Colombia (Lonely Planet, 5th Edition) - Jens Porup [210]
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Entertainment
In the center, El Sotareño ( 824 1564; Carrera 6 No 8-05; 4pm-3am Mon-Sat) is a 40-year-old classic, and plays tango, bolero and ranchera (traditional music of Mexico) on scratched old vinyls. For salsa, try Bar La Iguana ( 316 281 0576; Calle 4 No 9-67; 4pm-3am Mon-Sat), which cranks the volume on weekends and shows videos on a large projection screen. For a taste of Ecuador, Peña Bar Killa Raymi ( 822 0603; Calle 6 No 9-51; 5pm-3am Wed-Sat) hosts live, amplified panpipe musicians, and has a great atmosphere.
Late night, your discos of choice are Millenio ( 829 6734; www.millenio.com.co; Autopista Norte; cover COP$10,000; 9pm-3am Fri & Sat), which plays techno in a warehouselike space, and Palo Santo ( 314 623 3690; Autopista Norte; cover $10,000 consumible; 7pm-3am Thu-Sat), where the crowd dances on table tops to Colombian crossover. Both are COP$7000, 15-minute taxi rides from the center.
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Getting There & Away
AIR
Aeropuerto Guillermo León Valencia is right behind the bus terminal, 1km north of the city center. Avianca, Satena and Aires fly to Bogotá. Satena also flies to Guapí.
BUS
The bus terminal is 1km north of the city center. There are frequent services to Cali by both bus (COP$12,000, three hours) and minibus (COP$20,000, two hours). There are several daily buses direct to Armenia (COP$42,000, seven hours).
There are three morning buses to San Agustín (COP$18,000, five hours). The road is being paved, so expect this travel time to shorten. There are also a couple of buses to Tierradentro (COP$18,000, five hours).
There are hourly buses to Pasto (COP$30,000, six hours). The road from Popayán to the Ecuadorean border is one of the few major routes in Colombia you should not travel after dark, not because of guerrilla activity but rather late-night bandits.
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COCONUCO
There are two thermal springs near the town of Coconuco, south of Popayán on the road to San Agustín. On weekends they are elbow-to-elbow kids and rum-soaked parents; during the week they are empty, and you’ll likely be the only guest.
On weekends and evenings people come to party while loud music blares at 24-hour Agua Hirviendo ( 314 618 4178; admission COP$4000; 24hr). You read that right, a 24-hour thermal springs. Several cabins rent rooms nearby (ahem, both by the hour and overnight), and adjacent restaurants serve meals until late, including breakfast. There are two large thermal pools and waterslides for the kids, all set amid rolling green hills, at an altitude of 1800m.
The water is not nearly as piping hot as Agua Hirviendo, but Termales Aguatibia ( 824 1161, 315 578 6111; termaguatibia@yahoo.es; admission COP$5000; 8am-7pm) is a more family-oriented spa and has a lot less concrete. Set at an altitude of 2560m amid spectacular green scenery, the restaurant has great views of the countryside and serves budget meals (under COP$10,000). There are three thermal pools, a thermal mud springs and a small thermal lake – you can rent inflatable rafts (COP$4000 per hour). There are several short walks nearby, and you can also rent horses (COP$4000 per hour). A fourth pool was under construction at the time of our visit.
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PARQUE NACIONAL NATURAL (PNN) PURACé
Forty-five kilometers east of Popayán along the unpaved road to La Plata lies this 83,000-hectare national park ( 823 1279, in Popayán 823 1212; admission Colombians/foreigners COP$6000/15,000; 8am-6pm). It’s the only place in Colombia you can see condors. Three of the great vultures have been reintroduced to the park, and the park wardens will tempt them down with food so you can see them up close.
The visitors center (3350m) rents unheated cabins (campsite per person COP$6000, r per person Colombian/foreigner COP$20,000/26,000) and serves budget meals; there’s no hot water, but some