Stone statues at San Augustin travel tips and stories. Vacations ideas, cruises, spa and resorts

Near San Agustin one finds some of South America’s greatest, and most mysterious, archaeological sites. The remains of a mysterious civilisation are found there. There are eagles, snakes, men with clenched teeth and fists, monkeys, salamanders, women giving birth and men worshipping the sun.

The area is dotted with freestanding monumental statues carved of stone left behind by a mysterious pre-Colombian civilization.About 500 statues can be found spread out in groups in the region.

These beautiful sculptures, carved as far as 3000 BC at the Valley of the Statues. San Augustin is actually a collection of ceremonial and burial sites scattered over an area of 250 square miles.

These huge statues are characterized by their great design and dimensions, some measuring up to 5 meters. Most of the statues share a mixture of man and animal features.

There are various Asian and African influences in some of the sculptures – for example statues of Gorillas, statues showing African Elephant, statues wearing Indian head-pieces statues with clearly Asian eyes – which has led the academic community to believe that this culture was so advanced it had extensive contact with Africa and Asia.

Archeologists have uncovered a mere 10 percent of the statues and ruins, and it is theorized that huge mayan-like pyramids and other structures remain buried throughout the area. There is a small museum at the park headquarter and it provides information like literature and maps.