Colombia, Huila, the double Colombian town

Colombia, Huila COLOMBIA

Travel blog

The church in the center

Colombia, Huila, Colombia

The double Colombian town

Yes, you read it right. This is not a typo. This blog is about a town that is named Colombia, in the department of Huila, in Colombia, thus earning the name double Colombian. This little known town is located in the department of Huila, about 3 hours from the capital city of Neiva. The town is watered by the tributaries of the Magdalena river as with most rivers from Huila.

“

Colombia got its name as people that lived in this rural region felt that travelling to Alpujarra and Dolores was like travelling to another Colombia.

- Legends in Colombia, Huila

”

Neighbourhood towns of Colombia

A town bordering 3 other departments 

Colombia borders Barraya, its closest Huilan town, Alpujarra in Tolima,  Dolores in Tolima, Cabrera in Cundinamarca, fringes of Bogota’s sumpaz, La Uribe in Meta. However, there are roads only to Alpujarra and Barraya that exists today.

Why Colombia

An incomplete journey in 2017

I was fascinated when I heard of the existence of this little town for no other reason than its name. Back in 2017, I had this idea of visiting this town over a 2 day weekend. After an overnight stay in Neiva, I started my journey to Colombia. Colombia is located north east of Neiva and the only direct route to this town was to reach Neiva and then take a detour to Colombia. This was a Sunday afternoon and I had to work the next day. However, after a little research, I concluded that after Colombia, if I take the road to Alpujarra and then to Dolores, there was a connection to Prado, onwards to Saldaña, thus saving 5 hours worth of drive. It was well over 6:30 pm when I reached Colombia and after spending a bit of time, it was time to leave. Around 7 pm, I was all set to follow the route that Google Maps showed me, as waze did not have a route to Colombia back then, which was not surprising as the town hardly has travellers. Back to the story, I started the drive towards Dolores, following the route and some time later, I realized that there was no network and I did not download the offline map! I also realized that because of lack of network I almost was going around in circles in the rural roads. At this time, desperation set in and I started driving wildy and a stone hit the oil seal, which I did not realize until the oil indicator showed red! F*#$, here I was on a rural road, presumably in Colombia still with a rental

car that just broke down.

On the way from Neiva to Colombia

It is another story how I returned to Bogota the next day night. That is worthy of an entire blog. Anyways, this experience was both traumatic and expensive and I had bitter memories of not being able to complete the trip the way that I wanted to.

The road to Colombia

Older and wiser

The homework

Fast forward another couple of years and by now I was ofcourse a ‘bit’ older and shall we say wiser? I decided that taking into account the sheer distances of towns in Huila, it would be better to make the trip on a 3 day weekend. I also wanted to travel with a company this time and my pet. So planning for the trip was harder than I expected, as I could not find pet friendly hotels inside urban Neiva. So I picked up a hotel in Rivera, Huila, just about 30 minutes away from Neiva. 

The drive

High spirits

I had the day off on friday and I wanted to travel to Colombia on Saturday, taking advantage of the complete day. After a long drive, we arrived at Rivera, Huila on Friday evening. With my friend, after a good night’s rest in Rivera, planned the trip to Colombia. The idea was to start after breakfast and to visit the little town of Barraya and to arrive in Colombia, with lunch either in Colombia or in Barraya and to visit Villavieja in the evening to the Tatacoa desert.

Breakfast in Rivera, Huila 

The route - on one of the stretches towards Colombia 

The day was sunny and spirits happy, we set off to Colombia. I was especially happy with the day being sunny as the previous night was a thunderstorm.

Kora was also very much happy to accompany.

Barraya

Unexpected stop

We crossed to Neiva in no time, and we crossed the little town of Tello and arrived at Barraya. This was the time of the Colombian elections for the governors and mayors and we arrived right in time for a motorbike rally. Oh my god, I was a bit nervous as I was not sure how long this rally with motorbikes and people campaigning is going to last. I also thought of returning back if the rally was going to be for long. We parked the car and we walked around the center. It was full due to the weekend and the rally. There was not a space to sit, and after walking for sometime we decided it would be a good idea to have lunch as it was just after 1 pm. We found a restaurant near the church, however it was full. By this time, the rally had also moved on. 

The center in Barraya, Huila

The drive to Colombia 

Sunny day and familiar scenes

We pressed on, and it was a drive of an hour and a half. The scenes were so familiar from my last visit and little had changed in 2 years. We stopped on the way for a quick smoke and photos. There was little to no traffic and hence the drive was really enjoyable. 

We stopped at the point where the road forks into two routes - One towards Alpujarra in Tolima and the other to Colombia. This spot to me was special for a couple of reasons - I stopped at this very point the previous to click some pictures and I weighed on the wrong side of the 80s. Now almost after 2 years - I wanted to recreate the scene again, to mark my transformation to the lower 70s and also marking the completion of the trip that I so badly wanted to accomplish.

I still cannot describe my emotions at that time - One part of me was praying for no rain for the day and another half was nervous to see what lies ahead. Will I be able to complete the trip this time, now that I am better prepared. Will I be able to finish what I could not in 2017. 

River Cabrera, just outside Colombia 

At this time it was my friend that was driving and we took the route to Colombia. We still were an hour away from Colombia, though it was just about 30 kms away. This showed that somewhere in the route, the roads would not be good. Anyways, the landscape towards Colombia was amazing, with greenery and thistles alternating and the river Cabrera accompanying us on the way. 

The thistles, on the way to Colombia 

After a bit, we reached the part of the road that was not paved and that considerably slowed our drive. The road also was damaged and we had to take a diversion right through the river bed. A few minutes later we crossed the huge iron bridge over Ambica river. Ambica joins Cabrera river at a point called the tres esquinas (three corners). 

After crossing the river, we officially enter Colombia, the town - Colombia, Huila, Colombia.

Inside Colombia

A viewpoint over the colorful landscape

At last, we were in this beautiful town. We were really hungry and after parking the car, we looked for a restaurant. We found a lovely little place called Yormary. As there was not a vegetarian option, which ofcourse was expected, I had a soup with rice and plantains, with some lemonade. It costed 6500 pesos, this had to be the cheapest lunch I have ever had in Colombia, the country.

Lunch in Colombia 

Lunch in Colombia 

Street scene in Colombia 

After lunch, we explored the center a little more, with some friendly stares from the locals. Who would have imagined 2 Indians arriving at one of the least visited towns in colombia. 

One of the rituals that I do when I visit a town is to pay a visit to the local church in the center. Fortunately the church was open and so we went in. The lady that was cleaning the floor asked about us as she has not seen foreigners before. Then she made an offer to visit the bell tower of the church which she said offered excellent views to the countryside. 

Inside the main church in Colombia

A memorial to the soldiers from Colombia

I readily accepted the offer and her son showed me the way. After climbing a flight of ladder stairs, I arrived at the top. It was windy and the space was not very comfortable. However, the view to the surrounding country side was breathtaking. Surrounding the town were the dry mountains of the eastern andes. The mountains were filled with the thistles called the cardos in Spanish. According to their municipal website, this town is called the “La Ciudad de Los Cardos”. There are about 13 species of thistles that call this region home. There are some species that are edible as well.

View from the bell tower in Colombia

From the bell tower

Back in the center, we spent quiet a bit of time, watching as the day went by. A chapel on a hill was tempting to visit, however, we did not want to take risk by over staying our welcome in the town. Remember the diversion in the river bed? We wanted to cross it before dark. 

In the square of Colombia

More scenes in Colombia

More scenes in Colombia

More scenes in Colombia

We started the drive back at around 3:45 pm. We stopped on the way for more photos over the scenic river Ambica. And we continued our journey towards Villavieja, which is a story for another day. 

Venado river Colombia

Sunset in the region 

Colombia’s economy

Agriculture produces 

Just like other small towns, Colombia’s economy is dependent on agriculture. The produce includes beans, green peas, corn, plantains and a few other fruits. 

Street scene Colombia

Street scene Colombia

People

People of Colombia are called double colombians, being from the town and the country. As with other small towns, people are very friendly, helpful and curious. We were met with friendly stares in the town and people were curious to know why and how we found about the town. They were happy to show around. This lady from the church allowed me to go to the bell tower just shows how far people can go to make your comfortable. One lady also showed us a hill that overlooks the town having a cross, which was a hike trail. We took pictures however could not visit as the day was hot and we were not having the energy to do a hike.

After thoughts

A visit close to heart

Thus a trip to Colombia was complete this time without any issues whatsoever. My nervousness aside, I was relieved when the trip was complete. I may visit more beautiful places with distinctive landscapes, Colombia, Huila, Colombia will still be close to my heart for years to come.

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