General Information

San Agustín has been covered thoroughly, but I tried a new approach to reaching the site, which I believe can cave future visitors a lot of time and money, so I’m writing this review to highlight that. I’ll also share general impressions of the site.

Getting There

I did not have much time to visit, so I had to get creative because I wanted to fit both Tierradentro and San Agustín in 3 days. Having read the reviews, I knew I could fly to Popayán and then hire a private tour. I contacted several tourism companies and the best they could offer me is both sites for $500 (on top of the flight to Popayán) one day each, with each day involving very early days and 3-4 hour of driving each way. The amount of hours in a car and the cost deterred me from this option. On the other hand, I also considered taking public transport; but knowing I had very limited time, and how unreliable public transport is in the area, I decided this wouldn‘t be an option for me either.

Instead, I noticed there are 2 daily flights between Bogotá (BOG) and Pitalito (PTX), a relatively smaller city that is only 30 min away from San Agustín via car. Since I also wanted to visit Tierradentro, I rented a car from a local company called Presta Cars, which gave me a lot of freedom to go as I please between locations. I covered more of the car logistics on my Tierradentro review, so I will not cover them here because I do not think you need to rent a car to visit San Agustín from Pitalito, and there are many options regarding public transportation (and even taxis) to take between them.

What you should know is that, unlike Tierradentro, the locations listed for San Agustín are not reachable by foot, so you will need to get one mode of transport other than walking. Fortunately, there are many taxi drivers waiting outside the main San Agustín location that will take you to all sites for a relatively low fee. Additionally, the main San Agustín location is about 40 min away from the other two, and located on a separate mountain, but the other two (Alto de las Piedras and Alto de los Ídolos) are about 15 min away from the town of Isnos, closer to each other.

As part of my adventure, I also did the drive from Popayán to San Agustín on my rental, and I would strongly recommend to NOT do this, as it was the worst part of the drive in the driving triangle (Pitalito->Tierradentro via Garzón->Pitalito via Popayán). Unless you are with a tour on a 4x4, do not do this drive on your own as it is extremely risky.

Last, I visited all 3 locations in one day, starting with San Agustín at 8:00 AM and still having enough time to return my car rental and board my plane back to Bogotá with Clic airlines at 12:45 PM. You might not be able to do this on public transport, but if you hire a private taxi or rent a car, you definitely can see all locations in a day.

The Site Itself

San Agustín contains a collection of megalithic sculptures and burials spanning over 1000 years of history. The dolmens are very similar to those in Antequera, and the statues themselves are unique in their design and size. I found it hard not to compare them to Quiriguá, the other megalithic-focused site in Latin America that I have visited. Having read that San Agustín has the largest collection of megalithic statues in the Americas, I expected it to be more impressive, but only one of them is similar in size to the stellae in Quiroguá, and I found the works in San Agustín to not be as intricate or detailed as those produced by the Maya. They felt more similar to those made by Olmecs, such as the ones you’ll find in Takalik Abaj.

Still, the style and manner of work of the giant works at San Agustín are quite different and unique, and reflect a very different culture from other pre-Hispanic sites. Due to their uniqueness and testimony to a culture that was different (and yet to be fully understood) I definitely see the OUV and understand the justification for the inscription. Additionally the Fuente del Lavapatas was quite unique and very special to see (more on that later).

I stayed at a hotel about 250m from the main San Agustín location, so after a nice 7:30 AM breakfast, I walked over to the main entrance and began my tour right as they were opening at 8 AM.

The site begins with a 1km walk through the jungle (Bosque de las Estatuas) with statues placed along the walk. Although this wasn‘t their original location, I found the walk quite beautiful, allowing you to carefully examine the works while enjoying the lush vegetation and fresh air. There are about 37 statues located along this path, some in pairs and some in their own. This part also allows you to see the different styles of works you can find on the site, as the works cover an extended period of time with a variety of sculpting techniques and themes.

After the initial walk, you reach Mesita B, where you can find the largest number of works, as well as the most intricate of them. I reached Mesita B at around 8:40 AM. The walk to the Mesita was well paved but a little steep. Just be careful and make sure you don’t slip, as the rain makes the walkway more slippery and there are not handrails.

Mesita B has 3 different burial mounds, with statues and dolmens throughout. You can easily spend 20-30 min walking around, taking pictures, and learning about the site. It is here that you can also find the iconic Bird statue, as well as the 3 warrior statues that you often see online. This is also the site of one of 2 extra tall statues (the other one being in Alto de los Ídolos). You can also see some open, less complex burial sites. If you only have time for one site and one Mesita, this is the one you shouldn’t miss. It is the heart of the site.

After a very short walk, I reached Mesita C at 9:00 AM. The walk was almost plain and very enjoyable. Mesita C only has one mound (or cluster) of statues and burials, making it less impressive (especially after seeing Mesita B). However, one of the signs indicated that the statues in Mesita C differ from those at other Mesitas because they’re made on thinner slabs of rock, and their design is more symmetrical. They were also made at a later time, indicating some level of change in this culture over the centuries.

After another short walk, you reach the Fuente de Lavapatas. From everything I saw visiting this WHS, I would say this was the most impressive, the largest, the least mentioned, and the most memorable for me. Lavapatas is the name of the river, which springs right here and was probably the water source for these communities for centuries. The importance of the spring is evident, as the rock around the spring is carved with dozens of figures—salamanders, faces, snakes, monkeys, and cavities for presumed eater collection. Standing from the bridge going over the spring, it is easy to imagine how this place was at the heart of so much activity for this civilization. You can easily spend 20-30 minutes just looking at the spring and finding new figures and shapes, all hand carved to emphasize the sacredness and importance of this water fountain. Only a section of the carved spring is visible, but it is large enough (30mx30m) with plenty of sculptural elements to really highlight the uniqueness of the site. I do not think I have seen anything similar so far, and this element alone felt significant enough to justify the site’s inscription.

After the water spring, you then walk up the steepest part of the path to reach Alto de Lavapatas, a small cluster of statues with a nice view from the top of the hill. This is the point furthest form the entrance to the park and the beginning of your walk back. The stairs up to the Alto de Lavapatas pass through some small souvenir shops that I found had more variety than the one by the entrance of the park.

Heading back, you pass by Mesita A, which has two clusters, or mounds, of statues. They’re not as unique as the ones in the other two Mesitas but make for a nice conclusion to your visit to the park.

I was out of the park by 10 AM. The total hike to see all of the park took me 1h48m, covering 5.72kms and an elevation change of 178m. It’s not very steep, and not even close to how difficult Tierradentro was, but you should still bring water and be ready to sweat a little.

After walking back to my hotel, I drove 40 mins to Alto de Los Ídolos. I recommend following the official signs, and not Google Maps, because the routes chosen by Google are not paved but the ones signaled by the government are (for the most part).

Alto de los Ídolos consists of a short uphill walk to a hill that has two separate mounds on top. The statues here are not as detailed or unique as San Agustín, but it’s still a brief, enjoyable visit. The main sight is probably the tallest statue right in the middle, as it is probably the tallest in the entire WHS.

After a 20 minute drive, I reached Alto de las Piedras, the smallest location in the site. Here, you can see a handful of burial sites with some statues throughout. The location can easily be done in 15 minutes. Some highlights include the alligator statue and seeing the burial sites themselves, which were the deepest in this WHS.

UNESCO-Related Aspects

• The site does NOT have a formal plaque. Right on the pillars when you enter San Agustín, you can see the UNESCO logo and the year of inscription, but there is no OUV statement, no detail on the inscription and no justification. Additionally, neither Alto de los Ídolos nor Alto de las Piedras have any signage indicating their UNESCO inscription.
• I rated the site 2/5. The site itself isn’t that impressive, especially if you’ve visited other pre-Hispanic archeological sites. The site prides itself on having the largest number of megalithic statues in the Americas, but I found Quiriguá much more impressive, even if it had fewer. Additionally, since so much of this culture is still unknown, it’s hard to grasp its OUV and relevance in the context of other pre-Hispanic cultures.
• They did not give me a ticket to the site and they had no printed maps to take home. The only souvenir I got was a wristband that gives you access to all 3 locations for 2 days. The wristband has the name of the site but it has no UNESCO-related symbols, logos, or language. They said they might get more tickets in the future, but I doubt this will happen anytime soon.
• Last, the efforts to protect and maintain these sites are definitely impactful. Each of the 3 locations is well protected, fenced in, with guards and plenty of signs explaining the relevance of the site, or what we know so far. The walkways are paved at all 3 locations, and there are museums at both San Agustín and Alto de los Ídolos. Given how easy they are to access, I think San Agustín is well prepared to see more traffic and be better known.
  

Final Words

Overall, I was glad I got to see all 3 locations and gain a better understanding of this relatively obscure culture, as so many of the other WHS in the Americas focus on the Aztec, the Inca, and the Maya. Given how each location is easily accessible, I think seeing the entirety of this WHS is easy, enjoyable, and definitely worth it.