Hato La Aurora
A private reserve of almost ten thousand hectares in Hato Corozal, with no hunting for three decades. The jaguar is sighted here with a frequency unusual in Colombia.
Llanos Orientales (eastern plains)
Casanare
East of the cordillera, Colombia runs out of mountains and a plain begins that floods and dries to the rhythm of two seasons. Here cattle live alongside the jaguar and you measure distance in horizons, not in kilometers. Casanare is the heart of that savanna.
Why go
What makes this destination unique
Colombia sells itself on its mountains and its Caribbean; the Llanos, the eastern plains, are the opposite of both. In Casanare the wildlife does not hide beneath a canopy: it is seen in the open, from a jeep, as in Africa. Chigüiros, or capybaras, by the hundred, giant anteaters, anacondas, more than four hundred bird species and cattle ranches that have not allowed hunting for three decades.
- When to goDecember to March, the verano llanero or plains summer: the savanna dries out, the animals gather at the few channels still holding water and the tracks are passable. January and February are the best months.
- Getting thereA one-hour flight from Bogotá to Yopal (El Alcaraván), with Avianca, LATAM or EasyFly. From there, two to five hours by jeep to the ranches.
What to see
What you should not miss
The llanero safari by jeep
Outings of eight to ten hours across flooded savanna, morichales, or palm wetlands, and gallery forest, with llanero guides who read tracks and traces the way others read a page.
The garcero at Hato Berlín
Near Trinidad, on the riverbank, thousands of corocoras, the scarlet ibis, and herons come back to roost in the same tree. You arrive by canoe and it lasts as long as the light.
Orocué and the Meta river
A river port where José Eustasio Rivera conceived much of La vorágine and where sáliba culture still holds on. The Meta runs wide, brown and unhurried.
Working the llano on horseback
Riding out with the cowhands to move cattle at daybreak, while the savanna is still cool. It is not a re-enactment: it is the ranch's work for that day.
Torneo Internacional del Joropo
The harp, the cuatro and the maracas of this plains music are not folklore behind glass. In Villavicencio the tournament fills the Joropódromo every June or July.
Where to stay
Hotels we recommend
A selection of houses with character. We work with others too: tell us what you are looking for and we will propose the one that fits.
Tented camp on the savannah
Corocora Wildlife Camp
Four tents with private bathrooms in a private reserve at San Luis de Palenque, with a naturalist guide and its own kitchen.
Ecolodge inside Hato La Aurora
Juan Solito Ecolodge
Simple rooms and cabins on the banks of the Ariporo, inside the oldest private reserve in Casanare. Llanero guides from the area.
Traditional llanero ranches turned reserve
Reserva Natural El Encanto de Guanapalo
Three ranches and almost nine thousand hectares two hours from Yopal, with accommodation in llanero houses with private bathrooms.
City hotel in Yopal, for the connecting night
GHL Style Yopal
Practical and well run, five minutes from the airport. It serves for the night before or after the ranch, and no more than that.
Small hotel with a pool in Yopal
L'aurora Hotel Boutique
A more domestic alternative to the chain hotel, with a garden and a pool, in a quiet district near the airport.
Where to eat
The destination's table
The kitchens worth a reservation. We take care of the booking and the transfer.
Llanero grill house (Villavicencio)
El Cabrestero
An institution on the Puerto López road for more than twenty years. Ternera a la llanera, beef on the spit, with no concessions.
Llanero grill house (Villavicencio)
El Amarradero del Mico
Open since 1998, beside the road to Vanguardia airport. Mamona, young beef, over the fire and a long list of regional dishes.
Llanero grill house (Villavicencio)
La Topochera
An open caney of guadua bamboo seating four hundred on the ring road, with different cuts of mamona over the embers.
Carne a la llanera (Yopal)
Asadero La Mamona
One of the benchmarks for carne a la llanera in Yopal: simple, busy and with no pretension to a tablecloth.
Does this destination interest you? We build it into a tailor-made route.
Request a proposalHotel and restaurant information is for reference and is confirmed at the time of booking. The recommendations do not imply any commercial relationship with the establishments mentioned.
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