Heading from Pasto eastward, the highway passes Laguna de la Cocha and then enters the Putumayo and continues to that Department’s capital, Mocoa, before turning north towards Pitalito near San Agustín. For several years the only part of the Putumayo we could safely know was the Valley of Sibundoy, a largely indigenous area with roots deep in the soil of the Nudo de los Pastos, or the Knot of the Pastos unraveling into the Cordillera Oriental and Occidental. From here are born multitudes of streams flowing eastward to join the Putumayo and Amazon Rivers. The village existed long before the Spaniards’ first visit in 1534. Inca Huayna Cápac had conquered the local indigenous in 1492 and established a Quechua-speaking settlement here, which were the ancestors of the modern-day Ingas. The population is yet largely indigenous wearing long blue and violet ponchos. Every year in February the Return of the First People Carnaval is held, with traditional music and dance. Sibundoy is renowned for its artisan work, especially mask carving. Sibundoy’s parque principal is full of fallen tree trunks carved with symbols and the mythology of the Inga and Kamsá nations. Several basic hostels provide lodging.

The war zone looms not too far from Sibundoy. At the beginning of this millennium it one could only travel as far as Sibundoy, 80 kilometers (48 miles) west of Mocoa. Recent travelers’ reports indicate the entire Pitalito-Pasto circuit can now be done safely, but the situation is always in flux, and it is imperative that visitors inquire locally before setting off.

(Altitude: 2000 meters / 6560 feet, Population: 13540, City Code: 8)