Llanos Essential Tour
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An all-round introduction to Colombia's fascinating Eastern plains

​Ride through lagoons and palm forests on a traditional Finca Llanera and observe exotic birds and wildlife - go on a hike if horses are not your fancy -, then set out to traverse two nature reserves in the savannas, watching hundreds of capybaras, the world’s largest rodents, dozens of white-tailed deer, spectacled caimans, tortoises and birdlife.

This tour is a South American nature trip to remember. ​From June to September there is also the option of taking the boat down Rio Pauto, past lush gallery forests teeming with howler monkeys, hoatzins, iguanas and parrots, and arriving to a tucked-away farm where we learn all about the local culture.
Location and sceneries: We'll spend the first day and night in the surroundings of Yopal, lodging at a comfortable rural hotel and exploring a typical Llanos farm of diverse ecosystems including palm forests, savannas, lagoons and gallery forests. The second leg of our safari takes us to the realms of San Luis de Palenque, a community about 100 km northeast of Yopal in the plains. Traversing large cattle haciendas, partly nature reserves, we enjoy much more open and extensive prairies, wetlands, lagoons and streams swarming with the Llanos' most iconic wildlife and birdlife.
Duration: 3 days (3 nights)
Possible wildlife sightings: Armadillos, burrowing owls, capybaras, great horned owls, giant anteater, southern tamandua (small anteater), red howlers, capuchins, various species of ibis such as scarlet ibises and buff-necked ibises, species of herons including whistling herons and night herons, various hawks such as savanna hawks and white-tailed hawks, falcons, parakeets, cardinals, macaws, swallows, flycatchers including fork-tailed flycatchers and vermillion flycatchers, yellow-crowned parrots, various woodpeckers and wood creepers, wood storks, jabirus, various hummingbirds, the jaguar, agoutis, wild pigs, white-tailed deer, foxes, spectacled caimans, red-footed tortoises, hoatzins, horned screamers, turtles, boas such as their biggest family member, the anaconda, ocelots, pumas, iguanas, Orinoco geese, roseate spoonbills, piranhas and many more. ​
Sample itinerary 
Day 1
  • Arrival to Yopal and lunch at hotel
  • Afternoon: short transfer to Finca La Independencia, a typical Finca Llanera, where we lasso our horses and set out to explore the diverse sceneries on horseback (on foot if preferred) and observe various wildlife in the later afternoon hours
  • After watching the sun dip behind the distant Andes we return to our hotel for dinner

Day 2
  • After breakfast we transfer to a natural reserves, about 2 hours from Yopal
  • We have the chance to sight wildlife that has become rare in other parts of the Llanos: white-tailed deer, capybaras, swarms of scarlet ibises, roseate spoonbills, red-footed tortoises, spectacled caimans, pumas, ocelots and armadillos to name a few.
  • Enjoy a typical lunch at the farm house and meet some of the Llaneros that work here
  • Set out on walks along lagoons and into savanna forests to discover wildlife and birds with your local guide
  • Enjoy the sun's setting in the open savannah with the Andes in the distance and an ice-cold beer in hand
  • Return to our hotel in Yopal for our last night OR we continue to lodge in a rural guesthouse on the shore of Rio Pauto to add Day 3

Day 3
  • After breakfast at the guesthouse we board a motor boat to explore the lush shores of Rio Pauto*. We are likely to see howlers, iguanas and hoatzins on this comfortable two hour journey.
  • Our destination is a tucked-away farm by the shore where we meet owner Seudiel for lunch under the traditional palm roof and enjoy an introduction to the Llanos' culture and lifestyle as well as a look around Seudiel's Llano museum and fascinating collection of indigenous artefacts, all of which he found in his farm's soil. 
  • On our return boat ride* to the guesthouse we enjoy the late afternoon's increasing bird traffic and a beautiful sunset

Departure Day
  • We enjoy breakfast and walks on the guesthouse's eco-trail, where we may spot agoutis, howlers, hummingbirds, herons, ibises, caracaras and possibly other small mammals and their reptile predators. 
  • ​Return to Yopal 

*The boat ride is possible during rain season from May through to September. From October to April we will use a 4WD vehicle to reach the farm.
Tour includes: Transport and transfers as outlined (4x4 or van and/or boat), comfortable countryside accommodation (3 nights), entrance to reserves and farms, activities as outlined, horse hire, guide, drinking water, meals as outlined, insurance. 
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