The sign at the entrance to Hoyo del Aire (literally 'Air Hole' in English) near the small town of La Paz in Colombia's Santander department, says that it is the second-biggest hole in the world.
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| Hoyo del Aire: Some hole for one hole! |
One assumes this means naturally formed and on land as opposed to
underwater. Whatever the case, do an online search for the world's
biggest/deepest holes and this Colombian wonder doesn't tend to feature
on any list.
For the record, from its base to the highest point
above, the depth is 220 metres (almost 722 feet for the imperialists
amongst us).
Locals seem to be in agreement that it was formed by
a meteorite. That may be so; I'm certainly no expert on the subject.
One thing that appears undisputed is that the hole was a convenient
place to dump bodies — both dead and alive — during Colombia's more
violent days. (I heard similar stories during my 2014 visit to the
town of Pandi where there's another "convenient" natural hole for such
macabre undertakings. See
https://wwcorrigan.blogspot.com/2014/11/fine-and-pandi.html.)
That
aside, why it's not more internationally known is somewhat beyond me,
especially considering the rapid rise in foreign visitors of all kinds
to Colombia in the last decade as the country has left those more
violent times behind it.
Plus, there are a number of other
attractions around La Paz itself, 30 km north of the bigger and
easier-to-reach Vélez, capital of the eponymous province in which both
towns are situated and one I visited back in 2018 (see
https://wwcorrigan.blogspot.com/2018/03/a-rewarding-velez-view.html).
The
fact that it's mostly a dirt track from Vélez to La Paz, meaning that
the aforementioned 30-kilometre trip takes about an hour to cover by
car, is probably one reason why Hoyo del Aire and its surrounds remain
something of a hidden gem, internationally speaking at least.
As
is usually the case with such sights, photos don't tend to do Hoyo del
Aire justice, hence the video below (or watch it at https://youtu.be/OrSHRKhYvuw) for a somewhat better idea
of its impressiveness. The aerial shot on the official sign, see photo above, does give
some decent perspective, too.
Apparently, rappelling was
available as a tourist activity in the past but it's no longer carried
out after an "incident". I was told nobody died but the local authority
decided to discontinue the practice.
One senses a business opportunity. You read it here first!
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