WHAT NOT TO MISS IN SANTA MARTA

Quinta de San Pedro Alejandrino

Avenida del libertador, Mamatoco Sector.  This hacienda established on february 2, 1608 has been a national monument sinse 1894.  La quinta has a museum inside and outside it is surrounded by bushy tamarind trees where Simón Bolivar swung in his hammock.  Close by tourists can visit The Bolivarian Museum of Contemporary Art, with  plastic art displays of The Andian Landscapes and a precious 22 hectare botanical garden.

Custom House

Constructed in 1530, this is the oldest house in the americas house of the Tayrona Museum Office. It displays pre-columbian gold and silver artifacts.  Santander Park.

The Cathedral

Also known as The Minor Basilica, this renaissance style national monument was built in 1676.  Until 1842,  it was Simón Bolivar burial site.  It´s said that the heart of the libertador is still kept somewhere in the cathedral.

 Paseo Bastidas

On the sea side, Tourists and locals coverge in search of a quite moment on the beach or to walk the cabblestone streets under the night lights.  Along this road, you can visit The Fort Of Nuestra Señora De La Caridad, The Fort Of San Fernando and El Morro.  Monuments and the tayrona heritage come together on Avenida Santa Rita and carrera primera.

Celedon School

This building is considered to be an architectural heritage of the city.  From there, you can take off to tour Santa Marta´s traditional neighborhoods such as Gaira and Pescaito, which were home to the famous colombian soccer star, Carlos "El pibe" valderrama.  A bronze statue, is erected in front of the stadium in honor of "El Pibe".

Tourist hacienda in Magdalena

Private manor homes with tourist service and activities in the zona.  The tourist zone comprising Minca, Campano, San Lorenzo, La tagua and the via Troncal del Caribe has 45 haciendas where visitors can lodge and from which they can enjoy their extreme sports and ecological and ethnic tourism.

Taganga, Magdalena

In a cove just 10 minutes from Santa Marta, you can find an authentic fishing village with typical homes.

this is a popular area for scuba diving because of its clear, clam waters, which are ideal for scuba or snorkeling.

     Pozo Azul

This is a blessing of the sierra where tourists will find crystal clear, cold waters pouring from a waterfall into a natural revitalizing whirlpool tub, which is off the road to Minca.  It is a 15 minutes,  hike off the minera road at the Km 3 marker to Pozo Azul.

El Rodadero

Over The Gaira Bay.  From El Rodadero, a ten minutes motorboat ride to Inca Cove will take you to El Rodadero sea Aquarium and museum, where you can see dolphins, shark, turtles, sting rays, sea horses and samples of coral spread through out the pools and glass aquariums.

You can also learn the secrets of the sea in Mundo Marino where there are more than 700 species of sea animals in 25 panoramic aquariums.  Playa Blanca is the place to go if you want to rest with the sounds of the waves in the background and beautiful sunsets in the late afternoon.  If you are looking for romance, a carriage ride through the streets of El Rodadero is a must by road, you can get to Mamancana at the Pozos Colorados located just 400 meters from Hotel Zuana on the right side of the road.  Mamancana is Colombia´s largest private natural reserve in a tropical dry forest,  and there you can enjoy canopying, walking a tibetan bridge, walking on an indigenous bridge, rappelling and paragliding among other sports that combine an appreciation for the forests and the adrenaline rush sought by adventure sports lovers.

One day excursions to the parks

there are seven control stations located at the point of entry to the natural parks here, you can begin to the discover the impressive diversity of these landscapes and beaches.

In Neguanje, you can pay to enter by car or by person and the cost is well worth it.  Here, you can look eternally into the depths of the turquoise sea where the transparent tide rolls into the beaches.  Surfers should bring their boards and enjoy surfing on the Playa de las 7 olas beach.  On Playa Cristal beach, tourists spend their days snorkeling and observing all types of corals and many colors of fish with ultraviolet tones that can be seen through the masks which magnify the person´s viewing area when snorkeling.
On the fisherman´s canoes and for a small fee, you can go out to playa del amor beach; a stimulating, little known islet with silky, slippery sand that is impenetrable to ship´s anchors.

Just minutes from Santa Marta, close to Bonda in a small indian village by the manzanares river, tourists can see the donama rock, a 2.5 m monolith with thousand year old petroglyphs, there tourists may visit the aguaviva ecological garden where they can observe flora and fauna land maybe do some bird watching from flagstone trail that resembles the trails of the tayrona indians.  If you plan to spend more than one day, you can get lodging in the park´s cabanas from any of the park entry points.  In the different tourist sites that are marked along the trails in The Tayrona and Sierra Nevada National Park ( Quebrada Valencia, Arrecifes, Cañaveral, Pueblito, Palangana,  Zaino and Los Naranjos),  there are 14 echohabs and 80 camping spots with basic services made available to the adventurers:  Some have badrooms, kiosks with hammocks, picnic tables and grills.  Bahia Concha: Located 10 Km from Santa Marta, here tourists will have access to the dressing rooms, restaurants and camp groups.

 

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A TRIP WITH NO PROBLEMS OR STORMS

As if touched with a magic wand, the Santa Marta has it all.  Downtown Santa Marta´s primary tourist attractions include:  El Rodadero, Playa Blanca, Taganga, Pueblito, Tayrona National Park, The Lost City, The Sierra Nevada Of Santa Marta, Neguanje, Bahia Concha and Cañaveral, to name a few.

As a primary destination for many tourists,  Santa Marta offers alternatives for connecting its guests from the Atlantic coast to the rest of the country, and it has easy access to all parts of the north Colombia Caribbean coast, southbound on the road to Barranquilla, you will first pass through the town of Cienaga; you will then come to Salamanca Island Park, which is just off the road.  After that, you can stop off alt the flora and fauna sanctuary of Cienaga Grande, and finally, you will reach the home of Barranquilla carnival, which has been proclamed by UNESCO as a master piece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage Of Humanity.

North bound, you can take off in The Department Of Magdalena and the Manaure Salt Mine;  from there The Cabo De La Vela, to the wayúu´s rancherias ( villages ) and all the way to Macuira Natural Park if time permits.

In the heart of the Santa Marta tourist area, you can visit Bello horizonte and Pozos Colorados, which covers approximately 2,5 Km of sands that are set off by the ocean breezes and the turquoise waters arround them.  This is a perfect place for water skiing or other water sports, and compleminting the water activities by taking hikes or  horse back rides in this area, the high quality hotels to choose from include resorts like Irotama, Santa Mar, and Zuana which all complete as exclusive luxury hotels.  Santa Marta´s great variety of beaches, which so much more to be explored, is a reward to the senses.  On the other hand, its spectacular marine terminal is a permanent port to cruise ships coming in from the tumultuous caribbean seeking the ideal clear warm waters of this region where scuba divers go and practice in the sea without being challenged by tropical storms.  As with its beaches, Santa Marta also has activities galore.  Folkloric events.  Parties and flavors are waiting to be discovered by anyone, whenever and wherever they look.  The only risk here is that you may fall in love with these lands, and come back in search of tranquility and peace with the rest of the world.

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A BIT OF HISTORY

Ancestral and modern mysticism

Santa Marta is also rich in history linked with the European settlers that many years ago were captivated by these lands with a sky that was always blue, by the crystal waters that caress sands of the brightest white and by the grandiosity of a mountain that holds tight to the greatest richness that has yet to be taken from the living indigenous civilization:  Its mystic nature.

In a trip through the city is downtown with the sea breeze blowing in off the waters you will also feel the magic of its colonial and republican heritage concentrated in the small streets and manor houses with their colorful gardens of azalias, bougainvillea, poinsettias, butterflies and humming birds even on the balconies.

With such surroundings as the Sierra Nevada, Tayrona park and beautiful sites like Taganga,  Santa Marta´s stately past has been easily adopted into the confortable real estate and hotel infrastructure innovations, which are ideal for resting or conducting business meetings.

The bountiful night is the protagonist of romantic moments that caress the light of the new day.  Santa Marta opens itself freely to be discovered, to enjoy its perfect natural abundance to the full, which beats to the rhythm of the cumbia and the porro or follows the rhythms of the tropical music the caribbean dances and the legends songs to the melodies of vallenato accordions.

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