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Mocoa is a small city on the fringe of the Amazon jungle in the department of Putumayo. It’s an unattractive and rather unfriendly place, which is understood given its difficult history with guerrilla forces (it’s safe now). As unappealing as my description may sound, a couple days in this city on the road to Ecuador is worth the trouble – not for the city, but for the natural beauty and wildlife around it.
Getting There
Mocoa isn’t close to many places so be prepared for a long bus ride. There are buses from Bogotá (11 hours), Pereira (15 hours), Neiva (6 hours), and Pasto (~5 hours). The most common companies that operate on these routes are Coomotor and Cootranshuila. Bolivariano also heads down from Bogotá. From Pereira, we took Coomotor. The bus terminal is a short taxi ride from the town center.
Hotel Royal Plaza
There are lots of cheap hotels and places to eat in Mocoa. We stayed at Hotel Royal Plaza, which is just a block from the main plaza and near restaurants and shops. A room cost us COP$35,000. There was nothing royal about it but it was comfortable and clean with a friendly staff. The negatives were a lack of toilet seats and no wifi signal in the room. There is no hot water but you’ll be thankful for a cold shower after a long day in the heat and humidity.
Cafetería Jugolandia
For food, we had a good breakfast at Cafetería Jugolandia around the corner from our hotel. Eggs and hot chocolate or coffee were very reasonably priced. Service was unfriendly, however.
Al Humo
Our dinner at Al Humo was excellent. It’s by far the best restaurant in town and has a good selection of meats. We had chorizo and pechuga a la plancha (grilled chicken breast). Both were delicious but the star of the show was the side of potatoes that came with the chicken. Our meals including drinks were much lower priced than in major cities in Colombia.
