The Ultimate Guide to Exploring El Cocuy National Park, Colombia

Getting to the park is fairly straightforward, but will involve some bus travel as the towns which form the starting point for the hike are both tiny and can only be accessed by road. Your best bet is to get a bus to the town of El Cocuy from Bogota or Bucaramanga in Santander department. The bus from Bogota should take roughly 8-10 hours to arrive in the town, and Bucaramanga – despite being closer – should take roughly the same amount. There are two towns with easy access to the park – El Cocuy and Guican – but it’s better to stay in El Cocuy as it has a better selection of restaurants and hotels.

El Cocuy National Park Tour

Once you are in El Cocuy you will need to get to the National Park itself. The town is still an hour or so from the entrance to the park, so you’ll need to either organize private transport or take the public truck, known as the lechero, which leaves every morning from the town square at 6 am. A private transfer up to the park will cost in the vicinity of 120.000 COP and is usually cheaper coming back down.

There’s really one thing and one thing alone that draws people to this park: trekking. Unfortunately, the stunning complete five-day circuit of the park has been closed indefinitely for several years, but since the park reopened to the public last year, around 50 km of total hiking trails are available, so you could easily spend a few days in the park enjoying these treks.

The first thing you will need to do is register yourself at the Park Registration Office in El Cocuy or Guican and then hire a guide. A guide costs about 100.000 COP per day and can lead groups of up to six people, so travelling with some friends will bring the price down significantly. Once you’ve got your guide sorted you will need to pick which trails you want to hike.

The main reason for visiting El Cocuy is to go on a trek through the beautiful valleys and mountains of the Eastern Range of the Colombian Andes. Sadly, the incredible 5-day hiking circuit has been closed for years now due to environmental concerns, but the recently reopened park now offers three unique hiking routes for a variety of different fitness levels. So lace up those hiking boots – you will need hiking boots! – and get trekking!

One of the three reopened trails in El Cocuy, the Ritacuba Trail is also known as “La Ruta Norte” and is probably second in terms of difficulty (read on to see which one is toughest): the length is a relatively easy 13.8 km, but as the majority of it is very steep and climbs to an altitude of 4,600 m.a.s.l., the chances are that you will find parts of it hard-going. However, it also takes you to the edge of the Ritacuba Glacier, and the views make the sore legs worthwhile.

Probably the easiest of the three routes (although it is still considered medium difficulty: none of the routes in El Cocuy should be undertaken lightly as they are all high-altitude with difficult sections), the El Pulpito Trail (also called “La Ruta Sur” or Lagunillas) takes hikers to the snowline of El Pulpito del Diablo, one of the park’s most beautiful snow-capped peaks. The trail is 7.8 km each way, and the views over the southern section of the park are breathtaking.

One of El Cocuy’s huge glacial lakes, Laguna de la Sierra is the furthest point that you can hike to nowadays in El Cocuy, and the trek to get there is easily the hardest of the three trails. It’s colloquially known as the “long trail,” and lives up to its name with a total length of over 21 km! It can easily take up to 12 hours depending on your fitness, but the route takes in some of El Cocuy’s most iconic panoramas, and the lake itself is simply gorgeous.

El Cocuy National Park is one of the last redoubts of the endangered Andean Condor, the National Bird of Colombia. There are fewer than 100 condors left in Colombia – habitat loss and illegal trapping are causing their numbers to fall. El Cocuy remains one of the best places in the country to witness one of these majestic birds, soaring above the snow-capped peaks on one of the greatest wingspans in all of Colombia.

You can either opt to trek one, two, or all three of these trails – if you’re feeling up to it, and are fit and healthy, then take the time to enjoy all three (perhaps schedule a one-day gap in between two of them to help acclimatize). And make sure to pack appropriately: warm-weather clothes are absolutely essential, as are good hiking boots, rain-gear, and sun cream.

There’s more to El Cocuy than just the National Park, and although El Cocuy the town barely gets mentioned on lists of Colombia’s prettiest small towns, it could easily command a high spot on any such list. Nestled in the foothills of the park, the town’s buildings are almost all painted white and fringed with a lovely shade of green, giving the place a really authentic, local feel. Throw in a pretty church and some of the friendliest folk in Colombia and you’ve got a place definitely worth idling around for a day or two.

One of Colombia’s weirdest and most wonderful plants are the surreal and alien frailejones, giant perennial subshrubs which are part of the sunflower family. Native only to the northern Andes of South America, they are known as frailejones – ‘Friars’ – due to their resemblance to monks when you see them through the thick mist (which you do a lot at this altitude!). The plants grow just a few inches per year, so the giant ones you can wander among in El Cocuy are hundreds of years old!

What with all the breathless, high-altitude hiking on offer in El Cocuy, you might sometimes forget to stop huffing and puffing and just look up and enjoy the truly magisterial panoramas to be seen at almost every turn. All three of the trails you can hike feature some of Colombia’s most beautiful views, and you may find yourself in need of a spare memory card to capture all the photos you’ll want to take.

There are several different options for accommodation in El Cocuy (technically “around” El Cocuy, as you are no longer allowed to spend the night in the park itself), but probably the most beautiful option is Cabañas Kanwara, a lovely little cabin with a pointed roof, roaring open fire – it’s very necessary! – and comfortable beds. Located near the start of the Ritacuba Trail, the cabins are a magical little place to spend a night, with incredible views of snow-capped peaks on a clear day.

One of the easiest ways to get from El Cocuy town up to the trailheads of the National Park is to take a local mode of transport called El Lechero, which basically translates as ‘The Milk Truck.’ It’s basically exactly what it says on the tin: the local milk truck which plies the route from the park through all the local towns picking up milk from farmers. It takes double the time of a shared taxi (it is obviously cheaper) but it’s the chance to experience a different side of Andean life, and surely half the fun of travelling is enjoying unique modes of transport!

You can no longer camp inside the National Park itself since it reopened, but there are cabins conveniently located just outside the park limits at the trailheads for all three of the available treks. The most popular for the Ritacuba Trek is Cabañas Kanwara – a night here costs around 45.000 COP per person and breakfast, lunch and dinner are available.

For the Laguna Grande trek, Hacienda La Esperanza is one option, or you can stay in a basic hotel in the pretty little town of La Capilla. For the El Pulpito Trail then it’s recommended to spend the night at either Cabañas el Pulpito (with rooms for around 30.000 COP per person) or Guicany cabins. For all of these options, if you’re planning to trek El Cocuy during the high (and driest) season of December and January, then it would be wise to book well in advance as they can fill up fast.