Around Popayan travel guide: best things to do and see in the area

A stay in Popayan is an opportunity to discover the surrounding region.

From natural parks and villages to community tourism projects and archaeological sites, the area around Popayan has a lot to offer!

Here is our travel guide to share the best things to do around Popayan !

General information about Popayan

• Radius: 100 km around Popayan
• Region: Andes
• County: Cauca
• People: Caucanos
• Population: 1.5 million
• Towns and villages: 42
• Max. altitude 5364m (Nevado del Huila)
• Minimum altitude 0m (Pacific Ocean)
• Average temperatures : 0°C to 30°C
• Climates: from hot and humid to cold and humid

Silvia and the Misak indigenous comunity

Best things to do around Popayan

Silvia has made a name for itself thanks to its colorful Tuesday market. We have to admit that this is what first drew our interest. Beyond the beautiful images we had seen, we became interested in the village’s strong indigenous community, the Misak (better known as Guambianos).

We then discovered a project just like the ones we love, that of Viviana, a young Misak native who has decided to develop community tourism to bring tourists to discover the Misak culture, beyond the simple market.

So we went to spend a night in Silvia, at Viviana’s home, to discover her lovely project, which reminded us in many ways of what Adrian offers in the Sierra Nevada with his indigenous Arhuaca family.

On the program:

• Discovery of the indigenous market
• Visit to the Misak Botanical Garden
• Casa Payan (Misak cultural interpretation center)
• Walk to the Mirador de Silvia and taste Silvia’s famous strawberries in cream sauce

Our two days were a real opportunity to talk at length with Viviana and her husband Victor about Misak culture. Viviana is a passionate person, and her project really deserves to be supported, as it’s so important for tourists to come to Silvia in order to make it more meaningful. Silvia is more than just its market! Let’s face it!

We loved the experience, and we’ll tell you all about it in more detail in a future post. In the meantime, we can only recommend that you discover Silvia at first hand with Viviana and her husband, who you can contact on our behalf below.

Artisanal silk farm

Best things to do around Popayan

Did you know that silk is produced in Colombia?

Well, just 20 minutes from Popayan you’ll find an associative project of women artisans who have been producing and processing silk for 40 years.

So we set off from the Popayan terminal towards the village of Timbio to meet Amparo, the leader of this project. She was waiting for us at the village entrance and suggested we walk to the farm where she raises her silkworms.

Doña Amparo tells us that 40 years ago, several women were trained in this ancestral art. Silkworms were introduced at the time by the Chinese as part of a program to diversify the region’s productive activities. The program was initiated by the Federacion Nacional de Cafeteros.

Today, 10 women are continuing this project, forming the Colteseda association. In addition to raising silkworms, they also produce silk thread and weave various products, which they then market.

Once we arrive at the finca, Amparo shows us the fields of Morera (white mulberry), the plant that serves as exclusive food for the silkworms. We then head for the room where the famous worms are reared… when we came, they were tiny and just beginning their cycle. Basically, they eat and sleep for a few days while they mature and form the cocoon.

In terms of production, Amparo tells us that it takes an average of 10 kg of fresh cocoons to produce 1 kg of silk thread.

After touring the finca, which is also a small nature reserve, and talking at length about the craft and the project, Amparo takes us to her workshop, where the entire silk cocoon transformation process takes place, and gives us a demonstration of natural dyeing.

After a 3-hour visit, we part company with Doña Amparao to catch the bus back to Popayan.

Meeting Amparo was really beautiful, really inspiring. She’s an example of peasant women who undertake and carry out projects with passion.

Like many artisans, these women are custodians of a unique know-how and would like to continue passing it on so that it doesn’t disappear. That’s why they offer to share their know-how with tourists.

So, if you like meeting local people and craftsmen, don’t hesitate to contact Amparo and go on this “Silk Road”, a great way to support their project.

Puracé National Park

Best things to do around Popayan

Puracé National Park is largely located in the department of Huila, but a small part is in Cauca, near Popayan. And that includes the Puracé volcano.

Puracé National Park is said to be the source of water for the whole of Colombia. Why is this? Quite simply because three of Colombia’s greatest rivers have their source here: the rio Magdalena is Colombia’s longest river, ending its course at Barranquilla in the Caribbean Sea; the rio Caqueta crosses the Amazon rainforest to become a tributary of the Amazon River; and the rio Cauca carves out the entire valley between Cali and Medellin… not bad!

There are several possible routes from Popayan, and we hesitated for a long time to take what is known here as the “Condor Route “. This is a short walk from the entrance to the natural park to a site where the park wardens feed the last two condors in Puracé Park.

While we’re not fans of this kind of human intervention with wild animal populations, we learned that it was part of a conservation program. Since the condors don’t find enough food in the area for them to survive, it was decided in 2004, in agreement with the national parks, to give the condors a daily ration of food. Park entrance fees help finance this conservation program.

The other famous plan to do is of course the trek to the summit of the Puracé volcano . At 4646 m, it is one of Colombia’s most active volcanoes!

The hike involves getting up very early to climb the volcano’s slopes and hoping that the mist often present at the summit will lift so that you can admire the crater. The hike is accessible to all, but requires constant physical effort. At the summit, the wind and cold give this trek its salt, which everyone recommends!

In the end, we decided not to do the Puracé this time, but the people who have done it have always been delighted. In any case, it’s one of the classic things to do in Popayan.

Tierradentro

Best things to do around Popayan

We haven’t had the chance to go there yet, but Tierradentro is one of Colombia’s biggest archaeological sites. Along with San Agustin and Ciudad Perdida, Tierradentro is a must-see if you love lost civilizations.

Listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, the Tierradentro archaeological site is a unique example of what are known as “Hypogeum” or, more commonly, underground tombs.

According to scientific studies, the Tierradentro tombs date from between 600 and 900 AD.

There are many similarities with the San Agustin sites, and it might be thought that they belong to the same civilization. However, the Tierradentro hypogeums are in fact a unique example in Colombia, found only in this area.

The remains are mainly concentrated around the town of San Andrés de Pisimbalá. The tombs are located in several places, the most representative of which is Segovia, a 20-minute walk from the museums.

The Tierradentro archaeological park is divided into five zones:

• Alto del Aguacate
• Alto de San Andrés
• Loma de Segovia
• Alto del Duende
• El Tablón

Park facilities include an archaeological museum and an ethnographic museum.

Where to stay in Popayan

Popayan

Hotel

Hotel La Plazuela

We’ll take you up on that sublime patio alone! Hotel La Plazuela is located right in the center of Popayan, for those seeking the comfort of a hotel and a beautiful colonial house.

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Popayan

Hostal

Caracol Hostel

Here’s a hostal where you’ll feel like you’re in for a treat… Perfectly located, quiet, calm, clean and welcoming – just what the traveler in search of rest is looking for in a hostal in Popayan, isn’t it?

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Popayan

Hostal

Araracuara Hostel

The decor of the Araracuara Hostel leaves no one indifferent: it’s lively, colorful and festive, just like the atmosphere of this hostal in the heart of Popayan. That said, if you’re looking for a place to rest, this may not be the best place 😉

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How to get to Popayan

From Cali

• Bus: From Cali bus terminal to Popayan
• Duration: between 2h and 3h depending on the company
• Fare: between $15.000 and $25.000 COP
• Companies: Expreso Bolivariano (2h), Expreso Palmira (2h30), Velotax, CootransHuila, Cootranar, Sotracauca, Trans Ipiales..
• Departures: every 10 min

From San Agustin

From San Agustin, take a small bus to Pitalito.

BUS | San Agustin – Pitalito

• Companies: Coomotor, Cootrans Laboyana..
• Journey time: approx. 45 min
• Last departure: 7 p.m

BUS | Pitalito – Popayan

Then take a more comfortable bus to Popayan.

• Departures: regular all day
• Bus : From the Pitalito bus terminal to Popayan
• Duration: approx. 6 hours
• Fare: approx. $50.000 COP
• Company: Cootranshuila