San Gil

San Gil is a city with a population of 50,000 in the Santander region in Eastern Andino. It is known as "Colombia's adventure sport capital".

Get in

 * * From Bogotá : COP$40,000, 6-7 hours (June 2019)
 * * From Cartagena : COP$70,000, 14 hours
 * * From Cúcuta : COP$40,000, 9-10 hours
 * * From Medellín : COP$60,000, 11 hours
 * * From Santa Marta : COP$70,000-80,000, 12 hours (Copetran, Brasilia) (feb 2016)
 * * From Tunja : COP$20,000, 4 hours, 200 km
 * * From Tunja : COP$20,000, 4 hours, 200 km


 * Buses to Bucaramanga leave from the corner of Carrera 11 with Calle 10 on the river front (COP$23,000 - every 30 minutes, 2½ hours, 90 km, as of March 2023). You could also catch them the buses from the main terminal. If possible, try to sit on the right side for the best views of Rio Umpala. Consider stopping at the Chicamocha Canyon National Park on the way.

Do
Tour companies generally offer similar activities and are clustered around the entrance of park El Gallineral. If you plan to go rafting or kayaking on rapids of class 3 and over, check that the guides are certified by the International Rafting Federation (IRF).

Rafting
San Gil is the pioneering place for rafting in Colombia :
 * Rio Fonce, This is the river going through San Gil, it offers an 11-km trip lasting 1hr 15min on class 2-3 rapids depending on the season. It suits all kind of public. COP$25,000.
 * Rio Chicamocha, An 1hr 30min rafting trip with rapids from level 2 to 4. More adrenaline and amazing scenery going through the canyon. Possible to organize expeditions up to 3 days long.

Swimming
There are lots of places around San Gil to go for a swim:
 * Pozo Azul : Close to San Gil and accessible by taxi, it is popular with locals. 300 meters down river is la Milagrosa where you can jump from rocks. More details and a GPS track can be found here.
 * Pescaderito : Close to the town of Curiti, it has swimming holes and water slides. Camping possible.

Other activities are caving, parapente, paintballing, kayaking, hydrospeed and rapelling.

Trekking
There are numerous trekking opportunities in the countryside surrounding San Gil. The following itinerary goes through 3 colonial towns before going down in the Chicamocha canyon and up on the other side. Doing the whole trek in 2 days is possible if you leave San Gil really early on the first morning but it will probably be more enjoyable do it in 3 days and take your time checking out the towns in details. You can also do only parts as there are buses going back to San Gil in every town except Jordan. You don't need to carry food and camping equipment as there are restaurants and hotels in every town. Carry a lot of water and be careful of the midday heat.


 * Cabrera - Barichara - Get a local bus from San Gil to Cabrera (COP$4,000), it will drop you on the main plaza of the town. Here check out the church. At the upper left corner of the plaza, take the steepest street up (Calle 7) and turn left at the top. Follow the path along the stations of the cross (14 of them). From the top keep on going straight, the path is fairly flat and you'll soon see Barichara in the distance. When you get close to town, you'll encounter the local swimming pool on your right hand side (COP$1,500) right before a football/soccer field. Across the street you can see upright stones placed in regular intervals under the trees. These are either meant to secure cattle for 'servicing' or possibly used as an abattoir (slaughter) a long time ago; there are different stories when asking locals. Look out for iguanas taking the sun up on the tree branches. Quite likely you will see several flocks of vultures as well hanging around near the stone bridge. A bit further there is a stone bridge that you have to cross. After a final small climb you're in the town of Barichara. Walking time: 2½ hr.
 * Barichara - Guane - From the main square take any Calle going up the hill until you reach Carrera 10. Turn left towards the ridge. A stone marks the start of the trail, it is an old paved path that was restored 180 years ago by a German Geo Van Leguerke. The path crosses the paved road twice, just cross it. Refreshments are (sometimes) sold at the farm at midway. walking time: 2 hr.
 * Guane - Villanueva - To exit Guane, take Calle 6 from the main plaza towards the hill and soon you'll be back on the camino real. At some point there are farms on both sides of the path and right after you get to a crossing with a bigger road, taking that road to the right would bring you back to Barichara, you need to go straight (on the good road) and keep going uphill (the track is not exactly but a bit to the right). Keep on going up through the fields and tobacco farms. Soon after passing a finca named La Ceiba on the left hand-side, you get to a fork with a cross in the middle and a basketball court on the left, take a right there. Less than 5 minutes after, you encounter a needle head turn, take a left towards the house with a white flag. This is a mirador with great views of the canyon and all the ascent you've accomplished. Keep on going up. At some stage there will be two farms on the right and what looks like a road going uphill, do not turn and keep going straight, the road goes down a bit towards bare land for 5 minutes and after that is the final part of the climb. Once you reach the hilltop, you can see the next valley with Villanueva on the left but hidden by a hill. On your right is the road used by cars to reach town but it does a lot of turn. The shorter option is to take a left and look for the path going directly to town. You have to follow the barbwire, it will start dropping towards the valley and what looks more like a ditch will turn in a footpath. After a while you'll exit a field through a door and reach jeep track, take left towards the red and white antenna. From there it's straight to town. Hotel San Miguel has clean rooms for COP$35,000 (Jan 2024). Walking time: 3 hrs.


 * Villanueva - Jordan - The way from Villanueva down to Jordan takes approximately 5 hours. It is best to leave after noon so that you go down the canyon (900 m) in the late afternoon. Leave Villanueva in north-east direction and ask some locals to point you to the road towards the canyon and Jordan (details and GPS can be found here). You start off on some dirt roads then end up on a path that leads down the canyon. You will encounter many crossings. Best thing is to ask locals when they pass by. After you went down 900 m to the canyon you will hit a dirt road. Turn right and it's a 20-min walk to Jordan. In Jordan, La Posada del Caminante has dorms and private rooms. Privates are COP$70,000 (Jan 2024). Food can be had at the little kiosk just opposite. The river is good to cool down after a long hike. Walking time: 4-5 hr.
 * Jordan - Los Santos - The last part consists of a 900-m difference climb to get out of the canyon. Cross the bridge over the Chicamocha river. The stone path starts just after, you can't miss it. The path goes up continuously but is never too steep and getting to Los Santos should take around 2 hours. Avoid doing this in the midday heat. There´s a house selling refreshments halfway up. Los Santos is a decent size town compared to Jordan. Buses leave from the main square. To get back to San Gil, you first need to take a Piedecuesta bound bus that will drop you at on the San Gil - Bucaramanga road at a place called Los Curros (COP$5,000). Flota Cachira goes there but Transporte Mesa de Los Santos takes a different route to Piedecuesta, check with your driver to be sure. From there flag down a bus to San Gil (COP$12,000). Other option is to go to the nacional park Chicamocha and cross the canyon with the Teleferico. From there you can flag down a bus going back to San Gil. walking time: 1½-2 hr. Note that as of January 2024, the Teleferico is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.

Bungee jumping
There are two places to bungee jump, located over a river a few kilometers from town, 500 m apart. You can get there by bus for COP$1,000, taxi for about COP$5,000, or moto for about COP$3,000.


 * The other one is 70-75 m high, from a crane, and it costs COP$70,000 (March 2016)
 * The other one is 70-75 m high, from a crane, and it costs COP$70,000 (March 2016)

Buy
Artesanías

Eat
Some of Santander's Famous Regional Foods:


 * Hormigas Culonas (literally "big ass ants" roasted with salt, tastes kind of like popcorn)
 * Arepa Santandereana (a thick corn arepa mixed with salt and pork)
 * Carne Oreada (traditional thin steak)
 * Carne Seca (a dry pulled steak)
 * Cabro (goat)
 * Mute
 * Changua (milk soup with egg)
 * Fritanga (fried food snacks)
 * Chorizos del Valle de San José (specialty spicy sausage)
 * Arroz de Peñaflor (specialty rice)

Restaurants


 * Bendito Sabor for exceptional Menu del Dia, El Especial Mani for bakery treats, Coma Rico for fast food next to the plaza, and Kikirisan del Ponce for rotisserie chicken. See them all in a visit here.

Sleep
Prices in most San Gil hotels double on long weekends and places are heavily booked. Book in advance for Easter, Christmas and all long weekends.

Go next

 * The little colonial village of Barichara makes a good day trip. There are buses going every hour and leave from the corner of Carrera 11 and Calle 15. From Barichara it is a lovely 2-hour walk along an historic Spanish road to Guane. Buses return to Barichara several times a day. It is recommended to walk Barichara to Guane and not the other direction, since that would be entirely uphill.