Yes, I took the trip and here are the things I can share.
First of all make sure to read the following article:
http://seecolombia.travel/blog/2016/01/how-to-travel-independently-to-the-cerros-de-mavecure/
Everything is just as Chris has described it. The only difference is the cost - now is a bit more pricey.
- Going from Puerto Inirida to El Remanso.
Your best option is really to go to the port and ask around for Don Ramon - you will find him pretty quickly as everybody knows him. Don Ramon is a very trustworthy and reliable person. He is going to find a boat and a driver who is going to stay with you. For 3 days/2 nights the total price was 1 000 000 COP. The boat driver Don Ramon provided was from the Puinave people - the same ethnic group as the indeginous communitty in El Remanso, which was great since you need to communicate with the locals there (they do speak Spanish too but it is still better to have someone local).
Another option is to check in some of the agencies, for example in Hotel Tonina. I would generally not recommend this. They will put you in a group with other people or if they don't have a group big enough maybe you have to wait a day or two. This option is only good if you are traveling alone, since otherwise to hire a private boat would be more expensive and you might actually want to have other people around. If you are a group of 2-3 or more people, definitely go with Don Ramon. It will be cheaper (since you will share the costs) and it will be better.
Yet another option is to contact the local community in El Remanso directly. It turned out that the locals there are trying to organize and promote the tourism in the area and they want to offer something like a tourist package, avoiding the agencies. We met the chairman and the leader of this group - a woman called Yeni Diaz. She said they would like to bring tourists there on their own, so that the money spent would go for the community instead of the agencies. At the time we were there though, they were still in the process of orgaznizing, but they said that probably in a couple of months would be ready. So if you are planning to go there this option is definitely worth considering, you can help the locals a lot! Here are the contact details:
Yeni Diaz,
Tel: 3214915722
E-Mail: yenidiazg@hotmail.com
You can sleep and eat in the community of El Remanso. We didn't do it since we preferred to sleep in tents on the beach. The boat driver provided the tents and even set up the camp for us. This was one of the best parts of the trip, we camped on a small river beach, alone and surrounded by the Cerros de Mavicure. If you don't like to camp though you can opt to sleep in El Remanso. We had some of our meals there. The cost was like 10 000 - 12 000 COP for a meal.
- Camping on top of Cerro Mavicure
Well, it turned out it is possible but difficult. We didn't do it but when we climbed the hill in the morning we met a couple of guys who had spent the night there. They said it was extremely windy and not quite pleasant. The rocky surface on the top makes it difficult to set up a tent but you can bring a hammock (that's what they did). You will also need that someone drops you off with a boat on the river bank where the hiking trail starts. In any case if you go for it - bring warm clothes!
- Arrange a trip to Estrella Fluvial
We arranged this trip again with Don Ramon. We made a one-day trip from Puerto Inirida and combined the Estrella Fluvial with going to the beaches of Atabapo river. These beaches are not to be missed, surreal landscape and weird water colours. It's quite nice to swim in the river too.
It really depends how much time do you have. Around Puerto Inirida there are some indeginous communities you can visit, some small caños to swim in. When in El Remanso ask the locals for Cerro Diablo. It is a not so frequently visited hill right behind Cerro Mono and Cerro Pajarito. You can climb that one, it is quite a challenging but short hike and it offers an equally amazing view as Cerro Mavicure (If you plan to make photos it is better to climb it in the afternoon. We did it in the morning and the sun was behind Cerro Mono and Cerro Pajarito, so we had to shoot into the sun). If you have more time you can head on a few days journey to El Tuparro National Park. Check out also the blog of Alan and Marce shared above.
