In the city of Mocoa, on the fringe of the Amazon Rain Forest, there’s nothing to see or do. The main plaza is quite boring and lacks any wow factor.
The third day of our Amazonas tour with On Vacation began with an excursion to visit a Yagua community. The Yagua are an indigenous tribe who settled in the specific area around the late 1970s. This excursion was included in the package.
On the second day of our tour to Amazonas with On Vacation, we took an excursion to Puerto Nariño and a Ticuna community. The trip started at 9am and wasn’t included in the package (it was a bit pricy). If you’re going on your own, you have to pay an entrance fee to get into Puerto Nariño.
A vast area of Colombia is made up of virgin jungle which is part of the massive Amazon River Basin. Much of the land is protected area. Some of it is populated with indigenous tribes, including a few that refuse contact, and unfortunately, in some areas, paramilitary forces. Due to these and other factors, it’s a wild and quite dangerous section of the country – definitely not a tourist destination.
Fortunately, there is a small section in the southeastern corner of Colombia that is extremely safe and quite developed for tourism.
I thought my search for Colombia’s most beautiful town ended with Jardín. The equally if not more beautiful town of Jericó gives it stiff competition. Jardín wins the plaza competition, but Jericó hands down has better preserved and better constructed traditional homes and buildings.
Hot Springs Historic District is a popular area of Big Bend National Park in Texas. It’s possible to soak in a natural hot spring along the Rio Grande.
Dugout Wells is an area of Big Bend National Park in Texas. It was once known as the “cultural center of the Big Bend”.
The Santa Elena Canyon Trail is one of the most popular trails at Big Bend National Park in Texas. It takes hikers through the stunning Santa Elena Canyon.
The Tuff Canyon Trail is located at Big Bend National Park in Texas. It takes hikers through a canyon carved out of soft volcanic tuff, or compressed ash.
The Lower Burro Mesa Pouroff Trail leads hikers to a pouroff that’s dry most of the year. The trail is located at Big Bend National Park in Texas.