{"id":6001,"date":"2013-01-03T12:24:22","date_gmt":"2013-01-03T17:24:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/seecolombia.travel\/blog\/?p=6001"},"modified":"2016-05-05T11:40:42","modified_gmt":"2016-05-05T16:40:42","slug":"the-ruta-mutis-jungle-jaunts-cultural-heritage-sites-and-the-magdalena-river","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/seecolombia.travel\/blog\/2013\/01\/the-ruta-mutis-jungle-jaunts-cultural-heritage-sites-and-the-magdalena-river\/","title":{"rendered":"The Ruta Mutis \u2013 Jungle jaunts, cultural heritage sites and the Magdalena River"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Juntas,<\/a>
Juntas, Ibagu\u00e9, Tolima<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Back in 1760 a Spanish scientist named Jos\u00e9 Celestino Mutis came over to travel Colombia<\/a> to explore and document the native flora and fauna of this mysterious and majestic part of the Americas. In 1763 Mutis asked his motherland to sponsor his expedition and 20 LONG years later, the king gave him the OK. Ol\u00e9!<\/p>\n

Mutis travelled throughout Bogot\u00e1, La Mesa, Valle de San Juan, Ibagu\u00e9, Falon, Mariquita, Honda, Ambalema and Guaduas and on my trip through Tolima<\/a> with LivingCol<\/a> I had the opportunity to travel through some of these regions, experience the flora and fauna for myself as well as the charming qualities of small towns and dense forests that inspired Mutis.<\/p>\n

\"Switzerland?<\/a>
Switzerland? Nope. Colombia?? You got it! Hotel Iguaima Campestre<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Tolima<\/strong><\/p>\n

A half an hour flight from Bogot\u00e1<\/a> and it seemed we had arrived in Switzerland. Rolling planes, mountainous valleys, cottages nestles into verdant greens. No we weren\u2019t in Switzerland, but in the department of Tolima in Juntas just north of Ibagu\u00e9. We walked along creek beds, spotted lush pockets of dense forests which scaled up steep mountains and ate trout and patacones with an unbeatable view at Hotel Iguaima Campestre.<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Candle-lit<\/a>
Candle-lit laneways of Honda, Tolima<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Honda<\/strong><\/p>\n

A steamy town, Honda invited us warmly with candle-lit lanes, music-filled streets played by the local school kids and lots of dancing to folkloric tunes. Generations came together to introduce us to their town and we meandered gratefully to the sounds of Colombia\u2019s beat. Honda was another one of the stops on Rutis\u2019 map and we passed through to visit what the locals call Little Cartagena, the historical centre of the town. Think colonial and colourful, minus all the tourists. Nicknamed the City of Bridges, because there are 39 bridges which traverse the Magdalena River, Honda also features museums dedicated to the Mutis Route and elegant boutique hotels to rival even the best that Cartagena has to offer.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Locals<\/a>
Locals jamming in Honda<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Mariquita<\/strong><\/p>\n

Another area explored by Mutis and where he discovered many different species of plant life. We visited the House of the Second Botanical Expedition which houses artefacts, taxidermied animals and a garden full of conserved Canelo trees.<\/p>\n

\"Mariquita,<\/a>
Mariquita, Tolima<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ambalema<\/strong><\/p>\n

One of the culture epicentres of the Mutis Route is Ambalema. A small town situated on the banks of the Magdalena river. We sailed along the most important river in the country and spotted birds and watched the trees sway in the distance.<\/p>\n

\"Ambalema<\/a>
Ambalema Magdalena River, Tolima<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Making the effort to get off the regular tourist path gave us an insight into the real beauty of Colombia \u2013 the regional music, the beautiful fauna and flora, colourful characters and the secret charms of small towns. A series of must-visit destinations when you travel Colombia.<\/p>\n

Sarah<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Back in 1760 a Spanish scientist named Jos\u00e9 Celestino Mutis came over to travel Colombia to explore and document the native flora and fauna of this mysterious and majestic part of the Americas. In 1763 Mutis asked his motherland to sponsor his expedition and 20 LONG years later, the king gave him the OK. Ol\u00e9! […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0},"categories":[3,115,128,624,625,626,66,97,623,65,392,1531],"tags":[2868,223,2875,2777,2936,345,2947],"yoast_head":"\nThe Ruta Mutis \u2013 Jungle jaunts, cultural heritage sites and the Magdalena River - 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\/2013\/01\/the-ruta-mutis-jungle-jaunts-cultural-heritage-sites-and-the-magdalena-river\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Ruta Mutis \u2013 Jungle jaunts, cultural heritage sites and the Magdalena River\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Back in 1760 a Spanish scientist named Jos\u00e9 Celestino Mutis came over to travel Colombia to explore and document the native flora and fauna of this mysterious and majestic part of the Americas. 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I\u2019m from Brisbane, Australia, but have been travelling through Colombia since 2006 when I first got to opportunity to visit Medell\u00edn, the City of Eternal Spring. At the beginning of this year I sold all my belongings, moved out of my apartment and bought a ticket to Colombia and now I'm living like a Rolo in Bogot\u00e1. I love living in this city and I can't wait to see what else is in store for me here.\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/seecolombia.travel\/blog\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/seecolombia.travel\/blog\/author\/sarah\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Ruta Mutis \u2013 Jungle jaunts, cultural heritage sites and the Magdalena River - Colombia Travel Blog by See Colombia Travel","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/seecolombia.travel\/blog\/2013\/01\/the-ruta-mutis-jungle-jaunts-cultural-heritage-sites-and-the-magdalena-river\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Ruta Mutis \u2013 Jungle jaunts, cultural heritage sites and the Magdalena River","og_description":"Back in 1760 a Spanish scientist named Jos\u00e9 Celestino Mutis came over to travel Colombia to explore and document the native flora and fauna of this mysterious and majestic part of the Americas. 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