Colombia - The Rough Guide to South America on a Budget - page 510

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(The Devil's Pulpit), a column of rock that
sits dramatically in the middle of a glacier.
However, to really experience the park
it's extremely worthwhile to do the six- to
seven-day ciruit between the two. Since
the trail is not always obvious, it's highly
recommended that you do the long trek
with a guide (see below).

to the Boquerón de Cusiri (4410m),
the last pass you'll have climb, then
descend for an hour to the chain of
attractive small lakes - lagunillas - where
you'll find the park's busiest campsite.
You can either camp here or press on to
the Alto de la Cueva - a straightforward
four-hour walk to the main road. If
hiking as part of a tour, then you may
have pre-arranged transport waiting;
otherwise, it's another four hours' walk
to El Cocuy.
ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE
By bus From Bogotá, there are around six El Cocuy-bound
buses daily, the first leaving around 8.30am (11hr). Returning
from El Cocuy, overnight Libertadores buses to Bogotá
depart at 8pm daily from the main square, while Concorde
buses leave at 4pm and 6pm and cheaper and Fundadores
minibuses leave from Cra 5 No. 5-38 (3 daily). From Bogotá,
there are morning departures for Güicán with either
Libertadores or Fundadores (12hr), the return buses leaving
Güicán's main square around 7pm. To get from El Cocuy to
Güicán there are three Cootradatil buses daily (30min).
To the park From Güicán it takes five hours to hike to the
park entrance, while hiring private transport to take you
up there will set you back around COP$85,000-100,000.
It's cheaper to hitch a ride on a lechero (milk truck;
COP$6000-10,000) to the mountain farms; they depart
from the main square in Güicán at 5.30am, then at 6am
from El Cocuy plaza. Since there are several milk trucks,
ask around to make sure you're going to the right place;
they tend to drop you off at the intersection nearest to
the cabañas, so you'll have to hike the rest of the way.

The trek from Güicán to El Cocuy
Güicán is the starting point for the six- to
seven-day circuit. On day one , you hike
for five hours or so to the cabañas; it's
possible to continue on the same day to
the top of Ritacuba Blanco (5hr), but
better to stay for a night to acclimatize
and then hike up early in the morning
of day two . From Ritacuba Blanco it's
then a couple of hours' walk to the Río
Cardenillo creek and a two-hour ascent
to the Boquerón del Carmen pass
(4300m), from which you descend to the
Laguna Grande de los Verdes (4100m),
where you camp.
On day three it takes around seven
hours to hike between Laguna Grande
de los Verdes and Laguna del Avellanal
- a spectacular climb up to the Boquerón
de los Frailles pass (4200m), then past
a couple of lakes and up again to the
Boquerón de la Sierra pass (4650m).
The descent brings you down to the lake,
where you camp for the night either on
the shore or in a cave nearby. From here
it takes around seven hours on day four
to reach Laguna del Pañuelo. You pass
through the Valle de los Cojines, and past
several waterfalls before climbing to the
Laguna del Rincón (4350m), from where
it's another hour's ascent to the Boquerón
del Castillo pass (4530m), offering
spectacular views of the valley below. If
the pass is foggy, wait until the fog clears
before descending to the Laguna del
Pañuelo. Day five 's section to Laguna de
la Plaza is around six or seven hours' hike,
made more difficult by the lack of trail,
so having a guide is imperative. There are
no major descents or ascents; you keep
roughly level until you reach Laguna
Hoja Larga in around five hours, with
your destination - the splendid Laguna
de la Plaza - roughly an hour later. On
day six you follow the trail from here up

GUIDES
Ecoturismo Comunitario Sisuma T 314 348 9718,
W elcocuyboyaca.com. You can hire guides and horses
from this guide cooperative within the park boundaries -
for around COP$85,000 per day for an accredited guide
for up to six people, while horses will cost you around
COP$35,000 per day.
Colombia Trek T 320 339 3839, W colombiatrek.com.
Bilingual climber Rodrigo Aria comes highly recom-
mended; he rents out equipement and arranges persona-
lized packages, with a week-long trek costing around
COP$1,500,000 per person for a group of three people and
a guide (cheaper if it's just a Spanish-speaking guide).

ACCOMMODATION
The village of Güicán makes for a closer and easier hike
into the park, while El Cocuy has the lion's share of facilities
(including an ATM) and accommodation. Most places to
eat are inside hotels.