Introduction
The Department of Guaviare starts on the northern corner of the wide region of the Llanos Orientales and melts into the Amazon in the southern corner making a surprising transformation in terms of Colombian Geography. Due to its natural beauty, the landscapes variety and all the social and cultural components make Guaviare a region that causes new sensations due to its rare, mysterious and beautiful destinies.
The region is closer to the inner country thanks to the Nowen bridge opening several years ago, this modern structure that crosses a 900 meters portion of the Guaviare river connecting this department to the department of Meta. So it makes the highway an interesting alternative for the travelers willing to enter the marvels of the Department of Guaviare.
Further away from the plains and jungle convergence, Guaviare offers a series of generous possibilities to become into a new and fine destiny where Colombians and Foreigners would stare in front of its beauty, because every place means a grateful reason to confirm the natural beauty of Colombia with land, water and even fire settings when the sun sets over the rocks of La Lindosa mountain during the beautiful afternoons. ¡it is unforgettable!
Guaviare is touristic reality where conditions for the visitors to arrive are propitiated by the inhabitants. Here we find Colombian Touristic Inns the lodging choice at the site wheatear in summer or winter because of its waters, sunsets and ecologic paths involved in the surrounding destinies.
Climate
It is a tropical humid weather with two defined seasons during the year. The dry period going from december to march and the rainy season between april and november. The average temperature of the department is of 26 celsius degrees.
Location
The department of Guaviare has an extension of 54.847 square kilometers and it is located on the Eastern side of the country being a transition zone between the Orinoquia and the Amazon of Colombia. Bordering on the north side with the departments of Meta and Vichada on the west portion with the departments of Meta and Caqueta on the south with the department of Caqueta and on the eastern side with the departments of Guainia and Vaupes.
Culture and traditions
For a long period of time, this region was inhabited exclusively by ethnic groups living from the rubber production, hunting and fishing mainly being members of the tukano, cubeo and guayabero communities. There are still some small reservations that integrate the population of the zone.
The first human settlements appeared in what nowadays is the township of Calamar former capital of the department of Vaupes; between 1920 and 1950 the rubber production along whit wood and Quina where the main reasons for the people to move to the Guaviare.
There are about 120 thousand inhabitants in Guaviare from which about 4% belong to the indigenous groups in more than 30 settlements there are communities with different cultures and languages but with a connection with the natural beings the majority of people is dedicated to trade and agricultural activities as the bases of the economy.
Because of the influence of the settlers the indigenous culture has progressively been lost but there are still kind divided communities in which ranges are defined between older and younger brothers. There are cultures settled in the river banks like the Tukanos and Arawak while close by the urban area of San jose del Guaviare, the guayaberos and the nukak maku are the main cultures.
The guayaberos indians
They are a semi-nomad group that inhabits malocas very close to the capital of the department. They received that name when a settler found them very close to the guayabero river and didn´t understand they language so he gave them the river´s name.
Due to the settlement process, they have been losing their traditions and still some of the families are fishers and hunters as well as fruit collectors. There are women that use natural palm fibers to wave fishing nets and baskets and traditional doctors and interpreters of their own music are found among men.
The nukak makú.
Around 1998 the world confirmed their existence being the last nomad tribe in latin america and maybe in the world despite the fact that they occasionally live in settlements, they well always in the deep jungle, free, naked and healthy in a complete harmony with nature and the survival ways that the jungle offered them. But some forced moving of their tribe was caused by the rubber rush, sending them to the urban areas.
Nowadays there are no more than 600 nukak from which an important group was re-located close by san Jose del Guaviare where they mainly live in malokas made out of palm and plantain leafs. For them there are three worlds the upper one "hea", the one that we inhabit "jee" and the lower one "bak" they consider than the (kak) people come from the lower one along with some animals and plants. The syllable nu determines people that come from the lower world and now inhabit this one and the upper world is only inhabited by stars and spirits.
They hunt for eating, specially monkeys but due to their contact with settlers they have learned to survive in different ways, they wave collars and bracelets and then sell them to the visitors, they paint those with achiote and saffron that they also use to paint their faces. They accept visitors but their condition is not a show, but a picture to understand their culture.
The nukak, by Ruby Rocío Rodríguez. In her paintings the tribe´s routine is recreated in the middle of the jungle and around their stoves which is the center of their social life. The painter that came to the Guaviare during her childhood is sensitive to the indigenous groups of the region especially to nukak people that she paints when hunting, collecting fruits or playing music. Some of their work include Mono asado, Atuendos nukak, Tejiendo y Selva fértil, her workshop in San José del Guaviare receives those who really want to understand the nukak culture. For further information. Contact. Ruby Rocío Rodríguez Cel. 312 4416653 / 310 3432120 rubyrociorodriguez@yahoo.es
Music, livestock and fishing tradition. A part of the costumes of people from Guaviare are based on the influence of people from the prairies because of being a Colombian transition territory. Music and country activities are very influenced but this culture mainly because Guaviare supports its economic activity in livestock. The cowboys leading their cattle, and dealing with them are pictures of the Guaviare landscape. In the prairies the prairie men are seen while enduring their job at the sound of traditional music called Joropo that properly describes the costumes of this joyful and working people. Fishing is one of the common chores of the region inhabitants, being at the same time a touristic and labor job: the product of fishing are sources of food and money income where several cat fish species are taken out from the rivers.
Celebrations and festivities. Because of the influence from Llanos Orientales a tribute to the llanera music is given every august trogh the Yurupary de Oro festival, including dance, singing and instruments playing shows. Some of the most important events of this celebration take place at the Yurupodromo in San Jose del Guaviare that as well organizes the Feria Artesanal Urutú, which is an event to show and sell crafts from the indigenous people. In the township of Calamar, in the month of december, the Golden Raft Festival is celebrated showing several artistic expressions on a huge raft over the Unilla river. In Miraflores located on the southern portion of Guaviare celebrate the Festival de Solidaridad y el Dabacury, in every november, being the ocassion to show their culture and knowledge. During february, the beaches showing up in the Guaviare River are the perfect place for the Summer Festival. And the Travesía Yetawa, that involves some extreme sports practice and being held in June. Some other events in the region are the Department´s music bands meeting. That takes place in a different township every year, and the Country music festival, that takes place in el Retorno on every june. The festival of colonies takes place in the capital on every March.
Gastronomy
The Llanera style beef and fish two of the mostly served dishes at the traditional restaurants being the first one either from veal or from capybara grilled with wood and served along with potatoes and hot pepper. The different kinds of fish that are eaten in the Guaviare are either boiled, grilled or stewed but it is the smoked fish the traditional meal of the region because of its excellent flavor. Some other traditional meals are the sweet rice, plantain soup, broiled capybara and mango candy there are also araza and borojo jellies to eat along with your main courses.
How to get there
380 km. that can be driven either by public service buses or private cars for an estimated time of seven hours. By plane it is possible to take a 45 minutes flight from Bogota and it is also possible to arrive by water from Puerto Lleras in the Department of meta and by the Ariari river.
Attractives
The prairies and the jungle along with the few urban centers and a small population are part of the touristic attractions of this region along with its exotic landscapes rivers, creeks forests and natural parks making possible to explore this zone of the country. Some of the natural scenarios are shared with other departments like Meta in the national natural park Sierra de la Macarena, and with Caqueta in the national natural park Serrania del Chiribiquete while the exotic Serrania de la Lindosa belongs exclusively to Guaviare being one of the most impressing ecosystems are some of the places to visit. San Jose del Guaviare is been called the Colombia capital of hope because of its enthusiastic people and the fantastic sites that makes people wish to visit it again.
San José del Guaviare
It is the capital of the departament and the starting point to look for the rest of the attractions being some of them really closet to the city even if the majority of interesting places are located around it their people is really kind and offers hospitality. It is possible to walk to the main park Los Colonos and the cultural center to visit the Guaviare river view point is also possible. The warm San Jose del Guaviare is located at 175 meters over the sea level with an average temperature of 26 celsius degrees and about 400 km away from Bogota.
Guaviare River and Nowen Bridge
The long and complex river is the gate to the department it has been operating for a few years and it made the region closer to the rest of the country because it is the land connection between Guaviare and the center of the country. Before the nowen bridge it was only possible to access the zone by the river or by plain.
The Guaviare river signals the limits between the department of Meta on the left banks and Guaviare on the right banks, it is formed by the combination of the Ariari and Guayabero rivers and it is a real touristic attraction of the capital city and the surrounding villages. During winter it is a huge water way leading to trade and some other activities in the department. During summer, smooth sand beaches are formed to become ideal places for swimming and enjoy the nice and warm waters of the river and also to receive the summer festival during february.
Playa Güio Village
This placid place is located between the Guaviare River and Negro creek leaded by a forest keeper families group that live in a forest landscape with fruits and educational paths. They also offer alternatives for people willing to visit the Amazing Guaviare destination.
Pleasant touristic inns built with raw materials from the region and also with the locals´ effort to make this project a viable way of working and producing benefits for the community by enforcing the touristic activity in this zone of beautiful landscapes. Playa Güio is a portion of the Orinoquía that puts together the green of the forest and the colors of the birds making the place even more beautiful. For those who visito or inhabit there. In the village there are three educational paths to watch the flora and the colors of the landscape while the parrots melody is Heard from inside the plantain, corn, yucca and fruits crops. Las Iracas, Los Puentes y Los Caracoles are the names of the paths in the Playa Güio village, located in the 10th Km of the highway San José - Villavicencio. Land and water places the paths, the black creek and the black moon and the complement of a traditional refugee, food made out of what the house crops give are some of the reasons to visit this destination. Accessed from San Jose by car or taxi to puerto de los Plátanos; or by the Guaviare river from the Nowen bridge in Puerto Arturo. For further information. Cooperativa Cooeplag / Javier Melo Vallejo Cel. 313 417 0606 cooeplag@yahoo.es
Black Creek
It is a quiet water flow of dark and clean waters going along with the generous vecetation of the zone enriched with the butterflies and several kinds of birds flying during the relaxing tour by the creek prodigy of a beautiful nature. It will take you about twenty minutes to take the tour by canoe or kayak and lead into the Black lake.For further information. Cooperativa Cooeplag / Javier Melo Vallejo Cel. 313 417 0606 cooeplag@yahoo.es
Black Lake
Marvelous mirror located twenty minutes away from Playa Guio village trough the black creek the lake sets in the middle of a huge forest appearing like part of the jungle and prairies of the Guaviare. The Black lake is a special place for unforgettable tours involving swimming, sailing and kayaking and also to have a nice country lunch or a typical Llanera Style beef. The black lake is located in front of the site known as Picapiedra with an extension of ninety thousand square meters and dark and deep waters home of an important amount of fish. For further information. Cooperativa Cooeplag / Javier Melo Vallejo Cel. 313 417 0606 cooeplag@yahoo.es
Serranía La Lindosa
Wide region in a portion of the department of Guaviare with strange rock formations located where it seems to have been an ocean many years ago Ciudad de Piedra, Los Túneles, Los Puentes and the Puerta de Orión are the most fantastic places in la Serranía.
It is rocky formation with a range of fragility that has to be taken into account when developing touristic activities that should be faced carefully and responsibly. Stone bottomed creeks rock paints, tunnels, bridges, caves, exotic structures and endemic flora are some of the relevant elements of this sanctuary.
Stones City
Thirty minutes away from San Jose del Guaviare heading to El Capricho village the stones city is located, magical and unusual destiny as all of those in La Lindosa and it is like a labyrinth with grassy streets with stone walls, monuments and particular shapes challenging logic and gravity.
There are three different kinds of vegetation and many different species. Here the imagination plays a vital role in order to identify figures in rocks with a well stated balance point and facing temperatures of around 37 Celsius degrees.
Stones city is facing the mystery of its existence and it also has difficult to describe magnetism that will lead you to contemplate in a deep silence and to walk and let yourself be caught. For further information. Orlando Ñungo. Cel. 313 8724861.
Natural Tunnels
At the same route of Stone Town, on the unpaved road to New Tolima, located Tunnels, whose appeal is the formation of caves inside the rocks, mazes in which they live harmless bats and some paintings. The creation of the site did not involve human intervention, but the man who now is recreated at the crossroads of rocks, caves and vines.
The entrance to the tunnels is marked by a Virgin that was placed there by a regional politician who survived to a plane accident and installed there as gratitude sign. For further information. Orlando Ñungo. Cel. 313 8724861.
The Gate of Orión
It is a 12-meter high Stone located in the Alto de Quiebrapatas 9 Km away from San Jose taking the highway that leads to Puerto Arturo. The amazing place is complemented by a series of cavities and rocky paths that allow a wide vision of the prairie. its shape is one of the department´s emblems. For further information. Secretaría de Cultura y Turismo del Guaviare. Tel. (8) 5841041 / 5849665
Natural Bridges
On the 10th Km of the route from San Jose to Villavicencio, at the site called Picapiedra in the Retiro village, La Cascada farm, the entrance to the natural bridges is located. They are catalogued as natural phenomena. They are located at the end of an exigent forest and rocky path with a 30-minute duration.
There is it also possible to watch the Cock-of-the-Rock - Rupicula rupicula - fly with its nice and orange feathers that stays at the place to procreate. For ornithologists to see the Cock-of-the-Rock is a true reason to cross under the natural bridges. To the traveler the whole place is invocating to explore the refreshing natural well and all the rocks at the site. For further information. José Noel Díaz Rodríguez. Cel. 313 3252114
Guayabero Torrent
Guayabero is one of the rivers that along with the Ariari form the Guaviare river. There is a fantastic setting at the two rivers joint diplying huge rocks and creating a fantastic surrounding in addition to several birds flying around and the gray dolphins showing their dorsal. to get to the torrent you will have to sail the Guaviare river and then the Guayabero river for about two hours. By land it usually takes about one hour and a half from the capital city and by a non paved road. For further information Norbey Méndez Cel. 312 5914523 / 320 7980876
Rock Paintings
Several paintings were left behind as an evidence of the antique cultures existence in some places of the department, mainly in Serrania de La Lindosa drawings are printed with mineral inks representing the aborigines way of life.
The main group of art work was found very close to the guayabero torrent over huge stony walls accessed after a step way up from the Guayabero river. The artwork seems to have been made by people coming from tha Amazon and have been there since long before the conquest. Among the figures that are able to appreciate, the yurupary image appears, it is the symbol of an indigenous legend that talks about the existence of an athletic young man conceived after his mother´s eating of a forbidden fruit. He was assigned to teach his people how to crop corn and to compose songs and dances for their rituals. For further information Norbey Méndez Cel. 312 5914523 / 320 7980876
Las Delicias Waterfall
Waterfall, 26 meters high located 17 km from the town of San José and has become a very attractive target for environmentalists and lovers of extreme sports. In winter time the river reaches its highest waterfall, making it the ideal spot to practice canyoning and soothing natural baths.
Tomachipán Torrent
It´s like a lost place in the geography of Guaviare in view of its difficult, but possible access. This is a series of rapids on the river Inírida in rainy season earn even more beauty. From the town go Return the stream boats arriving after eight hours of sailing through Inírida. The place also be reached by plane and it is necessary to engage in San Jose. For further information: Secretaría de Cultura y Turismo del Guaviare. Tel. (8) 5841041 / 5849665
