Camping La Cumbre del Macizo

For instant immersions in ancient Agustinian culture, the San Agustín Archaeological Park five minutes’ drive away is a wide and hilly site dotted with stone idols, burial mounds, pathways and rock carvings. A highlight for many is the Lavapatas fountain, a trio of channels and pools carved with great precision into a riverbed, for reasons humans can only guess at... Equally mysterious and making a fine end to a hike, La Chaquira canyon (20 minutes), finishes with views across the Magdalena river amid a rock landscape full of carved human faces and monstrous figures. It’s a substantial hike or horse ride from the trailheads (25 minutes’ drive), but if you’ve acquired a taste for ancient relics, the sites of La Pelota and El Purtal are particularly rewarding, as the idols are carved in greater detail and traces of the original paint bring them to life (but not in a scary special effects fashion…). For adventures without the archaeology, make for the Magdalena Straits (half an hour): at this point, one of Colombia’s major rivers is funnelled through a canyon not much wider than a minibus, making for a great deal of white water, and attracting many a rafter for that reason. There’s more high-octane river action within the Puracé National Park (an hour and a half), along with hikes through a lush wilderness looking out for rare orchids, hummingbirds, Andean condors and many varieties of monkey.