San Jose del Guaviare

San Jose sits on the Guaviare river where the Andean foothills give out into the Amazon and Orinoco basins, and it is the base for everything in the department: the Lindosa rock art panels, Ciudad de Piedra's weathered formations, the Damian well and other sinkholes, and the seasonal coloured river channels at Tranquilandia. Community tourism associations manage the sites and provide guides, which is now how nearly everything is visited. The town is a working frontier centre rather than a tourist one. Deforestation in Guaviare has been among the highest rates in Colombia.

What's there

• A base for the Guaviare sites - rock art, sinkholes and coloured rivers.
• Where the Andes give out - into the Amazon and Orinoco basins.
• Community tourism associations - which manage the sites and provide guides.
• A working frontier town - not built for visitors.

When to go

December to March for the drier roads; the coloured rivers need the wet months. Several days.

Practical notes

Sites require guides and community fees - independent visits are generally not permitted. Roads are rough and slow. Heat and insects are heavy.

Nearby

Cerro Azul and Ciudad de Piedra are close; Tranquilandia is south.

Key facts