Alto de Menegua

A concrete obelisk about twenty metres tall stands on a rise outside Puerto Lopez marking what was calculated as the geographic centre of Colombia - the point works only if the country's insular territories in the Caribbean are excluded from the calculation, which is the reason the centre falls this far east, and the monument states the coordinates. It was raised in the 1990s. What the site gives beyond the marker is the view: the hill stands where the Andean foothills give out and the Llanos begin, so from the top you look east over flat savanna running effectively without interruption towards Venezuela and the Orinoco. The Meta river is below. Cattle ranching and llanero culture dominate the region.

What you actually see

• An obelisk about twenty metres tall - marking the calculated centre.
• A calculation excluding the island territories - which puts it this far east.
• The Llanos beginning - flat savanna running east from the hill.
• The Meta river below - draining towards the Orinoco.

When to go

December to March, the drier season. An hour.

Honest expectations

It is a monument on a hill - the visit is short. The centre point depends on which territories are counted. Heat on the plains is heavy with no shade. Wet season roads in the region can be difficult.

Nearby

Puerto Lopez is west; the Llanos run east.