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Neiva and Desierto de Tatacoa

Visted both of these recently. Neiva is a very friendly, interesting, cheap and very hot city. Hotels like Tayronas at calle 8, no.3-60 is 16,000 pesos a night and there are many others like this. The food and jugos are very good in this city. Got talking to lots of people. I think perhaps some of you prefer the formality of Colombianos but it was good to talk to lots of people unlike in some cities. Fok me but I prefer to mix with the people and not think about papaya all the time.

Went to Villavieja for the desierto. The collectivo from Neiva goes from the bus station or Plaza Civica on carrera 2 and costs 5,000 pesos. The driver was telling me he was on 20,000 a day.

Stayed at La Casona for 15,000 pesos or for 20,000 pesos you can have a seperate room.
No one else there. Very old place and friendly place. They do tours and you should not pay more than 30,000 for 1 or 3, I was told. I went by myself, prefer to wander. From the corner of the plaza (parque principal) opposite to the hotel if you go down the junction (calle 5 I think) you come to the Magdalena, looks very nice and fishable. They said they have fishing tours but no one had any info.

If you go right at this corner instead of down you come to the road to the desierto. Locals said it was a 3 hour walk, after a small steep uphill section it took me just under 1 and a half hours, a beautiful walk, especially back in the dark.

By tropicalshirt on Sep 22, 2009, 07:45 in Friendly Talkzone.

kat1 (Moderator) (Trustee board) (☼Travelguide writer) says on Sep 22, 2009, 07:46:

thank for your report tropicalshirt, Any pictures? :)

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Darloup (☼Travelguide writer) says on Sep 22, 2009, 07:47:

Thanks for the feed-back - do you have any pix?

Better to have tried and failed than having regrets all your life about what you MIGHT have missed

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kat1 (Moderator) (Trustee board) (☼Travelguide writer) says on Sep 22, 2009, 07:47:

hahahaha Darloup, we typed the same thing at the same time.

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Haddeman says on Sep 22, 2009, 07:57:

Nice to see something like this rather than the endless squabbling.

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Pman says on Sep 22, 2009, 11:21:

The Tatacoa desert is one of the nicest places I've been to so far in Colombia. (I've only been here for a few weeks)

I went to Neiva and the desert as well. Stayed at the Plaza and Neiva, wich is really overpriced don't stay there, the hole building needs to be renovated (the rooms look like they're renovated the last time in 1985) I paid something like 130K for a room. I arrived late in Neiva and I left the next morning for the desert so I can't tell much about Neiva.

When I arrived in Villavieja there was a guide waiting at the plaza (unfortunately I lost his card), he took me on a tour to all the interesting parts (there are basically 2 parts, one is red and one is grey, I wander if OP went to the Gray part were the piscina is located, it seems quite a long walk from Villavieja) of the desert in his moto-taxi for 70K.

The tour includes walks and he takes you to the piscina (I think it's about 3-4 hours), were you can swim. A couple from Bogota were "trabajando" (as the guide called it) when we were arriving at the piscina, it was akward and funny at the same time... The guide also took me to a posada in the desert were I got a room for only 15K, it's a really nice experience and I think it's much better than staying in Villavieja. The next day the guide picked me up from the posada and drove me to Villavieja for 10K. In Villavieja I also visited the museum, they have a small colection of fossils.

(By the way, the OP states that there is just one hotel in Villavieja wich is not true, there is also at leats one more called "Posada al Sol" on the edge of town on the road to the desert)

It was very clouded the day I spend in the desert so the tempratures weren't that high, but on the other hand it was dissapointing because I couldn't see any stars and I didn't go to the observatorio.

I have pictures, I try to upload some later.

Excuse me for my english.

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ColombianoGringo (Moderator) (Trustee board) (☼Travelguide writer) says on Sep 22, 2009, 12:20:

Pman,

Next time, stay at Hotel Pacande in Neiva and ask for the Corporate Rate(Tarifa Corporativa). You can do a search for Hotel Pacande and find the info I've posted before.

I'm so hip, I have difficulty seeing over my pelvis.

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tropicalshirt says on Sep 22, 2009, 13:49:

(By the way, the OP states that there is just one hotel in Villavieja wich is not true)

Sorry, I said there was no one else there (in the hotel). De nada.

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tropicalshirt says on Sep 22, 2009, 13:51:

70 fokkin K! I was told by all I spoke to in Neiva that do not pay over 30,000 for the tour. To those that come next, please pay the going rate.

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tropicalshirt says on Sep 22, 2009, 13:52:

sorry kat, no pictures! I need to but a digital camera not the one I got with the stand and black cloak you throw over yourself when you take a shot! I wish I had.

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stocktrader says on Sep 22, 2009, 15:14:

tropicalshirt: how much are hotels with A/C? did you go to the ST Augustine archeological site?

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ColombianoGringo (Moderator) (Trustee board) (☼Travelguide writer) says on Sep 22, 2009, 15:27:

Stocktrader,

The Hotel Pacande I mentioned has A/C, is fairly nice and usually costs between $80K to 90K a night. The Plaza is a ripoff. I wouldn't feel safe in a 16k a night joint and I am Colombian with half my family from Neiva and I normally go there several times a year.

There are several threads with good info about San Augustin. Do a site search for San Agustin and you should find plenty of info.

Always keep in mind that Neiva and particularly the rural parts of El Huila department can be a bit sketchy when it comes to security. There is a lot of street crime in Neiva and there is still a fair amount of farc activity in the small towns and rural areas of El Huila.

The trip to San Agustin is generally safe for tourists, but beware of going too far off the beaten path in Huila.

I'm so hip, I have difficulty seeing over my pelvis.

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Pman says on Sep 22, 2009, 16:01:

at Tropicalshirt,

Is the 30K not only to get to the observatorio? Footprint says it's $11 to el Cuzco (that's the gray part I think) just for transportation, that's like 22K already, I probably paid too much(not the first time), but I can't hardly imagine that it's just 30K.

Sorry for the hotel comment, was still sleeping when I posted.

at ColombianGringo
Do you normally not stay in 16K a night hotels or just not in Neiva?

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ColombianoGringo (Moderator) (Trustee board) (☼Travelguide writer) says on Sep 22, 2009, 16:07:

I have yet to see an $8 USD hotel in which I'd stay. That isn't to say I like to overspend, but I don't mind spending $80K to $110K COP for a decent place to stay. That is what I spend in Bogota for a nice apartment in a good part of town depending on the size of the apartment.

Obviously, outside of Colombia nice places to stay are a lot more expensive. In the US, you are lucky to find someplace decent for $100 USD a night.

I take that back. The last time I spent $8 USD to stay somewhere was at a boatel in Amsterdam when I was 17. That was cool back then, but I am a little older and have a few more kroner in my pocket :)

I'm so hip, I have difficulty seeing over my pelvis.

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stocktrader says on Sep 22, 2009, 16:22:

Pman: Im more interested in hotels from 20k to 50k a night. the only must is a private bathroom and A/C if its hot and humid. can i find that is Neiva under 30k?

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Pman says on Sep 22, 2009, 19:53:

Sorry Stocktrader, I only spent the night there and didn't do much research.

at Colombianogringo, if I may ask for what travelguide do you write? You don't do any research at all on cheap hostels?
A few nights ago i spend the night for 15K in a hostel, had a private room and I didn't feel insecure (coudl have been cleaner tough). But I prefer my 80K room as well :)

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ColombianoGringo (Moderator) (Trustee board) (☼Travelguide writer) says on Sep 22, 2009, 21:13:

I don't write any travelguide. I just added a hotel listing to the Bogota page and the site's software automatically added that tag to my account. I need to get into the database and turn that off.

The last time I stayed in a cheap hostel was back when I was backpacking through Europe at 17. It was fun, but I like I prefer a nicer place with good service. There is nothing wrong with hostels, but they just aren't my taste.

I'm so hip, I have difficulty seeing over my pelvis.

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tropicalshirt says on Sep 25, 2009, 09:03:

Pman, no problem and thanks. The locals I spoke to in Neiva told me it was 30,000 and no more for the tour from Villavieja.

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