Cocuy National Park

Cocuy National Park is located in the Andino region of Colombia. Understand The park is located along the border of the Boyacá and Arauca departments. The two main town to access the park are El Cocuy and Güicán. Landscape The Sierra is located in the eastern part of the park and is the main tourist attraction. It is a mountain range streching north to south that contains several snow covered peaks. The western part of the park is low lands tropical forest all the way to the Llanos region and is off limit to tourism because of absence of tracks and guerilla presence. Flora Failerones, tipical of paramo landscapes. Cojines, swamp bushes endemic to the park. Fauna Bear, deers (south part of the park), pumas, condors (north of the park) and rabbits. Climate Get in From the South : Five direct buses leave from Bogotá daily (45,000 COP / 12 hours). The route goes through Tunja (25,000 COP / 9h) and Duitama. From the North : Coming from Cucuta or Bucaramanga is more complicated and will require changing buses in Capitanejo. Fees/Permits You need to register with the park offices either in El Cocuy or in Güicán. Entrance fee is 34,000 COP for foreigners, 10,000 COP for Colombians and 6,000 COP for students and kids between 5 and 12. If you go in the park without a guide, you'll have to tell the ranges how long you plan to be in the sierra. Make sure to check in with the office again once you've exited the park safely or rescue teams will be launched to look for you. Get around The cheapest option to reach the park is the milktruck or lechero (10,000 COP). It leaves Güicán at 5:30 am everyday, reaches El Cocuy around 6 am and then goes up towards the Sierra to collect milk before going back to Güicán. It can drop you at various location close to the cabanas. If you miss the milktruck or get to town late, you can hire a private car to drive you up there but this is a much more expensive option (at least 80,000 COP). See Peaks : Ritacubas, Pan de Azucar, El Castillo and Pulpito del Diablo. Lagunas : Los Verdes, Laguna Grande de la Sierra, La Isla, La Plaza y El Avellanal Do Buy Eat Drink Sleep El Cocuy Hotel Casa Muñoz, Carrera 5 No 7-28 (On the main square), ☎ 8-789-0328 / 8-789-0028 / 313 829-1073 / 313 332-1980 (hotelcasamunoz@hotmail.com), [1].  edit Hotel Villa Real, Calle 7 No 4-50, ☎ 8-789-0038 / 311-475-6495 / 311-810-2808 (hotelvillareal@hotmail.com). Family run hostel close to the main square that offers dark rooms with hard beds and TV. Single with shared bath : 12,000 COP.  edit Güicán Cabaña Hotel El Edén, Transversal 2 No 9-58 Urbanización Villa Nevada (10 min walk from the center), ☎ (8)7897093 / 3118088334 / 3144153019 (luishernando@hotmail.com). Very clean rooms with wooden ceilings and private bathrooms. Duplex rooms on the 1st floor that sleep up to 5 persons with nice views of the valley. Very friendly owners. Single with bath : 15,000 COP.  edit Hotel El Frailejón, Carrera 4 No 3–34 (On the main square), ☎ 312-586-0619. Cheapest option in town.  edit Park Hacienda La Esperanza.  edit Cabañas Kanwarra.  edit Posada Sierra Nevada, [2]. Double beds : 30,000 COP.  edit Herrera, ☎ 57-311-214-9255. Campground with toilets and showers.  edit Cabana Laguna Pintada. Single : 35,000 COP.  edit Stay safe Cope El Cocuy Internet (Elpino.com), Carrera 3 No 8-53 (In front of the townhall). Until 8 pm.  edit ATM (Banco Agraria de Colombia), Corner of calle 8 and carrera 4. Only ATM in town.  edit Park office, Calle 8a No 4-74, (pnncocuyjp@yahoo.com).  edit Güicán Internet (Guic@n net), (Follow the road from the lower corner opposite the church of the main plaza). M-Sa : 9 am to 12 pm, 2 pm to 8 pm / Su : 2 pm to 8 pm.  edit This is a usable article. It has information about the park, for getting in, about a few attractions, and about accommodations in the park. An adventurous person could use this article, but please plunge forward and help it grow!