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Darién is the biggest settlement around Calima Lake. It’s a pleasant town with not much to do, but we enjoyed it.
Plaza
We took a walk through the large plaza. There was a lot going on. People were sitting under the shade of the tall trees while vendors sold snacks and drinks. There were also a few colorful buildings surrounding it, which I wasn’t expecting.
Church
The church was plain and not very attractive, but we got to see some of the items decorated for the Holy Week (Semana Santa) procession.
Calima Archaeological Museum
The highlight of Darién is the Calima Archaeological Museum (Museo Arqueológico Calima). This museum is located about five blocks uphill from the plaza on a beautiful property. Adult admission is COP$4,500 (as of May 2018)
The very interesting museum displays ancient artifacts from the indigenous cultures of the region. An audioguide (in Spanish) is piped through the loudspeakers but we preferred to read the panels (also in Spanish).
There was a special exhibition about birds in Colombia, which is the country with the most species of birds in the world. Several birds native to Colombia were stuffed and on display. A guide gave us a quick explanation of each bird’s habitat, diet, and traits.
