laguna verde volcan azufral

An amazing lake at 4000 meters of altitude. To get there take a local bus from Pasto to Tuquerres, 45 minutes, US $ 4. There is nothing but taxis to go to the hut where you register to enter the park. Round trip from Tuquerres US $ 25, tell the driver at what time you are planning to go back. You need at least 4 hours to explore the area

Well worth the trip for this bright green, volcanically warmed, body of water. Prior reviews have provided good info about how to get here. I'd reiterate the advice to leave early. We left from Ipiales at a little after 8:30am in a private car, thinking we would arrive at 10:30. Massive traffic delayed our arrival until 11, and we didn't begin walking until 11:30 or so. By the time we arrived at the lake, some weather was dropping in and we couldn't hike down to the water. Other than the altitude, the hike isn't much of a challenge, although there are some steeper and muddier parts on the path down to the lake, You might want mud boots or hiking boots for that piece. The water is apparently warm and worth the extra 1/2 k of walking. Be aware that the weather changes radically in this park. Layer your clothes, include a hat and gloves, and have something waterproof along. Snacks and a bathroom are available at the parking lot.

From Pasto, go to the bus terminal and ask for a bus to the city of Tuquerres. It costs between 8,000-10,000 pesos (US $4.00-5.00) and takes about 2 or 2 ½ hours, depending on the bus driver and the weather. You can also go from Ipiales.From the bus terminal in Tuquerres, you can take a taxi to Volcan Azufral/ Laguna Verde (the laguna is in the volcano, so they are the same destination). The taxi costs 25,000-30,000 pesos (US $13.00-15.00), but that’s for the taxi, not per person. If you go alone, it will cost 25,000-30,000 pesos, but if you go with one or more people, you can all split the price. It takes about 30 minutes to arrive to the hike entrance because half of the route is on a dirt road with a lot of pot holes, so the taxis have to drive really slowly. The taxis don’t pass by the entrance and the cell phone service is limited, so arrange with the taxi driver a time to be picked up, or exchange numbers so you can call. We allotted 5 hours for the hike and arranged a time with our taxi driver. We paid him 10,000 pesos and said we would pay the other 50,000 pesos (25,000-30,000 pesos there and 25,000-30,000 pesos back, 50,000-60,000 pesos TOTAL) when he picked us up. We said that if we were late, we would pay him extra. Arrange something with your taxi driver, ideally before you chose a taxi to take you. You’ll be dropped off at the hike entrance. There is a cabin that has a small store and bathrooms. There is also a park ranger that will want your information (name and country of origin) and a park entrance fee of 1,000 pesos (US $ .50) per person. The entrance fee goes towards paying the park rangers (to supplement their income) and to help keep the trail clean. Time/distance:The hike can be divided into two parts. You can hike from the entrance to a lookout of the lagoon, which is about 6 kilometers, easy with slight inclines and takes 1 ½ - 2 hours depending on how often you stop to take pictures and your pace. In the second part, you can walk down to the lagoon. It’s about 700 meters down to the lagoon, but it’s really steep and has a lot of stairs. It took us about 30-40 minutes to walk down, but it’s WORTH IT!! You can walk around the lagoon and take a lot of amazing photos. Walking back up is more difficult because it’s steep and the elevation is about 4000 meters (make sure you’re already acclimated to the altitude before doing this hike)When we did the hike, we were both acclimated to high altitudes and experienced hikers. We spent about 1 ½ hours walking to the look out (we did stop to take a lot of pictures though). We spent about 1 ½ hours walking down to the lagoon, taking pictures, and walking back up. We spent about half an hour at the lagoon and we could have easily spent more time, but we needed to get back to meet our taxi driver. Then we spent about half an hour eating lunch at the lookout, and 1 ½ hours walking back, for a total of 5 hours. I would recommend leaving at least 5 hours if you want to do the hike and go down to the lagoon.What you need for the hike and other advice: camera (with charged batteries) food and water – you can buy a few things at the store at the beginning of the hike, but the selection is limited. It’s best to buy food and water before going to Tuquerres. We packed an entire lunch, 1 ½ liters of water each, and snacks. Depending on your pace, the hike can be 5 or more hours, so be prepared with food and water! Warm clothes! It can be really cold, so wear lots of layers. I recommend pants, a long sleeve, a fleece, a jacket, rain jacket or poncho, gloves, and a hat. We hiked in regular tennis shoes and were fine. The trail is well maintained and even, so we were comfortable not using hiking boots. Layers are best because while hiking it can get warm, especially if the sun comes out. Although cold, the hike wasn’t snowy! Wear sunscreen! Because of the elevation, the sun is strong, even through the clouds. We both got sunburned on our faces and peeled.  Go early to avoid the crowds during peak times: Holy Week, December, January and on Sundays. o We started at about 8am, and that was perfect!o During any time that’s not peak season, like the week, the park ranger said that the trail is pretty empty and they might only see one or two groups a week.  The trail is safe. Pack your garbage out.

Just an amazing place, I was left speechless once I saw the beauty of the lake and environment once I made to the top!! The calm and beauty of the place is out of this world. Not gonna talk about how to get there because the previous reviews pretty much covered everything in detail. Just want to encourage people to visit COLOMBIA and discover this magnificent places. There's much to do and live in Colombia, and as the Colombian tourism campaign says, the only risk is wanting to stay.

It's amazing and absolutely worth it. Here's how you get there:It's reachable from Pasto (around 2.5H) and Ipiales (around 1H). Here are directions from Ipiales, but it's the same from Pasto - just leave much earlier. From bus station in Ipiales/Pasto take a shuttle to Tuquerres, it will cost you COP 7.000 (from Ipiales) but you can haggle it down to COP 6.000. They will drop you off close to main square - where you'll be catching your next ride. You have two (maybe 3) options:1. Taxi. Note, that taxi takes you to refuge and it's still 5km walk from there. The taxi cost COP 20.000 and if you want to have a ride back - agree ion pick up time.2. Local bus. There should be a local bus, COP 1 that would take you a small village 7km away from the top. The bus number is 1, but spending an hour at the plaza and 2-3 walking back to town I haven't seen it and don't know how often they run.3. Walk. You can walk - it's 15km one way. What I did is also an option, but you need to speak Spanish. I hired a local guy to take me up there on his motorbike for COP 7.000 and walked back. He dropped me off at refuge, just like the taxi.It's totally worth it! I was a bit late and got some afternoon rain on my way back, but it was still worth it. The laguna is truly something special and you will most likely have it for yourself.At the refuge you need to register and pay COP 1.000. There are restrooms there.To get back to Ipiales or Pasto is couple of blocks away from main square. Leave early in the morning to avoid the afternoon rain.

Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous. Another place we wouldn't have stopped at but for being stuck in Pasto for a few days, but so glad we did! There is much confusion out there as to the distances, etc, so here goes:The bus ride (takes off from the regular bus terminal many, many times a day) from Pasto to Tuquerres was about 2.5 hours, and drops you off right in the middle of town at the Tuquerres terminal. Walk -away- from the terminal - the taxis there charge too much, and are too aggressive. Taxis elsewhere should charge COP 25,000 each way at most (gas was hard to get when we went, so prices were up) to bring you to the cabana of the park rangers. They won't wait for you - you can arrange a time for them to pick you up (everyone said it would take four hours, as if we all hike at the same speed - we took five), or you can call them if you have a cell phone. The park rangers have cell phones, but didn't have minutes, so our taxi driver said he would call every half hour starting at the four hour mark. (That's service!) Unless you get some burly vehicle, like a jeep or a quad, the taxi will stop at this cabana. From there, it's six kilometers to the top of the crater rim, then 800 m from the rim down to the lake. There's a short section of the 800 m downhill that's pretty steep, but otherwise it's all pretty easy - except for the elevation. You're up around 4000 m, which is over 13,000 ft, so breath is short, hence the five hours for not quite 14 km.The whole walk is beautiful. We were in the clouds on the way up, which gave it an ethereal feeling. It cleared on the way down, so we had great views out into the green, rolling farmlands around. Fantastic!Apparently, though, some kind of four-wheeled vehicle makes it up to the crater rim, though, since we saw tracks the whole way - so if you only want to do the 800 m bit to the lake, ask around town about a burlier vehicle. We were a little frustrated at first over the confusion (people in town, including taxi drivers, didn't seem to realize the distances/road conditions), but I think we're all happy we ended up with the full hike.The only problem in the day was the ride back. We caught a collectivo minivan, and the driver was insane. Wheels were screeching around corners next to sheer cliffs. Not fun. Perhaps it would have been best to ask around if a safer driver/bigger bus was available?

Son una hora 45 minutos para llegar a esta maravillosa obra de Dios en la naturaleza atravesamos un micro bosque y ascendemos a los 4.100 mts sobre el nivel del mar es llamada así, debido a las grandes minas de azufre de sus profundidades, por las cuales la laguna toma un color verde esmeralda. La laguna no posee ni flora ni fauna. Sus aguas no son aptas para seres vivos. Su riqueza es minera.Posee un entorno paramuno, dueño de la chorrera y su ecosistema cenagoso que tiene la laguna. En el "nudo de los Pastos", lugar donde la Cordillera de los Andes se ramifica en tres cadenas montañosas conocidas como la cordillera occidental, cordillera central y la cordillera oriental.

Yo hice el recorrido en medio dia. Sali de Pasto a las 5:30 am en las buseticas del Valle de Atriz a $6000 el pasaje hasta Tuquerres. El viaje duro 1h30. Desayune baratisimo en la panaderia Real Danesa en la esquina de la terminal super barato! Huevos revueltos com salchicha a $3000!!!! Posteriormente busque un servicio de guia que por llevarme en moto ida y vuelta hasta la reserva+el servicio de guia me cobro $50.000. Si el dia esta nublado, lo mejor es llevar ropa de montaña(zapatos de trail, pantalon termico, una buena chaqueta, guantes, gorro y todo lo que sirva para protegerte del viento frio y de la eventual lluvia). La distancia desde la cabaña hasta la laguna son 6k. Si no tienes buen estado fisico es mejor caminar lentamente. La laguna es hermosa! Se queda uno sin palabras de ver un sitio tan espectacular! Como la laguna esta en el fondo del crater del volcan Azufral, la subida de vuelta es bastante dificil por el tema de la altura. Bajando me demore 15min, subiendo como 40min incluyendo varias paradas. De vuelta en el refugio puedes pedir cafe caliente con arepa, es muy reconfortante. Existe la posibilidad de quedarte durmiendo en la cabaña, solo que debes reservar con antelacion. Lo mismo si se va a desayunar o almorzar, hay que reservar. Yo llegue a las 8am a la reserva y sali de nuevo de para Pasto como a la 1:30pm. Como dije antes, el tiempo del recorrido depende del estado fisico de cada uno. Bueno, recomiendo esta visita a todas aquellas personas que gusten de la naturaleza. Los telefonos para las reservas e info son 3167133823, 3155143033, 3177377705, 3122661989.

De lo más bello q hay en Colombia hablando de paisajes naturales. Hay que subir caminando durante 2 horas y ya se divisan paisajes increíbles. La entrada al parque solo cuesta 1. 000 pesos más o menos US50 centavos. Vale mucho la pena, la recomendación es llevar ropa impermeable.

Hay que ir preparado para caminar en la altura, con buen abrigo, alimentación, bebidas y buena cámara. El descenso, tras 2 horas de caminata, es fácil, pero el regreso te va a costar por la altura (si eres fumador, piénsalo dos veces o anímate a dejar el cigarro)

Es un paseo bastante agradable aunque requiere de cierto sacrificio, primero si estas en pasto tienes que ir hasta tuquerres (1 hora y media) y luego que te lleven hasta el volcan azufral que esta cerca de ahi (si puedes ir con una agencia de turismo mejor), el ascenso en el volcan puede durar unas 3 horas caminando despacio. una vez en la laguna te das cuenta que es muy muy bonita, tiene un color verde esmeralda que no lo miraras en ninguna otra parte. alla no hay sitios que vendan comida asi que recomiendo llevar refrigerio (el popular cuarto de pollo del mister!!!! si sales desde pasto). el descenso dura un poquitico menos. Es un recorrido que se te va el dia si saliste desde pasto. pero es interesante hacerlo, es mas, pretendo volver a ir alla a mitad de año.buena suerte si deciden ir!!!!

Para ir, recomiendo pasar la noche anterior en Túquerres (el hotel Inti Ande me pareció muy bueno), y madrugar al volcán, ya que hay que caminar bastante. El día que fuimos, llovió prácticamente durante todo el recorrido, y hubo vientos fuertes por momentos, es una lástima porque esto impidió que disfrutáramos al máximo de la hermosa vegetación, sin embargo lo recomiendo 100%, es un lugar maravilloso. Observamos la laguna negra y la verde, ya cuando estábamos llegando a ellas, y no desde el mirador, debido a la niebla. Sugiero que vayan muy bien abrigados (guantes, gorro, capa impermeable y una buena chaqueta), con zapatos con suela de buen agarre, y que lleven líquido y barras energéticas, chocolates y/o bocadillos.

La época de la visita era demasiado frio por los vientos de agosto. Pero eso no impidió disfrutar de el espectáculo natural de la Laguna Verde. Es un plan que se puede disfrutar con amigos o familia. La caminata se recompensa con el espectacular verde esmeralda de la Laguna. Toda una joya natural.

Es un lugar increíble, la vista, el ambiente, todo genial para ir con amigos! Hace muchísimo frió pero nada que no puedas solucionar con ropa adecuada

Jamás pensé ver un lugar así en mi Colombia querida. Vale la pena la caminata de 6km, es dura, hay que tener buen estado físico, llevar comida, subir muy madrugados porque nosotros llegamos a las 2pm y no nos iban a dejar subir pq la ultima entrada debe ser a la 1pm, pero tan tarde es terrible porque no se ve nada por la neblina y nos tocó subir y bajar corriendo pq todos teníamos buen estado físico.