Our first archaeological site of the trip

From Popayan it is only five-and-half-hour bus ride to San Agustin, but we bumped around for four hours of it on 80 kms of unpaved road going through the mountains, our hardest four hours of bus ride so far.

This morning we headed to Parque Arqueológico de San Agustin first thing in the morning. San Agustin is a UNESCO site for giant pre-Columbian stone statues and rock carvings that have been uncovered all over the countryside. The park consists both in-situ and relocated statues. Being UNESCO and ranked among the top archaeological sites in South America, San Agustin lives up to my expectations.

• The exhibits are unique and striking, the setting and grounds luxuriant.
  
• The park is well designed and well maintained, built with green and local materials, bamboo over wood, stone over concrete.
• Best of all, entrance costs only $5.5, less than a McD's combo meal in Bogota.
  

We spent the rest of a day and half in San Augustin wondering around countryside, checking out more statues and admiring the lush surrounding. While we went around on foot, most people were in vehicles and on horses.

La Chaquira.


View down to El Estrecho - the narrowest point on the Rio Magdalena.


El Estrecho!!


El Purutal site.


El Purutal parking lot.