San Agustin Archaeological Park

UNESCO World Heritage Site: San Agustin Archaeological Park (1995). The Largest Group Of Religious Monuments And Megalithic Sculpture In South America, Burial Mounds, Terraces And Over 500 Carved Stone Figures Made Between Roughly The 1st And 8th Centuries AD. · San Agustin, Huila

San Agustin is the largest group of religious monuments and carved stone sculpture in South America, spread over green hillsides in the upper Magdalena valley in Huila. Between roughly the first and eighth centuries AD, a society whose name we do not know buried its dead in earth mounds and guarded them with over 500 figures cut from volcanic stone: fanged guardians, masked warriors, animals, and figures that seem half human and half something else. The core park, about 2 km from San Agustin town, holds the Mesitas mounds, the museum, the Bosque de las Estatuas and the FUENTE DE LAVAPATAS, a stream bed carved into basins, channels and figures. Outlying sites at Alto de los Idolos and Alto de las Piedras are reached by road or by jeep and horse tour. It is a remote place, a long journey from Bogota, and rewards visitors who give it time. Outside holiday weeks it is quiet and green, and a good local guide turns standing stones into a story you can follow.

Hillside park of burial mounds and carved stone figures about 2 km from San Agustin town in the upper Magdalena valley, with outlying sites at Alto de los Idolos and Alto de las Piedras, San Agustin, Huila, Colombia

The park is normally open daily during daylight hours, with the last entry well before closing, and the ticket is usually valid for two days across the main park and the outlying sites - confirm this and current hours at the entrance or in town. Alto de los Idolos and Alto de las Piedras can have their own gate times, and the weather can close dirt access roads. Confirm road conditions and the security situation with your lodging or a local operator before you travel, especially on back roads.

San Agustin Archaeological Park on Spottos · Explore more places on Spottos