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San Gil is a city in the Santander department of Colombia and considered the extreme sports capital of the country.
Introduction to San Gil
The area around San Gil was originally inhabited by the indigenous Guane people. The modern town was founded in 1689 by Don Gil Cabrera y Dávalos and Leonardo Correa De Betancurt.
Today, San Gil isn’t a tourist destination because it’s beautiful (it’s not), but it’s considered the country’s extreme sports capital. There are plenty of opportunities for things like white water rafting, caving, parasailing, rock climbing, trekking, and more. We didn’t go there to do any of those things, but they can be arranged at your hotel or hostel in town.
Getting to San Gil
San Gil is about six hours from Bogotá and under three hours from Bucaramanga by bus. The bus terminal is about 2 kilometers from the main plaza, Parque La Libertad. You can visit nearby towns like Barichara, Curití, and Valle de San José from there.
Getting Around San Gil
The city is fairly compact and easy to get around on foot. If you want to do activities like rafting, caving, paragliding, and other extreme sports, or visit Chicamocha Canyon, you can organize them through your hostel or hotel.
Where to Stay in San Gil
As a major tourist center, you’ll find all kinds of accommodation in San Gil.
Hotel Camino Real
We stayed at Hotel Camino Real, which is a couple kilometers from the city center. You can walk there in about 30 minutes if you don’t have a car. It has decent rooms surrounding a nice garden. There’s also a swimming pool and restaurant on the property. Staff is able to organize any kind of excursion for guests.
Our room was a big corner room with a comfortable bed. The bathroom was a little outdated and didn’t have hot water, but that wasn’t a problem for us. It was nice and quiet at night.
We had two breakfasts and a dinner at the restaurant, which is typically open until 8pm during weekends and high season and until 4pm during low season. They have a good selection of local and Colombian specialties and the food is quite good.
Parque La Libertad
Parque La Libertad is the main plaza in San Gil. While the rest of the city isn’t very attractive, the plaza is one place that’s worth visiting.
Parque La Libertad is a large open space with lots of trees, a fountain, and a monument to the indigenous people of the area. Unfortunately, the fountain wasn’t operating at the time of our visit. There are also several colonial buildings surrounding the plaza, including City Hall (Alcaldía).
Holy Cross Cathedral
The most prominent building on the plaza is the Holy Cross Cathedral (Catedral de la Santa Cruz). It’s a large brick church with a beautiful interior, and was built between 1769 and 1800. The current towers were built at the beginning of the 20th century.
While visiting the cathedral, pay special attention to the intricate designs on the ceiling. The altar was created by master craftsman Jacinto García. It’s made of wood and covered in gold leaf. To the right of the altar is the large Chapel of the Sacred Heart, which is connected to a cemetery.
Edificio Rueda
The pink Edificio Rueda sits on the southwest corner of Parque La Libertad. It was built in 1920 by Leopoldo Rueda Silva in the Republican style. Locals refer to it as Edificio El Águila after the eagle sculpture on top.
El Gallineral Nature Park
El Gallineral Nature Park (Parque Natural El Gallineral) is the best attraction to visit in San Gil. It’s a small nature park on an island between the Río Fonce and Quebrada Curití. The park is open daily from 8am to 5pm and general admission is COP$7,000 per person (as of June 2024). It’s possible to hire a guide to tell stories about the trees and park, but it’s in Spanish only.
The paths winding through the park start at a small plaza just inside the entrance. The main path starts in a counter-clockwise direction through a tunnel of tree branches. Once out in the open, you can see the tall trees full of moss.
Most of the paths are on brick or stone, but it can get muddy after it rains so be prepared. The paths take you near the Río Fonce and Quebrada Curití.
There are a couple of bridges that cross over the roaring Quebrada Curití. The first is the Bridge of Love (Puente del Amor).
The second roughly translates to the Bridge That I Don’t Forget (Puente Que No Olvido). It’s dedicated to Dr. Jorge Villamil Cordovez (1929-2010). Crossing that bridge takes you to the park boundary.
When you finish walking through the park, you can have a meal at the restaurant, get some snacks at the cafeteria, or take a swim in the pool for an extra fee.
