In the southern highlands of Huila, near where the mighty Magdalena river begins as a thin stream, a lost culture left behind hundreds of stone statues. San Agustín lies in a landscape of green hills and deep canyons, and its Archaeological Park, listed by UNESCO, contains tombs and sculptures made between roughly the first and eighth centuries AD by people about whom very little is known. Fanged figures, warriors, animals and mysterious faces stand guard over burial mounds, and nobody can fully explain who they were.
Spend half a day at the park and another at the Alto de los Ídolos near Isnos, and you will begin to feel how deliberately placed they are on the ridges, looking over the valley. The nearby Estrecho del Magdalena shows the river squeezed into a channel barely two metres wide, a striking sight for a river that goes on to cross the whole country. Waterfalls such as the Salto de Bordones drop spectacularly through mist, and coffee fields cover many of the slopes.
The ride from Popayán is the kind that makes people go quiet. The road crosses high páramo and descends through forest on rough surfaces, with sections that can turn to mud in wet weather, and while some routes have been improved, conditions vary, so ask locally before committing, and travel in daylight. Alternatively, approach from the Huila side through Pitalito on better tarmac. Expect cold, mist and sudden showers at height, and warmer, humid air in the valleys.
San Agustín itself is a relaxed town of nearly ten thousand people, with Isnos, a little smaller, a few kilometres away, so fuel is available in town, though it is wise to start the day with a full tank if you plan to explore the backroads. Many guesthouses offer horseback tours of the sculpture sites, which are a pleasant way to see the countryside without the bike. Try the local coffee and a plate of arepas and trout at a roadside restaurant, and keep cash handy for park entry, because card machines are not universal.