Tourism in Santander

The department of Santander is the adventure tourism capital of Colombia. San Gil, with the Fonce River and the Chicamocha canyon, concentrates the country's largest offering of extreme sports: rafting, paragliding, rappelling, bungee, caving. Barichara, the most beautiful town in Colombia according to multiple contests, combines colonial limestone architecture with the arid landscape of the canyon. Chicamocha National Park (Panachi) offers a cable car over Colombia's deepest canyon. Bucaramanga, "the beautiful city", is the service capital of the entire region.

MAIN TOURIST ATTRACTIONS OF SANTANDER

The most visited and unmissable destinations and experiences in Santander:

Attraction	Type	Description
Chicamocha Canyon — PANACHI	Adventure / Nature	Cable car over Colombia's deepest canyon. Extreme sports, viewpoint views.
Barichara	Heritage town	Colombia's most beautiful town: limestone, white houses, cacti and guayacanes. Camino Real to Güane.
San Gil — Adventure Capital	Extreme sports	Rafting on the Fonce (category 4–5), paragliding, bungee, rappelling, torrentismo, caving in Cueva del Yeso.
Bucaramanga — City of Parks	City / Gastronomy	Colombia's city with the most parks. Historic center, hormiga culona, markets, central airport.
Mesa de Los Santos	Nature / Wellness	Dry plateau above the canyon. Coffee farms, condor watching, luxury hotels in nature.

ECOTOURISM AND NATURE IN SANTANDER

The Serranía de los Yariguíes National Natural Park protects the largest Andean forest extension in the northern Andes. The Santurbán páramo (shared with Norte de Santander) is the main water source for Bucaramanga. The Chicamocha canyon is habitat for the Andean condor.

CULTURAL AND HISTORICAL HERITAGE OF SANTANDER

Santander was the most pro-independence department in Colombia: the Rionegro Convention (1863) was led by Santandereans. The hormiga culona —large female toasted ant— is Colombia's most famous and distinctive snack, gastronomic heritage of Santander. Barichara and the Camino Real are icons of colonial stone architecture.

TYPICAL GASTRONOMY OF SANTANDER

Toasted hormiga culona (April–May, harvest season), goat pepitoria, goat with pepitoria, Santanderean mute (corn soup), peeled corn arepas, chicharrón, Santanderean picada. In Bucaramanga, picada —a mix of chicharrón, chorizos, morcilla, arepa— is the most popular informal dish.

HOW TO GET THERE

Palonegro airport in Bucaramanga, flights from Bogotá (1 h), Medellín and other cities. Bus from Bogotá (7–8 h). San Gil 2 h by bus from Bucaramanga. Barichara 20 min from San Gil.

Also check the climate of Santander and the list of municipalities of Santander to plan your visit.