6 Best Sights in Southwest Colombia, Colombia

One of Colombia's truly enjoyable nature outings is the Jardín Botánico del Quindío, an enormous complex of botanical gardens outside Armenia. The highlight here is the mariposario, a butterfly-shaped butterfly house. It's home to about 1,500 butterflies, representing 50 different species. Roam the expansive botanical gardens and pay attention to the diverse species of orchid that grow in Colombia. Don't miss the seven-story lookout point, a great place to spot many of the 120 species of birds that call this region home. A cafeteria and souvenir shop round out the offerings here. Most of the exhibits here are labeled in English as well as Spanish, and bilingual tour guides are happy to show you around.

The Alto de los Idolos park, a few miles southwest of the town of Isnos, could be viewed as an extension of the San Agustín park, with a single ticket valid for both sites. The tombs and sculptures here—they're also courtesy of the unknown people the Spaniards called "the San Agustín culture"—are fewer in number but better preserved than in the larger park. The 23 anthropomorphic and zoomorphic monoliths are carved from volcanic stones set in a U-shaped grassy expanse, the largest standing nearly 15 feet tall. There are also a number of raised tombs and sarcophagi to examine. Although there is information in English as well as Spanish, the experience is infinitely richer with a guide. Make the outing a day trip to allow time to soak up the atmosphere and the stunning views from the park, and allow time to head to the smaller Alto de las Piedras park, north of Isnos. Here there are a few burial sites and statues, some preserving traces of the original coloring work.

The parks surrounding San Agustín make up the largest pre-Columbian site outside Central America and Peru and are part of a vast complex of tombs left by little-known cultures whose actual names are lost to history. One of these thrived in this region from AD 300–800 and was given the name "the San Agustín culture" by the Spanish settlers who stumbled upon their relics. (Carbon-14 dating places some of the works here as early as 3300 BC.) Altars and idols carved from volcanic rock make up the structures scattered throughout this ancient funerary complex. Some of the pieces have been donated from private collections. As with all the parks in the region, a guide is necessary to get a full understanding of what you're seeing. The folks at the Secretaria de Turismo or the Hacienda Anacaona can hook you up with one.

Loosely translated, tierradentro means "within the ground." Within the ground here you'll find the New World's largest concentration of hypogea, or underground burial chambers, constructed much like Rome's catacombs. The name of the pre-Columbian people who constructed the tombs has been lost. Most are thought to date from the 6th through 10th centuries. A UNESCO World Heritage site since 1995, many of the tombs—78 have been excavated so far—are up to 40 feet wide with walls painted with anthropomorphic and zoomorphic figures. Tierradentro, some five hours north of San Agustín, is a bit harder to reach than San Agustín and Alto de las Piedras parks; it's worth spending a night in nearby San Andrés. If traveling from Popayán, this makes an excellent midway stop before continuing on to San Agustín. As with the other parks, a guide is useful to help you understand what you're seeing here.

Tour companies deposit you at the Vereda de Cocora, an area with small restaurants and a kiosk where you can grab food or equipment (like rubber boots, available to rent, for the frequently muddy paths ahead). The quickest path to the most popular viewpoint is a 20-minute walk that takes you past a private farm, which requires a small fee to visit, before weaving upward towards the mist-shrouded volcanic peaks of the PNN Los Nevados. For a longer hike, head through a blue gate past the kiosk and follow a circular path that leads through luxuriant farmlands, cloud forests, and over wooden suspension bridges. Watch for a small hummingbird sanctuary—it serves a thick hot chocolate that will bolster you for the last few hours.