The easiest day trips take in the landscape around the city — the Laguna de la Cocha and the small church of La Corota in the middle of it, 26 km east; the Santuario de Las Lajas (a Gothic Revival basilica built across a canyon near the Ecuadorian border) 90 km south; and the volcán Galeras above the city, when access is permitted by the geological authorities.
Beyond Pasto, the southern Nariño route through Ipiales to the Ecuadorian frontier at Tulcán is the main road south. North, the road climbs further into the Andes towards Popayán via Mojarras — a long but spectacular drive.