Things to Do in Tierradentro

El Tablon

By Lorraine Caputo

The main attraction of Tierradentro is its painted, pre-Columbian tombs. A trail connects four sites: Segovia, El Duende, El Tablón (which has statues stylistically similar to San Agustín) and Los Altos de San Andrés. Another burial, Aguacate, lies high in the mountains. The village of San Andrés de Pisimbalá has a thatched-roof church. The Parque Arqueológico also has two museums on either side of the road: one displays archaeological finds and the other explores the ethnography of the Nasa (Páez) peoples of the region. To the west and north of Tierradentro are several caminos de herradura, or stone roads, connecting such hamlets as Guanacas, Inzá, Silvia, Chinas and Lame. As security stabilizes, these will make for great off-the-beaten-track hiking. The region also hides multitudinous caverns, waterfalls and other natural wonders.