The Global Meaningful Travel Map

Tierradentro: Community and Ancestral Meeting with Nasa Guardians

Experience rich Nasa culture in southern Colombia, engaging with artisans, participating in community tasks, and exploring ancestral rituals.

OUR EXPERIENCES
In Tierradentro territory, which is part of Inza and Belalcázar municipalities, we find the ethnic group Nasa, one of the strongest communities in culture in southern Colombia. This is a community of 36,000 families who are keeping their language, territory, worldview and different ancient customs and uses alive. Community members are descendants of millennial warriors, willing to share their philosophy and wisdom with people who show interest and respect for their knowledge and the atmosphere in which they live.
The cultural exchange that takes place in the territory of Tierradentro focuses on involving community members like the artisans, family hosts of accommodations, farmers on family lands growing coffee, sugar cane, cassava and banana, and folklore groups that transmit ancestral rhythms with drums and flutes. The guides are native Nasa guards speaking the traditional Nasayuwe.
On visits, you socialize with community leaders, governors, guards and elders on issues of peace process in the territory. Food is shared with the community and a "minga" will be organized to perform different tasks such as: painting the school, tidying up the gardens of the inhabitants' houses, milking the cows, or separating the calves, teaching an English class, French or German depending on the language spoken by each country's representative. The children and teachers explain the language of Nasayuwe, with the Tewala they perform rituals at ceremonial sites of astronomical, archaeological and landscaping interest.

ABOUT US
Kontour Travel Colombia is an incoming agency based in Bogotá, Colombia offering a broad range of services. We offer tailor-made tours and specialize in the needs of tour operators and travel agencies. Our areas of expertise include tailor made tours for FITs, group travel, and incentive programs. Our experienced team with an extensive knowledge of Colombia assembles anything from a classic “get-to-know Colombia” trip to exotic “off-the-beaten-track” tours. Our European office gladly will assist with trainings and sales support to grow Colombia into an attractive part of your destination portfolio.

OUR IMPACT
The community tourism product has been promoted for over a decade by the Nasa and Yanacona communities, and is contributing to the livelihood and sustainability of Huila and Cauca people. Through community-based tourism, they are being empowered in their ancestral knowledge, they are avoiding the loss of culture and knowledge, and are generating a positive impact on all those who come to the community to live this experience. ProColombia partnered with Tourism Cares on a Meaningful Travel Map in advance of the Tourism Cares with Colombia Meaningful Travel Summit in November, 2021. The pins on the Colombia Map represent community tourism experiences around the country, offered by receptive operators who design their tours for local impact, economic benefit for communities, and to reflect the richness of the experiences you can have traveling throughout Colombia. Their work, and the organizations they support, diffuse the economic benefits of tourism and support sustainable tourism growth in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The Turismo Comunitario Map can be found on the ProColombia website: https://colombia.travel/en/tourism-cares

DETAILS
Please note: these community tourism experiences are offered by in-country operators. We marked the Map with the approximate location of the community experience.

To learn more, visit: https://colombia.travel/en/tourism-cares/community-and-ancestral-meeting-nasa-guardians
or email: receptivos@kontour-travel.com
or paul.gomez@kontour-travel.com

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