Tourism in Santander — Chicamocha Canyon and Adventure

Santander is the extreme adventure department in Colombia: the Chicamocha Canyon, at 2,000 meters deep, is the second deepest canyon in South America and the setting for paragliding, rappelling, caving and extreme sports that have made Santander the country's premier adventure destination. Its capital, Bucaramanga, is called "The City of Parks" for its dozens of green spaces and its permanent spring-like climate (24°C average).

Barichara —the most beautiful town in Colombia according to multiple publications— is an 18th-century colonial museum in pink sandstone where time seems to have stopped. The Suárez Canyon and the Berlín Páramo complete a department that has 87 municipalities and cuisine as hearty as its nature: big-bottomed ants are the country's most exotic snack.

Main Tourist Attractions

Attraction	Type	Description
Chicamocha Canyon	Nature / Adventure	The deepest canyon in Colombia (2,000 meters) and the second in South America. Chicamocha National Park (Panachi) offers the longest cable car in Colombia (6.3 km, crossing the canyon), paragliding, rappelling, zipline and the stadium of Santander culture. The Chicamocha viewpoint is a mandatory selfie spot.
Barichara	Heritage Town / Culture	The most beautiful town in Colombia. 18th-century pink sandstone colonial architecture, cobblestone streets, Santa Bárbara chapel, Suárez Canyon viewpoint and the Royal Road to Guane (9 km in stone, 3-hour walk along one of Colombia's most beautiful bridle paths).
Mesa de Los Santos — Paragliding	Adventure / Nature	The best paragliding spot in Colombia. Mesa de Los Santos, at 1,800 meters above sea level over the Chicamocha canyon, offers exceptional flight conditions with flights up to 2 hours. Colombian paragliding pilot training takes place here.
Indio Cave and Caving	Adventure / Nature	Santander has over 100 documented caves. Nitro Cave in Zapatoca, Indio Cave in Puente Nacional and the La Paz cave system offer caving for all levels. Stalactites, underground rivers and bats.
Bucaramanga — Floridablanca — Girón	City / Heritage	Bucaramanga: parks, university nightlife and García Rovira Park. Floridablanca: La Flora Park with century-old trees. Girón: bahareque colonial town and stone bridges over the Oro River, National Heritage since 1963.
Berlín Páramo	High Mountain / Nature	Páramo at 3,200 meters above sea level between Bucaramanga and Pamplona. Frailejón landscape, fog and mist, downpours and temperatures of 2-8°C. The coldest point in the department and the obligatory pass of the Northern Trunk road between Santander and Norte de Santander.

Typical Cuisine

Santander cuisine is unique in Colombia. Big-bottomed ant (Atta laevigata, toasted with salt, a millenary Holy Week snack inherited from the Guane people) is the department's most exotic product. Pepitoria (yellow rice with hen blood and giblets), Santander mute (thick soup of pilado corn, tripe, tail and potato), llanero-style goat, jerked beef (sun and canyon-wind dried) and Santander arepa (with ground pork rind in the dough) are must-tries. Rice horchata with cinnamon is the breakfast drink.

Adventure and Outdoor Activities

Santander is the number one extreme sports destination in Colombia. Paragliding over the Chicamocha Canyon from Mesa de Los Santos (up to 2 hours of thermal flight), rappelling at El Salto de Sueva waterfall (50 meters), Class V rafting on the Suárez River, caving in Indio caves, canopy in Cepitá, extreme downhill cycling from the Berlín páramo and the Barichara-Guane hike complete the adventure catalog.

How to Get There

Bucaramanga has Palonegro Airport (BGA) 20 km from downtown, with flights from Bogotá (1 hour), Medellín (1 hour), Cali (1 hour 10 minutes), Barranquilla (50 minutes) and Cúcuta (45 minutes). By land from Bogotá: 7 hours via the Bogotá-Tunja-Barbosa highway. To Chicamocha Canyon: 1.5 hours from Bucaramanga via the Málaga road. To Barichara: 2 hours from Bucaramanga.

Where to Stay

In Bucaramanga: 4-5 star hotels in Cabecera and El Jardín, chain hotels downtown. In Barichara: colonial sandstone lodges (Posada Familiar San Agustín, Casa de los Compadres). In Mesa de Los Santos: hang-gliding cabins and countryside accommodation. High season: Holy Week (Barichara Holy Week is very busy).

Festivities and Events

Bucaramanga Fair (September), Mesa de Los Santos Paragliding Festival (November), Barichara Big-bottomed Ant Festivities (Holy Week), Barrancabermeja Oil Festival (July). Barichara's Holy Week features processions on candlelit cobblestone streets.

Also check the climate of Santander, the list of municipalities of Santander and the complete guide to Colombian festivities.