Us foreigners love a Colonial town, don’t we? So make sure Barichara is number 1 on your list. Colombia‘s prettiest pueblo is a must-see if you’re exploring Santander.
It’s crazy to see such a picturesque town out in the sticks of the dry Santandarean municipality. Even crazier that it’s basically built on a cliff edge. Makes for some banging views though.
The journey may seem somewhat complicated on paper. But, it’s super simple. So I’ll make this quick.
Leaving Bucaramanga
You can’t go wrong here… Go to the first entrance of the terminal de autobuses. As soon as you enter someone will ask you if you’re going to San Gil. You want to say “Si, senor@” as that’s your first port of call.
Most buses stop at San Gil or pass through en route to Bogota or Tunja. Leaving every 30 minutes or hour. The main company is Contra San Gil but I went with Liberaterdores.
Be prepared for a hot yet scenic 3.5-hour journey through the Canyon Chicamocha. I left at 9 am and arrived at San Gil at about 12:30 am.
When you arrive at San Gil
Once you arrive at San Gil you’ll have 2 options to get to Barichara:
1.Take a bus from the San Gil main terminal (the one you arrived at from Bucaramanga)
-Head into the terminal and ask at the Contra Sangil ticket window located at the back left of the terminal.
Or 2. jump in a cab and go to San Gil’s smaller terminal Terminalito (literally means small terminal in Spanish). The taxi guy will know where to take you.
Buses leave more often from Terminalito so I went for that option.
You can pick up a ticket to Barichara there for 6 mil. In around 40 minutes you’ll arrive in the town.
What’s the plan in Barichara?
I gave up planning trips so you may want to skip this bit if you’re like me. However, here’s an overview of how I spent my time there. If you want something more in-depth, I recommend Laidback Trips guide. When I arrived I pulled up their post for an idea of what to do.
In any case, I recommend staying at least 1 night in Barichara so you can do the Guane hike in the much cooler mornings. More on that in a hot minute…
Where to stay?
After a menu del dia stop I headed to budget hostel Casa Nacuma. And, to be honest, it was great. You can’t argue with a private room with your own bathroom for 45 mil a night. And a basic breakfast included as well. Bargains.
Basic room, but all you need for a few nights!
Viewpoint with a coffee
Basically, everything in Barichara is cute. But, this coffee at La Rola Pan y Café is extra cute. Ask if you can go up the stairs for the view…
Not to shabby, huh?
Mirador salto del mico
Everyone will tell you to go here. And everyone will know how to get there. But, in short, from the plaza facing the church walk east along Carrera 3 and you’ll be on the right road. If my RPG side quest directions don’t make any sense use google maps like a normal person…
No photo will do this view justice
Make sure you get yourself back there for the sunset. This viewpoint at salto del mico was a bit too crowded for my liking so consider walking north up toward mirador Barichara on Calle 1 (seriously, I feel like Gandalf with these directions). You could even take in the sunset while you eat in one of the many swanky-looking restaurants over that way.
Hike to Guane
Now for the main event. This 1.5-hour hike was well worth it. However, I’d recommend going in the morning so you beat the baking sun.
You start the hike at the end of Calle 4. And it really is like somewhere you’d get pulled into a side quest mission. The cobbled road follows an indigenous path to Guane. A small village annexing Barichara.
Tell me that doesn’t look like the start of a quest!
Before you arrive in Guane, there is a finca on your left-hand side selling drinks. Go on in and the owners will show you into their back garden where there is a spectacular view. Once hydrated, you’ve only 20 minutes until you arrive in Guane.
From here you want to walk past the top right of the football pitch to the viewpoint.
And I’m gonna say it…Guane is even cuter than Barichara. Grab an arepa con huevo and head past the cancha (soccer field) for another banging view.
Buses back to Barichara aren’t that frequent so I took a moto carro back to the town for 20 mil. I was back at the hostel around 9.30 am giving me time to shower before the next bus to San Gil at 10.30 am.
Back to Bucaramanga or beyond?
The last leg is just a reverse of the first if you’re heading back to Bucaramanga. However, you may want to go beyond and check out Guadalupe. There you’ll find Las Gachas de Guadalupe. Those colourful rivers and sinkholes you may have seen. I’ve written another guide that will show you how to get there from San Gil. Now, that journey was un poco mas complicado…
