa. I didn’t book any of this in advance, so I asked the hotel about my options and they offered me a private tour. We left the hotel by 6:30 AM to beat the heat. We spent 3-4 hours hiking through the two deserts and riding around on the motorbike. There are several ways to access the desert - just ask your hotel or hostel. Many provide options to order a tuk-tuk or moto, or rent bicycles for some solo exploration.
My guide and I visited El Cuzco (the red desert) and Los Hoyos (the gray desert) by motorbiking and hiking.
The guide also took me for a ride around town and pointed out things to do. We stopped at the Museo Paleontológico for a brief tour. I personally really enjoyed this but would not necessarily recommend if 1) you don't speak decent Spanish, and/or 2) you don't have an interest in paleontology. I think the cost was 7.000 or 8.000 COP.
Tatacoa is one of the best places for stargazing in all of Colombia. At night, we went back into the desert for a visit to the observatory. There are a few different observatories in the area, but my guide took me to the one that offers explanations in both English and Spanish. The cost was 10.000 COP and the demonstration lasted over an hour. We looked through telescopes and listened to the history of the constellations. It was very informative!
This entire experience arranged by my hotel cost ~200.000 COP (~$50 USD) and it was 1000% worth it, especially for the private tour! I have nothing but positive memories from this trip and I highly recommend you adding the Tatacoa Desert to your Colombia itinerary.
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