El Puerto
Colourful wooden houses and boats.
Gersonparra11 — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Dilia J. Mosquera Jimenez — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Lombana — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Aliman5040 — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Dilia J. Mosquera Jimenez — CC BY-SA 4.0 · AlbruMar — CC BY-SA 4.0
La Cocha Lagoon, also called Guamuez, is a natural lake of glacial origin at El Encano near the city of Pasto. It lies at 2,680 metres among mountains, with an area of more than 40 square kilometres and a maximum depth of 74 metres, the second largest natural body of water in Colombia after Lake Tota. In 2000 Colombia entered it on the Ramsar list of wetlands, the first in the Colombian Andes. Fishers and farmers descended from old cultures live on its shores, and local peoples still treat it as sacred. Some twenty private nature reserves around it are looked after by residents. Its water flows out by the Guamuez River into the Putumayo. A visit starts at El Puerto, a wooden village on a canal lined with brightly decorated balconies and small roofed boats, which is why local media call it the Venice of Colombia. You then take a boat through the reeds to the wide lake, where clouds shift quickly. The green island of La Corota is a small nature sanctuary. Trout is the best-known dish here. The lake is 15.1 km in a straight line south-east of Pasto, and about 20 km according to other sources. It is usually cold and rainy, so bring a waterproof jacket. Entry to La Corota has been restricted by court order since December 2025 and we could not confirm that it has reopened, so ask first. Check your government's advice on Nariño.
Colourful wooden houses and boats.
Through reeds to the wide lake.
A small green sanctuary on the lake.
El Encano, near Pasto, Nariño department
Entry has been restricted by court order since December 2025 and we could not confirm reopening, so ask at El Encano.
By car or minibus to El Encano, then to El Puerto village, where the boats leave.