Around the Oasis

Huila, a treasure to explore

Around the Oasis, Huila unrolls its wonders: waterfalls to descend, a starry desert, hot springs and the world's finest coffee. Our local partners open their doors — and Phoenix takes you there.

For every outing, the shuttle, transport and safety supervision are provided by Phoenix Initiative. You only have one thing to do: live the moment.

Water

1/2 journée·Sporty level

Canyoning at El Duende waterfall

Descend along living water, roped and guided.

Rivera's emblematic waterfall is descended on a rope, in the roar of the water and the cool of the canyon. Wetsuit, helmet and harness are provided, and a guide stays within earshot at every pitch. No experience is needed: the first metres are gentle, long enough to start trusting the rope. It is the most physical outing in Huila, and the one everyone talks about at dinner.

Independent service — paid on site (local partner provider)

Shuttle, transport and safety supervision provided by Phoenix Initiative.

Earth

1/2 journée·Moderate level

Introduction to climbing

First meters of rock with Huila guides.

The cliffs around Rivera are wonderfully suited to first routes: honest rock, generous holds, and a view over the valley from the first few metres. All equipment is provided and Huila guides belay every rope. You progress at your own pace, no stopwatch and no glancing at the person next to you — some climb three pitches, others one, and both count the same.

Independent service — paid on site (local partner provider)

Shuttle, transport and safety supervision provided by Phoenix Initiative.

Earth

1 journée·Gentle level· 2 h from the Oasis

The Tatacoa Desert

Ochre and red labyrinths, and one of Colombia's most beautiful starry skies.

Two hours from the Oasis, the Tatacoa unfolds its canyons of sculpted earth, ochre on one side, grey on the other — it is not a sand desert but an eroded dry forest, and it is walkable. The outing starts in late afternoon, when the low light carves the relief, and ends at the astronomical observatory. The sky there is among the purest in Colombia: with no moon, the Milky Way reads with the naked eye.

Independent service — paid on site (local partner provider)

Shuttle, transport and safety supervision provided by Phoenix Initiative.

Water

1/2 journée·Moderate level

The water trail

Walk up the river, pool after pool.

A hike with your feet in clear water, going up the river from pool to pool rather than alongside it. You walk on pebbles, step over a few fallen trunks, and swim whenever the urge takes you — and it often does. The elevation gain is slight, the coolness constant, and the canopy filters the midday sun. It is the most refreshing outing in Huila, and the gentlest on the legs.

Independent service — paid on site (local partner provider)

Shuttle, transport and safety supervision provided by Phoenix Initiative.

Water

Soirée·Gentle level· on the doorstep, in Rivera

The Rivera hot springs

The neighboring thermal village, steaming pools under the stars.

Rivera is famous across Colombia for its hot water, and the municipal pools are minutes from the estate. You go in the evening, when the heat of the day has dropped and steam rises in the lamplight. The water comes out of the mountain at the right temperature all year round. An hour or two among Amazons, with no schedule, to extend the recovery of a training day.

Independent service — paid on site (local partner provider)

Shuttle, transport and safety supervision provided by Phoenix Initiative.

Earth

1/2 journée·Gentle level

Huila coffee finca

Colombia's most awarded coffee, from cherry to cup.

Huila is Colombia's leading coffee region, and its fincas sweep the competitions year after year. The visit takes place with a family of growers: you pick ripe cherries by hand, follow the pulping, drying and roasting, then taste facing the mountains that grew the bean. You leave understanding why a coffee does not taste the same depending on the slope it ripened on.

Independent service — paid on site (local partner provider)

Shuttle, transport and safety supervision provided by Phoenix Initiative.

Air

1 journée·Moderate level· ~1 h 30 from the Oasis

Paragliding at the Mano del Gigante

See Huila the way a condor sees it: from the wind.

Take-off is at the Mano del Gigante, in Gigante, about an hour and a half from the Oasis. Flights are tandem with certified pilots: no experience is required, and the sensation is not falling but a long glide. Below, the El Quimbo dam stretches its mirror across the Magdalena valley, and on a clear day the Nevado del Huila closes the horizon. You leave in the morning, when the air is at its steadiest.

Independent service — paid on site (local partner provider)

Shuttle, transport and safety supervision provided by Phoenix Initiative.

Water

1/2 journée·Sporty level

Rafting the Páez river at Paicol

The water sets the rhythm; the crew decides the rest.

West of Rivera, the Páez river cuts through Paicol in a rock corridor where rapids follow one another without ever turning hostile. You descend as a crew, with guide, helmet and vest: it is one of the rare activities where coordination matters more than strength, and where ten minutes are enough to understand why a crew that talks moves better than a crew that merely paddles. Rapid grades shift with the rainy season.

Independent service — paid on site (local partner provider)

Shuttle, transport and safety supervision provided by Phoenix Initiative.

Earth

1 journée·Moderate level· 2 h from the Oasis

The Tatacoa desert by bike

Cross the ochre and the grey at the one speed that reveals them.

The Tatacoa is not a desert in the climatic sense but a tropical dry forest eroded into ochre and grey labyrinths. On foot you see little of it; by car you cross without reading it: the bicycle is the right scale. The tracks roll easily — the difficulty is the heat, so you leave early, return before midday, and come back down to Rivera's thermal spring to end the day on exactly the contrast the body wants.

Independent service — paid on site (local partner provider)

Shuttle, transport and safety supervision provided by Phoenix Initiative.

Outings run by partner local providers; prices given on request and paid on site.