Colombia (Lonely Planet, 5th Edition) - Jens Porup [85]
Hotel Casa Muñoz ( 313 829 1073, 789 0328; Carrera 5 No 7-28; r per person COP$15,000) Located on the main plaza, this new hotel has clean, comfy rooms with cable TV, firm beds and private baths with hot water, all surrounding a pretty courtyard filled with geraniums. The 2nd-floor rooms have hidden lofts that can sleep larger groups.
La Posada Del Molino ( 310 494 5076, 312 352 9121; laposadadelmolinoelcocuy@yahoo.es; Carrera 3 No 7-51; r per person high/low season COP$30,000/15,000) This 220-year-old renovated colonial mansion is hands-down the best hotel in the region. The building has quite a colorful history – and is reputedly haunted! The six rooms are decorated with fine colonial furnishings and have funky private baths. The gorgeous fossil-strewn courtyard has a babbling brook that will lull you to sleep. The hotel’s restaurant (mains COP$4000 to COP$6000) is also the best in town, serving up great local trout and other traditional dishes.
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Drinking & Entertainment
Most drinking in town takes place in the many billiards halls or at the cafes on the plaza that transform into bars at night. The only real nightclub, Fogata (Carrera 5 No 7-60; 7pm-midnight Fri), has a rooftop dance floor and covered seating areas but is only open on Friday night.
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Getting There & Away
All buses arrive and depart from their respective offices on the plaza along Carrera 5.
Luxurious Concorde buses to Bogotá depart from the plaza, at Carrera 5 No 7-16, at 4am and 6pm daily (COP$35,000, 11 hours); in Bogotá, buses depart from the capital’s main terminal to El Cocuy at 7am and 7:30pm daily (COP$40,000, 11 hours). Less comfortable Libertadores and Gacela buses to Bogotá operate on alternate days, departing from Carrera 5 No 7-34, at 5am and 7pm daily (COP$35,000, 11 hours); they depart Bogotá to El Cocuy at 6:30am and 8pm daily.
To Güicán, Cootradatil buses depart at noon and 4pm (COP$2500, 30 minutes).
To Bucaramanga, take the Concorde bus to Capitanejo and then change buses. The total trip takes about 14 hours along mostly unpaved roads that are prone to landslides and delays. You might be better off returning to Tunja and catching the frequent northbound buses to Buca and beyond.
Click here for information on getting to and from the park.
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GÜICÁN
8 / pop 7869 / elev 2963m
Though not as photogenic or traveler friendly as El Cocuy, the chilly village of Güicán has nevertheless become the main starting point for trekkers heading up to the mountains, mainly because it provides a closer and easier hike to PNN El Cocuy. And for nonhikers, Güicán offers plenty of sights and tourist attractions that don’t necessarily involve walking uphill. Most of the city’s colonial architecture was destroyed in fires and civil wars. It was replaced with modern, new buildings painted in bold, bright colors. Güicán is the heart of the indigenous U’wa community. Religious tourism is also a major source of revenue, associated with the miracle of the Virgen Morenita de Güicán.
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VIRGEN MORENITA DE GÜICÁN
Güicán is known throughout Colombia for the miracle of the Virgen Morenita de Güicán – an apparition of the dark-skinned Virgin Mary that appeared to the indigenous U’Wa people. The story begins in the late 17th century when Spanish conquistadores arrived in the area and set about converting the U’wa to Christianity. Rather than bow to Spanish rule, U’wa chief Güicány, for whom the town is named, led his tribe to their deaths by leaping off the cliff now called El Peñol de Los Muertos. Güicány’s wife Cuchumba was spared because she was pregnant. Cuchumba and a handful of survivors fled to the mountains and hid in a cave. On February 26, 1756, an apparition of the Virgin Mary mysteriously appeared on a cloth. The image of Mary had a dark complexion and indigenous features, just like the U’wa, who quickly converted to Christianity.