In the Alto Magdalena, where the river of the same name born in the department of Huila, St. Augustine was declared as one of the gems of World Heritage by UNESCO. This village belongs to a civilization of mystical and enigmatic sculptors volcanic rock used to develop his art, and silence and mind to immortalize their work.

 

About 5,000 years ago one of the oldest cultures in Latin America rose on this site. Its exact name is unknown and St. Augustine comes from the Archbishop of Popayan, Agustín de la Coruña, who regularly traveled to Timana crossing this area that is now the archaeological park. The weather is cool throughout the day and quite cold at night and early morning, varying between 18 degrees during the day and 10-12 degrees at night or in the morning. The park covers an area of 500 kilómetros2 and includes the Archaeological Park of San Agustin, near the High idols and Alto de las Piedras.

 

The Augustinians were sculptors of birth: they carved huge statues on the sacred ground, stunning and silent monuments, five tons to 1.20 to 4.25 meters. Here are the graves of their culture, protected by the legendary sculptures, huge monoliths representing a variety of figures: pumas, snakes, eagles devouring snakes, warriors, good and evil women and childbirth among others. The neatness of the details stubbornly kept for the time is amazing.

 

As it starts to move down the statues silence covers everything as if it were a rule issued by the holiness of the place, interrupted only by the song of birds, the current masters of a territory that was inhabited by man.

 

In the same department of Huila, about 40 kilometers north of Neiva, is the Desert Tatacoa or Valley of Sorrow, as it was called in 1538 by Conquistador Jiménez de Quesada. Tatacoa The name comes from "Rattlesnake" black or rattlesnake, a local harmless reptile called Tatacoa. Previously inhabited by Totoyoe and Indians Doche, this is the favorite habitat for wolves, snakes, spiders and bats.

 

The semi arid area extends from the middle of the fertile valley on the banks of the Magdalena River. The climate is hot and dry and the temperature is around 27 degrees. It is peopled by eroded rock formations and a variety of cactus and red soil in the area known as "Cuzco" area, while "Los Hoyos" changes to the landscape and rocks become yellow sand dunes.

 

During the tertiary period, the Tatacoa was a garden with thousands of flowers and trees that gradually dried and transformed into a desert. In fact, in the middle of this region eroded by wind, are often found by chance petrified molluscs: great for geologists and paleontologists.