PNN El Cocuy is CLOSED

Or possibly the fact that so many people have ignored the rules regarding where you can go....!

from when i was there, it didnt seem like much people did the 5 days trek (none during the 2 days i was there),
even less since the lagunillas are closed since it more or less forces you to go through bellavista, and the going down is really steep and can easily scare people.
if the whole closure is about 1 treker every 3 days doing the path, that seems a bit too much..
but we will see when we get more informations..

"it more or less forces you to go through bellavista"

No - this is a choice you make yourself. Prohibited means prohibited - not "well I don't see too many people doing what I want to do so it's OK".

"it more or less forces you to go through bellavista"

No - this is a choice you make yourself. Prohibited means prohibited - not "well I don't see too many people doing what I want to do so it's OK".

You can keep the tone and the lecturing down, it'd great too

Especially since I never said that you SHOULD or SHOULDNT go, i simply stated facts

1. I didnt see anyone go for the 5 days treks for the 2 days i spent there (and the path i was on was the only way to the five days trek on my side) - that was a reply to your comment that seemed to imply the current blocking might be related to lone trekkers when there is a good chance it is related to a group of colombians playing football on bellavista (which wasnt closed, since its going beyond bellavista that is forbiden)
2. Also i added that people doing the 5 days treak is even less likely since it is made harder by the fact that when you start from the south, you have to go through bellavista (the other doable path starts in la esperanza, then toward lagunillas and it takes 1 more day i think)

That's all.

As far as i'm concerned, i'd also advice not to go, but i'll let everyone decide what they want to do with the information at hand.

My apologies for misinterpeting your posts. We are on the same page it seems.

@chefbackpack Im hoping to bike tour with one other person from Bogota east and in the area. I certainly won't hike in PNN El Cocuy now, but I'm curious how reaching the farmers' complaints are. Do you think they would be resistant to any type of tourism, or just that in PNN? In other words, do you think the locals would be upset by two white girls (I know this is conspicuous) riding through their area?

Hi,

I really dont see how you can bike in PNN El Cocuy : its a big mountain with a LOT of rocks when you go above 4000-4200 meters. It is really best discovered by foot, as far as i could see.

The situation is pretty simple : you have 3 roads that go inside the park, each one guarded by a park hut. Once you pass that hut, immediately after or a few kilometers after (depending on which entry), the hike starts.

So to answer your question :

• Before these huts, you can bike as much as you want as its just like any other part in colombia (however its very hilly and mountainous - are you sure you really want to bike on those steep roads ?) and i dont think farmers will care, but you won't be able to enjoy the most beautiful parts of the park.
• After these huts (CURRENTLY CLOSED), depending on the entry, you can bike a little (for example about 12 km on the lagunilla entry) but i dont see the point as the most interesting things are the lagunas and the beautiful landscapes, that you can only reach by hiking up (unless you're planning to take your bike up? but hiking up without a bike is already strenuous...)

Hee! I agree with Aral on this. When I was there a few days ago the park was closed and it was not possible to go in in any sort of way. I am not there anymore so I don't know the current situation.

The people in Cocuy and surroundings seemed to be super friendly. If you have a mountainbike you can definetely bike in the surroundings. I did a hike outside of the park. It was nice but nothing super special concerning nature.

@chefbackpack, Thank you so much for the precious information. I was planning on going in the next few days. So I assume we have absolutely no idea when it's going to be reopened, right?

I will change my plans to go to Tayrona or Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta instead then... It really is too bad. El Cocuy looks like a beautiful place.

I am hoping to go to Cocuy around June and was hoping to find some hiking buddies. If this is not the right forum does anyone know where I could find other people to hike with? Cheers