Parque Arqueológico

Top choice


Scattered across the hills around the little town of San Andrés de Pisimbalá, Tierradentro's Parque Arqueológico includes four tomb sites, an above-ground statuary and two museums. Tickets for the Parque Arqueológico are inside the museum complex, a 25-minute walk from the town. You're given a 'passport,' valid for two consecutive days, enabling entrance to all sites, accessible via a 14km walk. Visit the museums before the tombs, as there's not much in the way of explanation at the sites themselves.

Measuring from 2m to 7m in diameter, the tombs are scooped out of the soft volcanic rock that forms the region's undulating hillsides. They vary widely in depth; some are just below ground level, while others are as deep as 9m, reachable via knee-killing stone steps. The domed ceilings of the largest tombs are supported by pillars. Many are painted with riotous red and black geometric motifs on white backgrounds, others with inquisitive human faces and animal forms.

Little is known about the people who built the tombs and the statues – the Páez (or Nasa) indigenous group that lives in the area today is not thought to be connected to the ruins. Most likely they were of different cultures, and the people who scooped out the tombs preceded those who carved the statues. Some researchers place the 'tomb' civilization somewhere between the 7th and 9th centuries AD, with the tombs reserved for the elite, and shallow pits holding the bodies of their servants, while the 'statue' culture appears to be related to the later phase of San Agustín development, estimated to have taken place some 500 years later.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby attractions

1. Museo Arqueológico

0.01 MILES

Dedicated to the agricultural civilization behind the Tierradentro tombs, this museum contains pottery urns used to keep the ashes of the deceased. There…

2. Museo Etnográfico

0.08 MILES

With a focus on post-Tierradentro indigenous communities, the Museo Etnográfico displays the utensils and artifacts of the Páez people alongside exhibits…

3. Segovia

0.33 MILES

The most important burial site has 28 excavated tombs, some of which have extremely well-preserved geometric pattern decorations. Twelve of the tombs have…

4. El Aguacate

0.62 MILES

The most remote burial site at Tierradentro, El Aguacate (2000m) is reachable via a stiff 1¾-hour climb from San Andrés de Pisimbalá, with the best views…

5. El Duende

0.72 MILES

A 15-minute walk up from Segovia, this site (1850m) has 12 tombs in total, five of which are open to visitors, although their decoration hasn't been…

6. Alto de San Andrés

0.73 MILES

This site (1750m) is visible from San Andrés de Pisimbalá and has seven large tombs; one of which, Tomb 5, has remarkably well-preserved depictions of…

7. El Tablón

0.9 MILES

This site (1700m) consists of a collection of nine weather-worn stone statues of warriors, women and priests, located under one roof and similar to those…

8. Iglesia de Pisimbalá

1.05 MILES

This charming thatched adobe church was once the centerpiece of the town until it was torched by arsonists. It is now covered by an incongruous tin roof…

  • placement: superzone
  • path: Destinations/POIs/superzone
  • possible size: [970, 250], [970, 90], [728, 90], [1, 1],
  • targeting:
    {
      "url": "colombia/southwest-colombia/tierradentro/attractions/parque-arqueologico/a/poi-sig/1303528/363336",
      "position": "superzone"
    }