Safari & Prairie Riding AdventureRide with a local llanero across wetlands, lagoons and open savannas among hundreds of capybaras, white-tailed deer, spectacled caimans, zebu cattle and wild horses. Lose orientation in what seems infinite savanna melding with big skies and keep your eyes peeled for anteaters, armadillos and the puma. "Too thrilling for words", as one of our recent clients described the experience.
Whether it's for one day or for several days, this tour will leave you in awe and provides the very best of Los Llanos - an unforgettable cowboy adventure. |
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Difficulty: It's an advantage to have some experience and feel comfortable on horseback as distances and rides are long, the territory is open and extensive. For more experienced riders this tour is a great option to get some good gallops in. Please advise us of your riding skills and requirements when enquiring about this tour.
Duration: 1 day or 3 days (more if desired) with 3-6 hours of riding time each day - this can be adapted to suit your skills and preferences, you'll always start from the same point in the mornings
Location and sceneries: This tour leads us across two hatos, extensive haziendas of over 1600ha each. The Hatos Matepalma and Altamira are located just two hours drive northeast east of Yopal, well out in the flatlands with distant views of the Eastern Andes range on clear days. With more capybaras than cattle, numerous white-tailed deer, spectacled caimans and other reptiles as well as countless of Colombia's finest bird species on-site, in parts these cattle farms with their wetlands and native grasslands have been declared nature reserves, with eco-tourism as their new income stream and measures to protect fauna and flora.
Possible wildlife sightings: Armadillos, burrowing owls, capybaras, the great horned owl, giant anteater, southern tamandua (small anteater), various species of ibis such as scarlet ibises and buff-necked ibises, species of herons, of hawks, of falcons, of parakeets, cardinals, macaws, swallows, flycatchers, parrots, woodpeckers, wood storks, jabirus, and hummingbirds, the jaguar, agoutis, wild pigs, white-tailed deer, foxes, spectacled caimans, red-footed tortoises, hoatzins, turtles, boas such as their biggest family member, the anaconda, ocelots, puma, iguanas, Orinoco geese, roseate spoonbills, piranhas and many more.
Activities and highlights:
On extensive horseback riding loops across the hatos, you'll be crossing lagoons, streams, wetlands (May-November), open grasslands and native savanna that meld with big skies - either deep blue or with interesting cloud formations, reflecting in the lagoons and water mirrors of the wetlands, catering for an otherworldly feeling. Gallop across these infinite landscapes and be amazed at the numbers of wildlife right before your eyes. Enjoy the Llanos infamous sunsets and sunrises from the saddle of your horse and fish piranhas for lunch. Explore "El Garcero", a birds' nesting place well out in the savanna, a natural wonder featuring hundreds of birds' nests in a group of trees, under which the spectacled caimans are laying in wake for the birds' chicks to drop out of their nest (July-September).
We may also experience Llano work as it happens. Next up: Working wild horses in November 2017!
On extensive horseback riding loops across the hatos, you'll be crossing lagoons, streams, wetlands (May-November), open grasslands and native savanna that meld with big skies - either deep blue or with interesting cloud formations, reflecting in the lagoons and water mirrors of the wetlands, catering for an otherworldly feeling. Gallop across these infinite landscapes and be amazed at the numbers of wildlife right before your eyes. Enjoy the Llanos infamous sunsets and sunrises from the saddle of your horse and fish piranhas for lunch. Explore "El Garcero", a birds' nesting place well out in the savanna, a natural wonder featuring hundreds of birds' nests in a group of trees, under which the spectacled caimans are laying in wake for the birds' chicks to drop out of their nest (July-September).
We may also experience Llano work as it happens. Next up: Working wild horses in November 2017!
Includes: Transport from/to Yopal, entrance to hatos, horse hire, local guide, lunch, new water bottle with portable water, insurance - multi-day tours also include accommodation full-board.
