Cerros de Mavecure

Three domes - Mavicure, Pajarito and Mono - stand together on the bank of the Inirida in eastern Colombia, rising from flat forest to between roughly one hundred and seven hundred metres. They are inselbergs of the Guiana Shield, granite and gneiss well over a billion years old and among the oldest exposed rock anywhere on earth, left standing as everything softer around them eroded away. Mavicure, the smallest, is climbed - a steep scramble up bare rock with ropes on the harder sections, taking about an hour, with the river and forest spread out below. The Puinave communities at the foot of the hills manage access and provide guides and accommodation in hammocks. Getting there means a flight to Puerto Inirida and a boat upriver.

What you actually see

• Three granite domes - rising abruptly from flat forest.
• Rock over a billion years old - Guiana Shield inselbergs.
• A steep climb up Mavicure - about an hour on bare rock with ropes.
• Puinave communities at the foot - managing access and guiding.

When to go

December to March, the lower water season. Two days.

Honest expectations

Getting there is expensive - a flight to Puerto Inirida and then a boat. The climb is steep bare rock and dangerous when wet. Accommodation is hammocks in community houses. Heat, humidity and insects are constant.

Nearby

Puerto Inirida is downriver; the Estrella Fluvial is below it.