La Macarena and Caño Cristales

I just came back from Caño Cristales. Very good trip and way easier than it seemed on the internet. So YES, you CAN go by road to la Macarena, no problem. From Bogota, you can go directly to San Vincente del Caguan, or, otherwise, go to Florencia, and from there a share taxi to San Vicente; That's what I did (i didn't even know that they had direct buses to San Vicente). From San Vicente shares taxi leave daily at 8am, 9am and 12:30pm for La Macarena. There is a direct bus San Vicente - Bogota every day at 6pm for about 75.000 COP.
Executive overnight bus to Florencia was 68.000 COP and it takes about 11 hours. About half an hour after arriving, at about 9:30, I was leaving in the shared taxi to San Vicente (it filled up quickly). Count about 2 hours and a half and 28.000 COP. I arrived kindda just on time to still catch the last car to La Macarena, but I decided to stay in San Vicente for a festival, with people I met. It was a wise choice as I could make some phone calls to confirm that no permits were available during that weekend and that all accommodations were full. I then went there on Monday, which was still holiday, but no big issue to find accommodation. i felt compelled to stay at the hotel owned by a girl (friend of a friend) who helped me and gave me a discount (I paid 50.000 per night for a really big room with 4 beds...), but you can find, behind Punto Verde bar and hotel, places that charge only 10.000 to 20.000 COP a night, for a reasonable quality.
San Vicente to La Macarena : 5 hours, 50.000 COP.
Tour to see Caño Cristales (mandatory): 260.000 COP
I returned by plane, buying the ticket at just 30 hours before it was leaving, for 255.750 COP. I have been told that the return fight is always quite expensive, but that the coming one, from Bogota, can be as cheap as 150.000 COP if you book it in advance (basically if you are in the first people booking a sit in the flight; then the prices rise).
I hope that was of some use. The Caqueta is really nice, you have some stuffs to see there, and southern Meta, around La Macarena, has many attractions, not only Caño Cristales. Actually, if you want to see more inside the national park, you can go there for a second, third or forth day for almost half the price of the first day.
Enjoy your time there. And whatever people tell you in Bogota, other parts of the country, and tour operators, it is PERFECTLY SAFE to go there by land.

Muchas gracias! Great information, very complete. Thanks for sharing your experience. It will help other people. We´ll write down the information on our travel site. In spanish.
Regards from Armenia, Colombia

si quieres lo puedo poner en castellano. de hecho iba a hacerlo en diferentes idiomas y al final me olvidé

Is the national park interesting? Can you see wildlife in it? Thank you for the interesting post.

it is PERFECTLY SAFE to go there by land.

Hmm: good post, and it's good to have more information on terrestrial access, however... there's a good reason for the heavy military presence in La Macarena, so "PERFECTLY SAFE" is a little optimistic.

Chances are one could go by road/track 50 times without problems, and right now is a pretty good time, given the level of commitment to peace (not universal it has to be said, there are many for whom peace is not a good outcome), however the area has not yet reached the level of security which is now the case in much of the country.

Let's put it another way : it is way riskier to go around Bogota than to go there. You have 1000% more chances to get mugged in Bogota, or to get into a traffic accident, than to have any security issue in that area of Caqueta and Meta. Militaries are everywhere anyway. And right, no pace is "perfectly" safe. So let's say it is very safe.

About the national park : if you want to see wildlife, don't go there. Not really the point of the park. Although there is very good bird watching, I have been said.

We live in Bogotá, and as you say, it requires some good situational awareness. We've been to Caño Cristales, as well as lots of places similarly "off the beaten track". We chose to fly. At the end of the day it's up to each individual to decide, however I remain concerned at the implication that there's very little risk.

I live in Bogota too. One of my colleague got robbed here by four guys during the week end. In the mean time I was traveling through Caqueta and Meta without incidents.
Travel agencies are doing all their possible to convince people that traveling by land is not practical and very dangerous. I got e-mails last week from two companies stating that and engaging me to fly (which means more money for them). This is of course a blatant lie. Companies operating in the area know very well that it is very safe. When did anything link to the guerilla happen to a tourist there?? I just think that keeping divulging false information about the situation in Colombia is a bad idea. I live here, and had previously traveled to Colombia 5 times, and I never encountered any serious problem. But some people read and listen to false information, and decide not to go to Colombia as "it is very dangerous".

Let's put it another way : it is way riskier to go around Bogota than to go there. You have 1000% more chances to get mugged in Bogota, or to get into a traffic accident, than to have any security issue in that area of Caqueta and Meta. Militaries are everywhere anyway. And right, no pace is "perfectly" safe. So let's say it is very safe.

About the national park : if you want to see wildlife, don't go there. Not really the point of the park. Although there is very good bird watching, I have been said.

Let me prephrase my question, I would like to see Cano Cristales for its own sake. Can you see any wildlife whilst you are in the area - I guess yes if there is good bird watching.

Talk to the boat people at the dock to take a boat downriver at dusk; you'll need Military permission, they can help with thjs. Lots of birds, several species of monkey. A good option.

You won't really see any wildlife on the Canoo Cristales section, but as explained by Alanymarce you have other options.

Thanks for information. It's very actual for me as I intend visit Cano Cristales by land in October. So, I have a question: what the bus company has a bus from Bogota to San Vicente and at what time?

http://coomotorflorencia.com/index.php/servicios/rutas-y-horarios

Coomotroflorencia. 20:15h. 14 hour-trip

http://coomotorflorencia.com/index.php/servicios/rutas-y-horarios

Coomotorflorencia. 20:15h. 14 hour-trip

Hi there
Do you have idea how to get from La Macarena to Popayan ?

thnx
edip

Shared taxi to San Vicente de Caguan, then bus to Florencia, then bus to Popayan (maybe via Cali)

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