Casanare and its villages - We look at the department's five most charming little towns
Back in time - Colombia's villages are wonderfully delightful and nostalgic. While the Llanos' main attractions are cowboys and wildlife, they still have a few lovely villages to offer visitors. Mules parked outside the 'panadería', loaded with sacks of coffee, grains or bananas, vaqueros passing through on horses or on motorbikes, elderly villagers leaning on their cane, watching the world go by and smiling at strangers toothlessly, lovingly painted window shutters and walls and neat flower beds and banana plants and papaya trees towering from patios and front yards, pebbled streets and the main square with a church, where surely a bench or two invite to have a seat and watch the villagers go about their daily lives - that's a classic when traveling Colombia and must not be missing in the Llanos either.
Back in time - Colombia's villages are wonderfully delightful and nostalgic. While the Llanos' main attractions are cowboys and wildlife, they still have a few lovely villages to offer visitors. Mules parked outside the 'panadería', loaded with sacks of coffee, grains or bananas, vaqueros passing through on horses or on motorbikes, elderly villagers leaning on their cane, watching the world go by and smiling at strangers toothlessly, lovingly painted window shutters and walls and neat flower beds and banana plants and papaya trees towering from patios and front yards, pebbled streets and the main square with a church, where surely a bench or two invite to have a seat and watch the villagers go about their daily lives - that's a classic when traveling Colombia and must not be missing in the Llanos either.
Admittedly, Casanare is not a prime destination when it comes to delightful colonial architecture. We appreciate that. There's Antoquia, Boyacá, Bolivár and just almost the entire rest of the country that boasts with colonial treasures, white washed buildings, colourfully painted window frames and wood doors. Casanare on the other hand, a hot prairie department of wetlands, mosquitos, humidity and wild animals, was long avoided by European settlers. Residing in the Llanos permanently had been considered unbearable with humidity and insects destroying any architectural woodwork - and human sanity - within only a couple of years and the cultivation of nearly any vegetable impossible.
The extensive tropical grasslands seemed good only for a few things: hunting felines for their fur, capybaras and deer for their meat, raising cattle and catching crocodiles for their leather. The Llaneros, an ethnic mix of European hunters and traders, Spanish Jesuit descendants and indigenous people such as the Sáliva, were very different from other Colombians. Less 'homey' and more 'outdoorsy', robust, independent, stubborn even, practical, skilled and rather nomadic, they did not build cozy delightful homes and villages that appealed to the eye but set up temporary shelters. Their eyes were set on survival. The Llanos were exploited, not populated. However, the trades and growing cattle production along with missionaries, who came to Casanare, slowly led to the departments first fix settlements. Here are our top 5 most beautiful towns in Casanare in no particular order.
The extensive tropical grasslands seemed good only for a few things: hunting felines for their fur, capybaras and deer for their meat, raising cattle and catching crocodiles for their leather. The Llaneros, an ethnic mix of European hunters and traders, Spanish Jesuit descendants and indigenous people such as the Sáliva, were very different from other Colombians. Less 'homey' and more 'outdoorsy', robust, independent, stubborn even, practical, skilled and rather nomadic, they did not build cozy delightful homes and villages that appealed to the eye but set up temporary shelters. Their eyes were set on survival. The Llanos were exploited, not populated. However, the trades and growing cattle production along with missionaries, who came to Casanare, slowly led to the departments first fix settlements. Here are our top 5 most beautiful towns in Casanare in no particular order.
1. Támara - the coffee town
Lofty Tamara is rather lovely with pebbled streets nestled into the Andean foothills and looking out over the valley of Rio Pauto. Not only that but Tamara also exports premium organic coffee beans to Italy. Even the drive to Tamara is scenic across the Tablón de Tamara, Tamara's table mountain. Hop on a bus to Tamara, enjoy lunch and a coffee in the village, climb up to the viewpoint and purchase some handmade coffee bean bracelets to take home.
2. Orocué - nostalgia on the banks of Rio Meta
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Earthy Orocué sits on the far eastern border of the department of Casanare, where the grand Rio Meta leads through savannahs. Fishermen in canoes drift down the river, mototaxis crisscross the town, speedboats departing for Vichada and Meta operate and the sandbanks on the opposite shore are frequented by jabirus, herons, ducks and cormorants. The little colonial town was once a buzzing gateway to Europe in the nineteenth century with traders arriving here, entering from the Atlantic via Rio Orinoco, then Rio Meta. The women of Orocué could wear the latest Parisian fashion long before it even reached the country's capital.
Founded by the indigenous group of the Sálivas and a Frenchman in 1850, Orocué means "resting place" in the language of the Sálivas. Sitting on the shore of Rio Meta in the shade of an ancient tree and looking over the ever-flowing gently yellow ribbon, resting is inevitably. It was here in an equal state of tranquility and inspiration that José Eustasio Rivera wrote his famous novel "The Vortex" (original: La Vorágine), a homage to the Llanos and required reading at Colombian schools. Visit the writer's residence, now a little museum, walk around the colourful old town and enjoy a beer at Don Juan's on the malecón during sunset, watch the fishermen unload their catches and a fiery sun dip into the river.
Founded by the indigenous group of the Sálivas and a Frenchman in 1850, Orocué means "resting place" in the language of the Sálivas. Sitting on the shore of Rio Meta in the shade of an ancient tree and looking over the ever-flowing gently yellow ribbon, resting is inevitably. It was here in an equal state of tranquility and inspiration that José Eustasio Rivera wrote his famous novel "The Vortex" (original: La Vorágine), a homage to the Llanos and required reading at Colombian schools. Visit the writer's residence, now a little museum, walk around the colourful old town and enjoy a beer at Don Juan's on the malecón during sunset, watch the fishermen unload their catches and a fiery sun dip into the river.
3. Nunchía - the chocolate town
Lovely little Nunchía is nestled into the Andean foothills about forty minutes from Yopal. It's known for its coffee and cacao production, the "piedra de Simón Bolivar", as the great leader and his men have taken rest here on their way up to the Andes to gain independence in the battle of Boyacá, and for its "Festival del Duende" every Christmas, a celebration of the elf, a local tale.
Take a walk up to the viewpoint, return for a fresh masato at the town's prettiest house (photo above), where a lovely and hospitable family resides, also experts on the local history. Ask for the fabrica de chocolate Premium to learn about chocolate production and cacao cultivation in the area.
Take a walk up to the viewpoint, return for a fresh masato at the town's prettiest house (photo above), where a lovely and hospitable family resides, also experts on the local history. Ask for the fabrica de chocolate Premium to learn about chocolate production and cacao cultivation in the area.
4. San Luis de Palenque - a Llano village
San Luis de Palenque or simply "San Luis" is a lovely little stop when venturing into the plains of Casanare, where large quantities of wildlife can be observed on extensive farms. The village has a lush and green central park and a river promenade at Rio Pauto, nice for a stroll in the evening. Restaurante El Rialto offers the best meals in town. There's a tiny bus terminal/office to catch buses to Orocué or Yopal. The surroundings of San Luis are lush and fertile featuring rice fields, savannas and even some small-scale cacao production. Stay at guesthouse Posada Hato El Diamante and wake to the sound of the howler monkeys, observe exotic birds and other fauna along Rio Pauto and on walks or boat rides near the guesthouse.
5. Pore - The cradle of independence
Colombians hear about Pore at school, a small village that once was Colombia's capital for 48 hours when the republic declared its independence from the Spanish Crown, but only few know where this Colombian Historical Heritage is actually located. The ruins of Pore are witnesses of the past and can be visited today. They were the barracks of Simon Bolivar and his men, who gathered here and plotted their siege over the Spaniards. Far from the Spanish troops, surrounded by prairies and protected by the Andes in unbearable conditions the 'centaurs' (Llanero Horsemen) could finesse their attack and lead Colombia to independence. Hop on a bus from Yopal and you'll reach the town in approximately one hour.
Have you been to any of these towns? Got more villages to add? We'd love to hear from you.
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