Hato La Aurora Reserve

Introduction

Wedged between the Andes Mountains and the Amazon Rainforest in Colombia is the “Llanos” Region. An area of plains and savannah that go on for miles. Much of the land belongs to the cattle ranchers and cowboys or “Llaneros”. At first it may seem desolate, but it is anything but.

The plains are governed by the wet and dry season. Half the year it rains nearly every day, flooding is commonplace, and the fields are a bright green. Travel becomes more difficult as dirt roads turn to mud.

The dry season means all water is deduced to small puddles and watering holes. The fields turn brown and the mud cracks. This happens to be the best time for wildlife viewing, as the animals gather around the water holes and traveling becomes easier.

Wildlife Highlights

The Llanos is filled with weird and wonderful Colombian wildlife. Upon arrival, the amount of bird diversity is immediately noticeable. Even on the six-hour drive to the lodge, you’ll drive by various ibises, horned screamers, burrowing owls, caracaras, hawks, herons, egrets, jabirus.

It’s also one of the best places to see capybara, the world’s largest rodent. Hundreds of them wander in groups around the reserve. I was not used to being surrounded by so many large furry creatures, upon arrival it felt a bit like being in a fantasy movie. It’s tough to not be startled by these large animals when they crunch their way through the bushes unexpectedly.

The reserve is also home to reptiles - the most impressive of which is the anaconda, the largest snake in the world (by weight). With so much prey available, these impossibly huge snakes aren’t uncommon to encounter on the reserve. We were able to see one up-close during our visit as it digested its meal under the shade of some overhanging roots.

The caiman is also a guaranteed sighting here. They look similar to alligators and crocodiles, but a bit smaller. They spend the day basking in the sun and swimming around the watering holes and ponds of the Llanos. The orinoco crocodile, a critically endangered species, can also be seen here.

Iguanas are also abundant, particularly around the grounds of the lodge. For those used to seeing them in pets, it’s fascinating to watch these giant lizards freely walk across the ground and climb up the treetops.

Then there are a few more gems - the tamandua or lesser anteater and giant anteater can be seen here if you are lucky. They are alien-like, walking on their front knuckles, and sporting tube-like faces. They are the poster-child of the plains region, and unfortunately are a common victim of roadkill by the locals.

Then, finally there is the crown jewel of the reserve, the jaguar. They’ve appeared relatively recently, but through conservations efforts, their numbers are already increasing dramatically with each passing year. Unfortunately, during our five-day stay we weren’t lucky enough to see one, but there were multiple other groups staying at the lodge who were able to see them, some even witnessing a mother jaguar taking care of her cubs. With the success of the reserve, it may be easier to see them in coming years.

Logistics

The best way to explore the reserve is by staying at the Juan Solito Ecolodge. You’ll want to fly into the city of Yopal, just a 1-hour flight from the capital city of Bogotá (roundtrip tickets are usually around $60 USD). If you arrange transportation with the lodge, which is recommended, they’ll pick you up from the airport. From here, it’s around a six-hour drive to the lodge (more during rainy season).

Below are some of the main activities that are offered, what you do depends on what you want and also what’s logistically available on each given day at the lodge.

Activities:

- Jeep ride into the reserve (at sunrise) and walk back to the lodge. We enjoyed this a lot. It’s a long walk, but it’s nice way to enjoy the peacefulness of the reserve without the sound of the jeep’s motor. It also gives you the chance to walk through the gallery forest/jungle, the best area to see howler monkeys and the stunning wire-tailed manakin. The only drawbacks to walking is the lack of shade outside the forest, and it’s also easier to get ticks.

- Horseback riding - We also enjoyed this, it’s fun to experience the Llanos in the way that the locals have for generations. Plus it’s a thrill in itself crossing the river to the reserve on horseback.

- Jeep safari through the reserve (depends on wildlife) - What you’ll be doing most of the time. Wildlife is unpredictable, so much of the trip is driving through the reserve trying to see what you can find. Success will depend on your luck, best to enter with no expectations.

- Look for jaguars - It seems like most visitors to the lodge are split into two camps, those who want to see anything and those who want to see jaguars. If your only goal is to see a jaguar, you’re going to spend a lot of time in a parked jeep waiting, and missing out on everything else. Keep this in mind, and decide how much time you want to dedicate to each of the above activities.

Prices are very reasonable for such an incredible wildlife experience. We paid around $140 USD per person, per night. The price includes lodging, three meals a day plus snacks, roundtrip transport from the airport to the lodge (six-hours each way), all activities - horseback riding/jeep safari/boat crossings and guides. Plus you can get a discount if you don’t hire a translator, get a cheaper room, or find someone to share the transportation with.

Worth Noting:

• There are a lot of ticks at the reserve. Particularly under the forested/shaded areas, it’s not as bad in the open grassland areas. It’s helpful to wear long socks and long pants. The local secret to deal with ticks is to apply vaporub.

• Colombia’s tourism industry is not as well developed as countries like Costa Rica, so adjust your expectations. Some guides are more experienced than others, during our visit there were repeated problems with the walkie-talkie system that’s used to communicate the jaguar’s whereabouts - resulting in us missing a sighting, and also it seemed that there weren’t enough jeeps to take all the tourists out at the same time meaning some days we were shuffled into non-jeep activities based upon this.