PNN El Cocuy is CLOSED

It is the more realistic view of the situation. Colombians are finally in peace but there are not territories to go, so, not peace yet...the government is not strong enough, it is part and supports the inside situation.

Hi Alintz, did you end up doing the 2 day hike you mention above? Would you recommend it? We are considering going to PNN El Cocuy later this week.

Hi Dave/Tom/Steve

Myself and two mates are also considering visiting the park from Sunday onwards.
It might be cheaper with larger numbers if you are interested.
The 3 days of hiking we were quoted for comes in at 580,000COP per person (3 people).

It's pretty damn expensive but I guess that's a reflection of the regulation of the whole area now.

Hello everyone, seems like the current situation is a bit of a pickle, and expensive at that.
would like to do any hike available to see El Cocuy - am planning to be there around 16th July 2017 or so. To cut costs I'd like to look for anyone interested in sharing a guide to do the treks, haven't decided which to do (Day treks VS longer ones) but obviously the longer the better since this is once in a lifetime.

Do let me know if keen to go together - 25/Female, I'd say I'm relatively fit, live at sea level but have recent experience with hiking and altitude in Bolivia and Chile. Can be reached by email: anthearaelee (at) gmail. Cheers mates

In line with the two abovementioned posts, myself and one other mate (24 yo, Belgium) are looking for fellow travellers to hike in the Cocuy National Park. Dates are relatively flexible, we could start as soon as beginning until mid of AUGUST 2017. Prefer, if possible, a multi-day hike.

If interested, I can be reached at michiel_hermans (at) hotmail.be

Cheers!

Hi All,

I thought I should write a blog type post of a trip I had to el cocuy from the 6/06/17 to the 9/06/17 with the hope that some of the information provided will be useful to future trekkers in this really beautiful national park.
Below is a summary of key points, which may clarify some of the confusion but I must warn you that the state of things could change quickly, so I recommend calling up the official PNN offices in either El Cocuy or Guican before travelling there:

El cocuy: 7890359
Guican: 7897280

The offices in Bogota have moved (we checked the previous place is now empty) but I recommend checking directly with the above. Do not listen to Colombians not living in these villages as most said the park was closed which is INCORRECT.

• Guides are obligatory for treks above 4000m (entrance to Park)
• No camping is allowed, so the classic 3 day trek is not available anymore.
• The early milk run is not as useful anymore, as the offices open at 7:30am and you need to pay the fee and fill in the form including who your guide is (who is supposed to sign it eventually). Fees are 14500 for those under 25, and 45000 for those above. The form will state which day you will enter the park (so you can enter (above 4000m) later than the day you leave) and must be returned to the offices on the same day of entrance, and they close at 4:30pm. You need to show your travel insurance documents.
• Guides are not "official guides", and the offices are not allowed to recommend anyone in particular, which is all very confusing. We were approached in el Cocuy by taxi drivers who also organised the guide for us.
• The guide cost 100000 COP/day (not per person), and he was non english speaking but very nice. He met us in the morning before the hike in the cabaña. His name was José A Baron.
• Apparently the maximum hikers per guide is 5..
• The taxi up to hacienda Esperanza cost 90000 COP, with the night inc. breakfast costing 40000 COP. Señor don Marcos was a really great host and he can also make a good lunch/dinner for 15000 COP.
• There are only three different day treks available as previously mentioned.
• The day before the hike we were able to acclimatise at 4000m (below the park limit), but unfortunately the only option was to use the same path as the final hike up to 4700m (snow line) for the Laguna Grande path (7h in total inc. return to the cabaña).
• We left at 5am and returned in Guican at 6pm as we got lost trying to use the "shortcut" previously mentioned. The guide told us it was all downhill which is not the case, and said it takes 2h but 3h seems more reasonable. Further details on this path is provided below. You can also book a taxi to drive you back to either el Cocuy or Guican.
• Arriving late meant we couldn't return to the office before closing, and we had planned to take a 3am bus towards Malaga and finally a bus to Bucaramanga.. meaning we tried to warn the office through the local taxi driver who gave us his number (not sure what the outcome of this was..)

Nevertheless, we were glad we took the risk initially as the park was empty of tourists and just a wonderful landscape to walk in. Logistically and financially it did not make sense doing another of the treks for us as we were on a budget, which is a little frustrating as being experienced climbers, guides were not really required as the paths are well indicated (although apparently an Italian climber got lost a few years ago in the thick mist which is very common here).

I hope this information will be useful for anyone atempting to go to el cocuy. Maybe there is a better place to put this info?

The "shortcut" between hacienda esperanza and Guican:
Initially you need to take the road down from hacienda esperanza to the main road, take a right taking you through La Capilla and then left on the road going to the Laguna Escola (school). Just before you go past the school, you need to take a right turn onto a small footpath also used by the horses/mules. The path goes down the valley first but eventually there is a steep climb taking you near the top of the mountain. At that point you need to take a right turn on another small path (not indicated) which takes you around the mountain ridge (quite flat as I remember). After approx 20-30mins you will have to take the path going down (not up!) and you should be able to see Guican in the background, but it's still quite a long way down before crossing the bridge at the bottom of the valley.
If you're staying in Guican, you could walk up this path the day before the hike in the park, instead of paying for the taxi!

great feedback, thanks buddy!

No problem!

Thank you very much for all the info, very usefull.

I have just one question about the PNN office in Bogotá. You said it is now empty, but do you know what is the new location? Thanks

Also I am planning to go for 2 or 3 days in El Cocuy Park. Since you informed us it is obligatory to hire a guide for the hikes into the park, and as it was not planned in my budget, I am looking for people who are also planning to go to el Cocuy between 30.06.17 and 3.07.17 so we can reduce the costs of the guide.

Hi Theon,

I'm guessing the new one is: Cl. 74 #1181, Bogotá, Colombia according to google. The one we checked out was closer to the centre.
We were the only tourists in el cocuy when we arrived, at least in seemed that way. We tried looking for other trekers but could not find any. In fact the hostels and their restaurants felt empty/closed but the one on the main plaza was open.
Maybe Guican attracts more trekkers, but its hard to tell.