Santander Department

Colombia's adventure-sports center, where canyons, rafting and the colonial town of Barichara attract many visitors.

Santander Department lies in the Eastern Cordillera of north-central Colombia, with Bucaramanga as its capital. San Gil is hailed as the country's adventure-sports capital, offering whitewater rafting, paragliding, cave exploring and waterfall hikes. Nearby Barichara is a well-preserved colonial town, from which you can walk the old Camino Real path to Guane; Chicamocha Canyon National Park has a cable car and viewpoints with breathtaking scenery. Around Bucaramanga there are also historic towns such as Girón. December to March is drier and best for outdoor activities. Bucaramanga has an airport; by road from Bogotá takes about a full day.

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