Image: The Red Desert.
Highlights
– The red and grey areas of the Tatacoa Desert is truly a must visit in Colombia.
Time of Visit: March 2026
Duration of Visit: One Night
Description
If you only have one place to visit in Colombia and absoluty love nature, then you will not be disappointed with the Tatacoa Desert.
We live in Arizona and have frequented the colorful eroded rock formations of the state and neighboring southeastern Utah. We also have seen the eroded clay/sandstone formations of the Badlands in South Dakota and Cappadocia, Turkey and the Cathedral Gorge in Nevada. So our excitement factor was kinda low for the Tatacoa Desert because, in our minds, we have seen something similar. We were wrong. The Tatacoa Desert still gave us that wow factor when we first set our sights on the magnificent landscape.
The Tatacoa Desert is truly a must visit in Colombia. The desert is made up of two distinct areas which are the Red Desert (Cuzco) and the Gray Desert (Los Hoyos). The Red Desert has vibrant ochre and rust-colored formations while the Gray Desert features ash-colored landscape and is home to the “Valley of Ghosts”. The Red Desert is often compared to the surface of Mars while the Gray Desert looks more like the lunar surface.
Tatacoa Desert is technically not a desert but an arid tropical dry forest. It receives over 1,000 mm (42 inches) of rain annually which is excessive to be considered a true desert. The area follows a “bimodal” (two-peak) precipitation pattern. The first rainy season occurs in April and May and the second rainy season occurs in October and November. The months in between are typically dry but thunderstorms can occur throughout the year.
The Tatacoa Desert encompasses about 370 square kilometers (142 square miles) according to our guide. This includes both deserts which are about 25 minutes apart by motortaxi (tuk-tuk). The Red Desert is much larger and is closer to the town of Villavieja compared to the Grey Desert.
Activities
The main activities are exploring the Red and Gray Deserts and stargazing at the observatory.
Our itinerary was as follows – on our first day, we went to Red Desert in the afternoon (after 4 PM) followed by a one hour wait/dinner before going to the observatory at 7PM which ended at 8PM.
The following morning, we made a short stop at the different part of the Red Desert before continuing to the Gray Desert. Then we checked out of our hotel at noon and left Villavieja for Neiva at 1PM.
In hindsight, we should have checked out of the hotel before leaving for the Gray Desert. This would have given us more time for exploring that day. Our mototaxi driver (Claudia) also said there was no time limit. But it is worth noting, that we were satisfied with the one hour we had in the Gray Desert despite not being able to take a dip in the pool.
Guide Service
There is no shortage of locals in Villavieja that asked us if we needed a guide to explore the desert. But most do not speak English. Our host recommended Brayan (Whats Up +57 314 222 2578) who spoke English very well despite being self-taught. But unfortunately his schedule did not match with ours. So he referred us to Claudia (Whats Up # +57 322 741 5454), a nice “abuelita” mototaxi driver/operator in Villavieja. Claudia does not speak English but it did not matter for our case as we understood some Spanish and used a translator app.
Claudia took us to the Red Desert and the observatory on the day we arrived. Then she took us to the Gray Desert the following morning before we returned to Neiva in the afternoon. We explored both deserts on our own after Claudia provided some tips before we ventured into the labyrinth of trails. And Claudia let us control our time.
Gray Desert
The Gray Desert is much smaller than the Red Desert but is no less beautiful. Though the color gray may not sound stunning compared to red, this desert does have some stunning eroded formations. Access to the Gray Desert is through the wash that carved the shallow canyon. So it requires traversing some steps to get to the canyon bottom and out.
You will not get lost in the canyon as there is no trail labyrinth. There is just one circular trail and it is shown in Google Maps. So download the map’s offline version of the area before going. Plus there are directional arrows along the trail where there are junctions. It is best to see the Gray Desert during a dry day so that the wash is not muddy.
The normal route is a clockwise direction. If the entry and exit points are at the 6 o’clock position, most of the surreal rock formations are found near the 12 o’clock trail position. Here you can get up close to the eroded formations. The swimming pool area is located around the 3 o’clock position.
It took us about an hour to finish the circular route in a relaxed pace with enough time to take photos. The Gray Desert is about a 40 minute ride from Villavieja.
Observatory
The Tatacoa Desert is a great place to view the stars because it is far from light pollution. There are actually five observatories in the Tatacoa Desert. When I heard there is an observatory in the desert, I pictured a dome structure with a powerful telescope to study the interstellar universe. The observatories in the Tatacao Desert are no such thing. Instead they are run by amateur astronomers.
But do not let the “amateur” label turn you off. It is still worth going to these observatories to view the stars with use of their powerful telescope. I must admit that viewing the far away stars, nebulas and planets (we looked at Jupiter) was not very thrilling. But almost everyone said “wow” when we viewed the moon as we could see its craters. So make sure it is a clear night and the moon is out if you decide to do the observatory. For our case, we started at 7PM and ended around 8PM.
Red Desert
The Red Desert is definitely a must visit. The formations are eroded red and clay sandstones which are at their finest colors just before sunset. Going to the Red Desert in the afternoon is a short window. Its too hot before 4 PM and sunset is between 5:30 and 6PM. The entire area seems to glow and turn more orange at this time. For sure, you would wish that it is 5:30 in the afternoon all day so that you have more time to experience this magical place.
Some choose to explore the Red Desert during the day and tough out the heat. However, on a cloudy day, the temperature becomes bearable to downright comfortable. In addition, this desert remains surprisingly beautiful even on a cloudy day.
Exploring the Red Desert can be tricky. The starting or entry points into the desert are at a higher elevation. The trails follow the natural drainage washes. But there are multiple drainage washes and they come together at some point. You may not notice a wash to your left or right as you walk downstream. So it is easy to get lost on the way back as the washes all look the same when you get to a junction or confluence. This is when a guide service becomes valuable so that you avoid wandering in the desert when it is hot, or worse when it gets dark.
Tips
It is hot and humid year round in the Tatacoa Desert (except when it is cloudy). Exploring the desert early in the morning (before 10 AM) and late in the afternoon (after 4 PM) are best.
Claudia said that the weekends and Holy Week are typically busy in Villavieja. We were there on a Thursday and Friday and the place was quiet. We only ran into less than 10 people in both the Red and Gray Deserts.
How To Get There
Villavieja is the closest community to the Tatacoa Desert. So you have to get to Villavieja first. Once in Villavieja, you will not have any problem finding transportation and guides to take you to the Tatacoa Desert.
We know of two ways to get to Villavieja. The first is a bus ride from Bogota to Neiva. But you get off the bus at the town of Aipe (about an hour away from Neiva) which is across Villavieja. Then you take a ferry across the Magdalena River to Villavieja. You may have to take a motortaxi to get to and from the ferry terminals at both Aipe and Villavieja.
The second way is what we did. We flew into Neiva and took an unassuming covered pick-up truck to take us to Villavieja. The pick-up truck begins its journey at the Terminal de Transportes de Neiva which is about 15 minutes by taxi from the airport. We had to ask for a local’s help to flag the pick-up truck which passes along the road in front of San Pedro Plaza (the mall). In our minds, we thought our ride would be a minibus or minivan. We were surprised when the local flagged a pick-up truck. The trip takes just over an hour between Neiva’s San Pedro Plaza and Villavieja’s Plaza Principal.
Where To Stay
Villavieja is a small town. You can walk from one end to the other in about 15 minutes. The pickup trucks that travel between Neiva and Villavieja are stationed at Parque Principal (the plaza). There are also several restaurants around the plaza.
We stayed at El Shaddai which is at the edge of town. It takes about 15 minutes to walk from the plaza to the hotel and 15 minutes by mototaxi to the first Red Desert viewpoint. The hotel has its own restaurant.
An air conditioned room is a must in Villaviejas as it stays warm year round.
How To Get Around
Hiring a mototaxi is the most efficient way to get around in Villavieja and to the desert. You will find these mototaxis at Parque Principal if not one is passing by.
We saw some tourists riding bicycles but did not see any bike rental places. We also saw a quad (4×4) rental.
Expected Expenses
Pick-up truck between Neiva and Villavieja – 12,000 COP pax (3.25 USD)
Mototaxi around Villavieja – varies between 5,000 and 10,000 COP (1.30 USD and 2:60 USD)
Mototaxi to Red Desert and Observatory – 70,000 COP (19 USD) for two people, total of 4 hours
Mototaxi to Gray Desert – 120,000 COP (32 USD) for two people
Guided Trip to Both Red and Grey Deserts in one day (gray in the morning and red in the afternoon) – 220,000 COP (60 USD) (based on a quote from an English speaking guide)
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Summary
We almost skipped going to Villavieja and the Tatacoa Desert but were very glad that we did not. Of all the places we visited in Colombia, the Tatacoa Desert would be our favorite. It is a must visit, especially for those whole love nature.
The Red Desert is simply magical. There are just not enough words to describe it. And we hope that the pictures we shared in this story do justice to it.
The Gray Desert is not as stunning as the Red Desert but that does not mean you should skip it. This desert possess its own beauty and certainly not one that you see everyday.
And if you are fan of the stars, there is also an observatory experience in the desert. Just make sure you do it on a clear night and the moon is out.
Even though the Tatacoa Desert is hot and humid place and somewhat hard to get to, it is well worth the effort. Once you have seen this desert, it will be difficult to unsee but why would you? It just puts a smile on our faces every time we think about it.