Getting to Ladrilleros can be a bit of an adventure. The only way to get there is with a one hour boat trip from Buenaventura to Juanchaco.
Popayán is known as the White City (La Ciudad Blanca) for its whitewashed historic colonial city center. It was founded in 1537 by Spanish conquistador Sebastián de Belalcázar and is one of the most well-preserved colonial cities in all of Latin America.
Taking taxis in Colombia can be stressful for first time visitors, but I’ve generally had positive experiences.
There are many of places to stay around Calima Lake, including hotels, hostels, fincas, and camping. You can find some of them on this website. The biggest settlement around the lake is the town of Darién, where there are many hotels and restaurants.
Neiva is the hot and sweaty capital of the Huila department and sits along the Río Magdalena. The only real reason for a tourist to visit Neiva is to pass through on the way to the Tatacoa Desert.
The town of San Agustín is full of small hotels, guesthouses, hostels, and cabañas, both within the town limits and in the country. There is also a luxury option available.
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.
We decided to do a four day trip to Amazonas, the Colombian Amazon region, with On Vacation. I normally avoid all-inclusive tours like the plague, but the price with On Vacation was just too good to beat.
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.
Jericó has several budget options for hotels. It’s best to go and ask around. Most of the accommodation is within a couple blocks of each other.