Leaving Finca Bonanza I headed southeast over the Andes to the town of San Agustin and the San Agustin Archaeological Park. Passing pretty mountain towns and more alpine paramo with frailejones, I drove through town and camped at a nice place called La Cumbre del Macizo.
The San Agustin Archaeological Park preserves the remains of a pre-Columbian culture of the upper Magdalena River basin that dates as far back as 6,000 years ago. Most significant is the statuary that dates from 300 A.D. to about 1,000 A.D. There are more than 300 stone sculptures carved from volcanic tuff representing a major funerary ceremonial center. Each statue is unique with human and animal features. First visited by European explorers in the 18th century, major excavations began in the last 100 years, uncovering numerous grave sites underneath the mounds and vegetation. It was fascinating wandering around the site and seeing the different statues and grave sites.
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