Are The San Agustin Statues Worth Seeing In Huila Colombia?

Planning Out Your Colombia Itinerary, But Wondering Whether Or Not The San Agustin Statues Are Worth Seeing Considering They’re In A More Remote Area?

When I was living in Colombia, a top must-see destination for me was the ancient historical site of San Agustin in the Huila department of Colombia because I love history and one of the main reasons I chose Colombia was because of its history, but it was the most exhaustive travel experience I had here, however also one of my favorites!

🇨🇴 Is It Really Worth Seeing These Ancient Stone Statues In San Agustin, Colombia?

These ancient stone statues are a wonderful site to see for history lovers.

If you’re short on time and just want the quick answer:

the San Agustin statues are definielty worth seeing if you love history and you have plenty of time to really explore Colombia

if you don’t have much time to really explore Colombia outside of the major cities, you’re looking for easily accessible locations (with airports), or you’re not overly interested in some thousand year old statues and carvings, then San Agustin isn’t likely going to be worth it for you

👉 Keep reading for more specific details on these points above and some of my personal experiences in San Agustin to help you better understand and plan for a potential visit to this ancient archaeological site in Colombia.

What’s So Interesting About These Statues?

A good chunk of Colombia’s historical sites date back to colonial times as well as some more recent history from the 80s and 90s, but Colombia also has some fascinating ancient and prehistoric histories including dinosaurs and the pre-Columbian era (in which these statues appear).

Much is still unknown about the ancient histories of these areas in Colombia, but archaeological studies have established that these San Agustin statues appeared during the Formative Period, which consists of the years between 1,000 BC and 100 AD.

Archaeological evidence also suggests that an Archaic Period existed (from around 4,000 BC), which would predate the Formative Period and make San Agustin at least 6,000 years old.

If you love history as much as I do, just walking the grounds and seeing what’s left of these ancient civilizations (in its statues and carvings) is enough of a reason to add San Agustin to your Colombia itinerary.

*️⃣ FAQ: What kinds of statues can you find at the San Agustin Archaeological Park in Colombia? Many of the 500+ statues uncovered are housed in the archaeological park (pictured above) and date from either the Formative Period or the Regional Classic (aka the monumentality period). They’re carved from volcanic stone and represent many different sacred animals and anthropomorphic figures.

Is It Really That Hard To Get To San Agustin?

Of all the places I visited in Colombia (about 25 in total), San Agustin was the most difficult and exhausting travel experience for me, granted I lived on a Colombian salary so I chose the cheapest way to get there, but even the quicker route is more complex than other typical tourist destinations here so those with limited time might not think it’s worth that much trouble.

I have all the specific details on how to get to San Agustin here, but here’s a little summary:

the cheap option just to get to the town took me 12 hours on an overnight bus and then 1 hour in a truck, all which equalled about $22

the quick option would require a flight from major cities in Colombia (Bogota is actually the only one with a direct flight) to the town of Pitalito (the closest city with an airport in which flights average around $200) and then taking the hour truck ride (costs about $2) or a taxi ride (which would cost significantly more) into San Agustin

on top of getting there, if you wanted to visit other close-ish cities after like Popayan, you’d basically have to take the bus (which is really just a van), but this 5-ish hour route is pretty cool

*️⃣ Tip: it’s typically not a great idea to drive yourself in Colombia because road conditions, cell service, weather, and other drivers can make it difficult and dangerous

Is San Agustin A Naturally Beautiful Area?

San Agustin is worth visiting for its natural beauty alone.

In my experience traveling around most of Colombia, I saw some insanely beautiful places all throughout the country, but two of my top destination recommendations for natural beauty include the area surrounding Salento and the area surrounding San Agustin.

I had a pretty old phone camera with me when I lived in Colombia and that’s what I used to take all of my pictures so I feel like the photos really don’t do these places justice, but all I can say is that San Agustin is one place that took my breath away (particularly this viewpoint pictured above, at the site La Chaquira) and made me feel like this is what Colombia looked like hundreds or even thousands of years ago.

🗿 My Favorite Way To See The San Agustin Statues In Huila, Colombia

My favorite way to see the statues in San Agustin, Colombia was on horseback.

When I visited San Agustin, there wasn’t loads of information available online like tour companies or even how/what to see here so I kind of had to figure it out once I arrived, but luckily you can find a little more online now and hopefully my experiences can help you figure out what you want to do and how you can do it.

*️⃣ Tip: due to some safety concerns at times in the past (I never personally had any issues here), I do definitely recommend going on a guided tour to these archaeological sites (not counting the park), instead of hiking or biking to them yourself

➡️ My recommendations for how to see the San Agustin statues in Huila, Colombia:

the archaeological park (pictured above) is the main attraction in San Agustin as it houses a large number of historical stones and carvings, but this requires a paid entrance fee to walk around so it’s totally doable on your own, although there is a guided tour of the park available

other archaeological sites in San Agustin like La Chaquira, El Tablon, and La Pelota y El Purutal are more spread out and not a part of the park so a guided tour is a great idea and I highly recommend a horseback riding tour (this still remains one of my favorite adventures from Colombia)

If you want to go a little further outside of San Agustin, there are other tour options available like the La Gaitana Archaeological Park, the Tres Chorros Waterfall Horseback Ride, a Coffee Farm Tour, and even the more adventurous White Water Rafting Tour.

🔁 Sum Up: Are The San Agustin Statues Worth Seeing In Huila Colombia?

Although the ancient stone statues of San Agustin are a bit more difficult to get to compared to other popular destinations in Colombia, if you love history, natural beauty, and getting off the typical tourist path, then San Agustin is definitely worth checking out and the statues will be an exciting historical site to see here.