Purace National Park

Purace sits on the volcanic knot where the Andes split into three ranges, and several of the country's major rivers rise within a few kilometres of each other here. The park runs from cloud forest up through paramo to the bare cone of the Purace volcano at around four thousand six hundred metres, past the sulphur meadows and steaming pools of the Termales de San Juan and the Bedon waterfall. Andean condors were reintroduced here and are fed at a viewing point on set mornings, which makes this one of the more reliable places in the country to see one. The park is managed jointly with the Kokonuko community.

What you actually see

• Termales de San Juan - sulphur springs and coloured mineral pools across a paramo meadow.
• The condor viewpoint - Andean condors at a feeding station on set mornings.
• Cascada del Bedon - a waterfall in cloud forest near the main road.
• The Purace volcano - the ash and rock cone above the paramo, climbed with a guide.

When to go

The drier windows, December to February and July to August, give the best chance of seeing anything at all, since cloud and drizzle are the default here. Condor feeding happens on specific mornings, so check the schedule and arrive very early. The volcano ascent starts before dawn and needs a community guide arranged the day before.

Honest expectations

It is cold, wet and windy at three thousand metres and above, and the paramo is often in cloud all day. The volcano route closes at times because of volcanic activity and always requires a guide, which not everyone finds out in advance. Public transport drops you on the highway with a long walk to the sites. The condors are fed, not wild sightings.

Nearby

Popayan, the Coconuco hot springs and the road east towards San Agustin.