MINITOUR NEIVA /DESIERTO DE LA TATACOA/ SAN AGUSTIN / SILVIA / POPAYAN - 6 giorni / 5 notti - partenza VENERDI'

I arrive and transfer to the hotel. In the afternoon, visit to the Tatacoa Desert (approximately one and a half hours' journey) by private car with a local Italian- or Spanish-speaking guide (subject to availability). Departure for the village of Villavieja and visit to the Palaeontological Museum. You then enter the Tatacoa Desert, a unique and striking place, with its crevasses and paths created by thousands of years of erosion by the sea and the wind. Walk along the "El Cuzco" trail, a place of spectacular beauty. In the evening, visit to the Astronomical Observatory (excursion subject to weather conditions) with an Italian- or Spanish-speaking guide (subject to availability). The Tatacoa Desert is the best place in Colombia to observe the cosmos, as it has the highest coverage of the celestial dome in the whole country: you will take part in an astronomy lesson observing the planets and celestial phenomena using the observatory's modern telescopes and with the help of a professional astronomer.

Transfer by private car with a Spanish-speaking driver from Neiva to the hotel in San Agustin (approximately 6 hours' transfer). During the transfer you will be able to admire very different landscapes: you will pass from the 380 m above sea level and 27° of Neiva up to the 1,730 m above sea level and 20° of the Colombian Massif, where San Agustin is located; you will pass from the rice and cotton crops of the Magdalena Valley to the coffee and fruit plantations of the south of the Huila department.

Visit with a private Italian- or Spanish-speaking guide (subject to availability) to the San Agustín Archaeological Park, the Alto de Los Idolos Park and Altos de Las Piedras. The Archaeological Park contains the highest concentration of statues in the area, some of them up to 7 m tall. Many statues have been left where they were, others have been repositioned and linked by an educational trail. Visit to the small museum, which displays smaller statues, ceramics, tools, jewellery and other objects of this mysterious civilisation. Afternoon dedicated to a visit to the Parque de los Idolos, the second most important site after San Agustin, declared a World Cultural Heritage Site, where you can admire 23 statues that express the sculptural skill of the San Agustin culture. You continue with a visit to the other two parks declared, together with San Agustín, World Cultural Heritage Sites: Alto de los Idolos and Alto de las Piedras. The Alto de Los Idolos Park is the second most important site in San Agustin. The Alto de Las Piedras Park is a sacred site and was an important ceremonial centre.

Transfer by private car with a Spanish-speaking driver from San Agustin to Popayan. In the early afternoon, panoramic walking tour with a private Italian- or Spanish-speaking guide (subject to availability) of Popayán (duration: approximately 3 hours). Popayan is synonymous with culture, being a place frequented by poets, painters and sculptors, and it fascinates visitors with the colonial architecture of its "casonas", its churches and its bridges. You will take a walk of approximately 3 hours through the colonial quarter, visiting "casonas coloniales", churches, the Humilladero bridge and the Chiquito bridge.

Please note: visits inside the churches depend on their opening, which cannot be foreseen.

Transfer by private car with an Italian- or Spanish-speaking guide (subject to availability) to the village of Silvia, approximately two hours from Popayan, where the famous and picturesque market is held every Tuesday. Silvia is the centre of the region of the Guambiano Indians, one of the country's most traditional ethnic groups. The Guambianos work the land and are skilled weavers (bags, scarves and colourful fabrics are among the most interesting goods to buy at the market), and it is here that they come to sell their handmade products. They wear traditional dress, a bowler hat on the head and a blue poncho knotted over the shoulders; the women adorn their necks with white necklaces. You will then continue with a visit to the Casa Payan and the Casa de Las Plantas, emblematic places of Guambiano culture.

Airport transfer.