Beautiful towns of Huila to visit near Neiva

Pitalito is a coffee town considered the largest coffee producer in Colombia and the second most populous in the department of Huila. Pitalito is part of the towns to visit in Huila, it is located in the southeast of the department and is 3 hours and 41 minutes from Neiva with a distance of 187 km, it has a warm climate with an average temperature of 18 °C to 21 °C. It is a town that is characterized by its picturesque Valley of Laboyos, which are part of the Colombian Massif and the Andean Belt, declared a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in 1979; that is why those born in Pitalito are called Laboyanos.

In addition to getting to know the historical beauty of the town, something you can do in Pitalito is visit tourist sites such as the Serranía Peñas Blancas Natural Park, the Guaitipan Lagoon, the Yamboro Agroecological Technopark 7, Nakama Mirador Pitalito, the José Hilario Principal Park López and the Cueva de Los Guácharos National Natural Park. Pitalito is also famous for small-town festivities such as the Laboyano folkloric festival in May, the Pitalito National Craft Fair from November 11 to 15, and for cozy lodging options such as the Hotel Guaitipan Plaza and the Hostal Yamboró.

It is located south of the department of Huila and 219 kilometers from Neiva, which would be 4 hours and 20 minutes, and is one of the most important in the department because it is a town with an indigenous history of more than 5,000 years before the colony of Colombia and surrounded by natural beauties. It is considered a small town with a warm humid climate with temperatures between 12 °C to 24 °C. Its archeology stands out, in which several hundred monolithic sculptures have been found, indicating that San Agustín was the commercial and religious center of the indigenous communities.

San Agustín has its festivities such as the patron saint festivities are celebrated at the end of August and tourist places to visit such as La Chaquira, Purutal, Alto de Las Chinas, Alto de Lavapatas, Bosque De Las Estatuas, El Salto del Mortiño, the Alto de Los Dioses Archaeological Park, El Tablón, La Pelota, the Strait of the Magdalena River and the San Agustín Archaeological Park, which is one of the most important archaeological sites not only in Colombia but in the world and was also declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco in 1995. If you decide to get to know this beautiful town, you should eat at El Fogón Restaurant, La Gata Parrilla San Agustín, and Casa Jaguar restaurant. You can stay at Glamping Nacimiento, Hostal Palo Alto Cabaña en Pino, Cabañas Numbana, and the Asgard hotel.

Villavieja is one of the largest towns in Huila, it is also an old, colonial and quiet town surrounded by the most important tropical dry forest ecosystems in Colombia, called the Tatacoa Desert.

It is located in the north of the department of Huila, 57 minutes from Neiva with a distance of 40 km, which is why its climate is hot and sunny with temperatures that go up to 34°C. Villavieja is a beautiful town in which its beautiful landscapes formed by the Magdalena River and the majestic Tatacoa Desert stand out. Villavieja, one of the beautiful towns in Huila, has its festivals, so a good date to go in for the patron saint festival of the Immaculate Conception is August.

Villavieja has large hotels such as the Dunas Tatacoa Hotel, the Villa Paraiso Villavieja Hotel, the Tatacoa Star Eco Hotel, and the Bethel Bio Luxury Hotel. Famous restaurants such as Sol del Desierto Cafe Bar Restaurant and Tatacoa Brew pub plant. The most important tourist sites in the department such as the Tatacoa Desert, but there are also El Valle de Los Deseos, the main park, the Astronomical Observatory, the Municipal Palace, the Malecón, the Villavieja Paleontological Museum and the Casa del Totumo that recreates accessories based on Totumo, a typical tree of the Tatacoa desert.

It is one of the towns in Huila closest to Neiva that you should visit and is located to the west of the department of Huila, at a distance of 102 kilometers from Neiva with a 2-hour drive. This small city is a pretty, colonial town hidden between the mountains and the Páez river. There are places to visit such as the main Plaza Paicol, the Church of Santa Rosa de Lima, the Hacienda El Juncal, the La Caja del Agua cave, the Casada La Motilona, the Cascada de la Serpiente, and the Páez river where you can do rafting. We can also highlight its warm climate with an average temperature of 27°C, its patron saint festivities such as the Tourist Cultural Agroindustrial Fair in August, its colonial architecture, the romanticism of its streets, and the surrounding nature made up of mountains, caves and great waterfalls ideal for lovers of adventure tourism.

As for accommodation, you can stay at the Hotel Paicol Tesalia, the Cholupa Hostel Paicol, the La Chorrera hotel, and the Sueño De JE Hotel and try the delicious typical dishes in restaurants such as the La Puerta del Viento restaurant.

The department of Huila is made up of 37 municipalities, of which the towns most visited by travelers are Pitalito, San Agustín by Parque Arqueológico, Villavieja for the Tatacoa desert and Neiva which is the capital of the department. But beyond these places, Huila has more places to offer you in terms of tourism, which is why we mention other essential sites:

1. High of the Idols and High of the Stones
2. Cave of the Guácharos
3. Bethany Reservoir
4. Nevado del Huila
5. Rivera Hot Springs
6. San Agustín Archaeological Park
7. Barn Jumping
8. Mortiños Falls
9. The Magdalena Strait
10. Juncal Beach
11. El Quimbo Dam.