Parque Nacional del Chicamocha


Don't be fooled by the name: Parque Nacional del Chicamocha, or 'Panachi' as it's known by locals, isn't a national park in the conventional sense. It's really a slightly tacky amusement park built atop some spectacular mountains. There are no hiking trails here, but there is a mirador (lookout) offering magnificent 360-degree views. The highlight of the park is the 6.3km-long, 30-minute teleférico, which descends to the base of the canyon, then ascends to the top of the opposite rim.

Other activities include an extreme swing and a zipline. The park also houses the mildly diverting Museum of Guane Culture (full of pre-Colombian Guane ceramics), several restaurants, a 4D cinema, a children's playground, a forgettable ostrich farm and the strange but striking Monumento a la Santandereanidad, a huge multistatue sculpture (with running commentaries in Spanish and English) commemorating the revolutionary spirit of santanderians (inhabitants of Santander province).

The most recent addition is an incongruous US$6-million water park (admission including national park adult/child COP$38,000/32,000) – an interesting thing to build on the top of an arid mountain range that regularly suffers from severe drought. The park is accessed via an underground road tunnel.


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1. Teleférico

0.07 MILES

A 6.3km-long, 30-minute cable-car ride in eight-berth cabins that descend to the base of the Chicamocha canyon, then ascend to the top of the opposite rim.

2. Cueva de la Vaca

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3. Museum of Paleontology & Archaeology

17.93 MILES

The unique Museum of Paleontology & Archaeology has a collection of more than 10,000 fossils, a 700-year-old mummy, a few conehead skulls, Guane artifacts…

4. Iglesia de Santa Bárbara

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5. Parque Para Las Artes

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6. Catedral Santa Cruz

18.4 MILES

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7. Catedral de la Inmaculada Concepción

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8. Parque La Libertad

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