{"id":3543,"date":"2012-04-17T12:58:28","date_gmt":"2012-04-17T17:58:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/seecolombia.travel\/blog\/?p=3543"},"modified":"2017-04-04T07:17:41","modified_gmt":"2017-04-04T12:17:41","slug":"trek-the-andes-in-peace-el-cocuy-information-and-photos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/seecolombia.travel\/blog\/2012\/04\/trek-the-andes-in-peace-el-cocuy-information-and-photos\/","title":{"rendered":"Trek the Andes in peace – El Cocuy: Information and photos"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hi, I’m Chris! I have been living in Colombia for the last 8 months,\u00a0teaching, travelling and trying to experience all that this wonderful country has to offer. I’m really excited to be joining the See Colombia team, and I’m looking forward to sharing some of the joys of Colombia with you.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Parque Nacional El Cocuy might just be one of Colombia\u2019s, and indeed South America\u2019s, best-kept secrets. Remote and untouched, El Cocuy boasts stunning glacial lakes, unique wildlife, and 17,000 foot peaks. Trekking in El Cocuy<\/a> is a great way to experience the Andes without the crowds you get in other countries.<\/p>\n

There are two options for hiking in El Cocuy: day-trips or the 6-day trek. The infrastructure for day hikes is great \u2013 there are caba\u00f1as all along the fringes of the park. You can wake up and be at the snow line of a 5,300 metre mountain in 3 hours. The 6-day trek is trickier; the altitude takes time to adjust to and the paths can be steep and challenging. But if you have the time to spare, it\u2019s one of the most rewarding treks in South America<\/a> \u2013 in 6 days we met only one other group. It\u2019s just you and the condors!<\/p>\n

\"One<\/a>
One of El Cocuy’s beautiful glacial lakes<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

El Cocuy \u2013 Practical Information<\/strong><\/p>\n

Cost<\/strong>: Hiring a guide will set you back about $150.000 between 2 people; the more people you go with, the cheaper it gets. You can ask around the town and join up with groups. A guide for day treks cost $35000-$40000. The day treks can easily be done without a guide, but for the 6-day trek a guide is essential \u2013 it\u2019s easy to get lost!<\/p>\n

When to go<\/strong>: December-March. These are the only months when you stand a chance of getting good weather. Go in mid-December for clear skies and no crowds.<\/p>\n

How to get there: <\/strong>From Bogot\u00e1 there are usually 2 buses a day to the town of El Cocuy, one in the morning and one in the evening. It takes about 12 hours, but the roads past Tunja are unpaved, so don\u2019t expect to get much sleep!<\/p>\n

Equipment<\/strong>: There is no need to take your own specialist gear; you can hire tents, sleeping bags, cooking stoves etc. in the town. Your guide can arrange all of this, and will help you buy all the necessary food for 5\/6 days in the park. Just pack warm clothes \u2013 the nights are cold.<\/p>\n

You can begin the trek from either El Cocuy or Guican following the same route. Starting in El Guican is slightly easier and the trek can be completed in as little as four days, leaving time to hike up to the snow-line of Pan de Azucar.<\/p>\n

You can find everything you need on El Cocuy\u2019s main square. It\u2019s a friendly town and people go out of their way to help you.<\/p>\n

If all this sounds a bit complicated then See Colombia offers tours to El Cocuy<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Chris<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi, I’m Chris! I have been living in Colombia for the last 8 months,\u00a0teaching, travelling and trying to experience all that this wonderful country has to offer. I’m really excited to be joining the See Colombia team, and I’m looking forward to sharing some of the joys of Colombia with you.\u00a0 Parque Nacional El Cocuy […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":25307,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0},"categories":[71,904,626,4,67],"tags":[224,223,2875,2885,2862,300],"yoast_head":"\nTrek the Andes in peace - El Cocuy: Information and photos - Colombia Travel Blog by See Colombia Travel<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/seecolombia.travel\/blog\/2012\/04\/trek-the-andes-in-peace-el-cocuy-information-and-photos\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Trek the Andes in peace - El Cocuy: Information and photos\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Hi, I’m Chris! 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