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barichara, CO

I have said many times in the Colombia section that the true magic of this countries lies outside of the cities with large international airports and within the mountains. Barichara is a prime example of this. It’s a charming red brick roof, white walled, colonial style, cobbled stoned street little magic town. Barichara boasts a nice little square, lots of great restaurants that go all the way up and down the quality spectrum including some fine dining options as well. The square feels more like Europe than Colombia at night when the whole town is out sitting in the park, drinking wine and beer on the steps of the church and enjoying the sunset that lights up the village. It’s a really nice place. It’s one of the types of places that I could have stayed for a few more days than just the quick few day passthrough I did. It’s also relatively easy to get to. I mean it’s going to take you a while to get there, everything does in Colombia. But there is nothing tricky about actually arriving there. I would say that the only downside of Barichara is that it is a really popular place for people to visit. As a result, its usually pretty crowded with tourists on the weekend. It’s especially popular with Colombian tourists so on holiday weekends or religious holidays, which seem to happen every week, it get really busy. There’s lots of other really nice mountain towns to visit and if you hate the crowds there’s plenty of other less traveled places. However, its beautiful here and I would put on my list for any long trip in Colombia.

GENERAL OVERVIEW

  • LOCATION - Barichara is a small town located in the center of the country. It's an entirely worth place to visit as a tourist but its not really near any of the places that most tourists go. Which makes it pretty cool from a foreign tourist perspective actually. The vast majority of tourism here is actually Colombian. To get here though isn't necessarily difficult, its just going to be a long ride. Bus is probably the best way.

    • BY BUS - The first thing you are going to need to do is to get to the nearby town of San Gil. Which, in its own right is worth visiting. From San Gil, you can grab a bus from the bus terminal there to Barichara, the ride is about 45 minutes and costs about $1 USD or 4,500 COP. Getting to San Gil however, is the hard part, below are a few ways to get there. 

      • FROM BOGOTA - You can take a bus from Bogota to San Gil, the cost is about $!5 USD and lasts seven hours and 15 minutes. You can buy your ticket here.

      • FROM BUCARAMANGA - This is another large city thats not too far from San Gil. If you are in another major city in Colombia like Medellin or Cartagena, you are going to have to first get here. There are bus options but thats the first step. Theres also an international airport if you want to go that route. But the bus from Bucaramanga to San Gil can be found here. Tickets cost about $10 and the ride is roughly 2 hours.  ​

    • BY AIR - Its also EXTREMELY easy to get there via air. For example, from Medellin, you can fly to San Gil for $29. The airport is located here. It takes about an hour to get there. Then from San Gil, refer above to the bus directions. YOU ALWAYS NEED TO GET TO SAN GIL FIRST BEFORE GETTING TO BARICHARA. 

    • BY CAR - If you are traveling by car its simple enough to get here. The maps will take you right there and there's not anything crazy about the route to get here. Just know it will be a long drive if you are coming from Medellin or Bogota. Nearly 10 hours each and as you know by now, stay off the roads at night. 

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  • ACCOMODATION - There's tons of really cute little hotels all over the place here in Barichara. If you are traveling with someone and want to split a hotel room you are going to have tons of options in the $30 range and they are super cute and comfortable. Theres also a few hostels if you are looking for that scene. A few places that I know of are below. But theres tons of housing, if you are looking for a hotel just search online and see whats available for your dates.  

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  • EATS - Being one of the most popular small town destinations in Colombia for Colombian tourists, there's a lot of nice places to eat. Walking around here you will see restaurant and shops more than anything. So your food options are really large. Heres a few places that I tried and enjoyed while I was here.  Get lost adn stumble into something that I haven't recommended though, stumbling around is the best thing to do here anyways. 

    • Nativa Poke and Cafe - A small little cafe here that has really nice healthy poke bowls. Its also really well decorated and designed. A cute spot for lunch. ​

    • Guadalupe - An amazing little Mexican place. The best part of it is probably the decor on the inside. Its awesome, cozy and the vibes are just great. The food is also really good but its not the cheapest place in the world. A good spot for dinner nonetheless. 

    • La Peñita & Bachue - Cool local spot right near the center of town. They have delicious traditional Santandereana food (You are in the state of Santander). Very cheap as well. 

    • Noa - Delicious and cute little cafe. They also have pastas and dinner thats really good. 

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  • NIGHTLIFE - There are little bars and stuff all over the place. Places to pop in and have a drink but there isn't much of a nightlife scene. I wouldnt say its the reason you come here. More for some food and sight seeing and walking around if you ask me. The tiendas around the square are fun to get some beers at if you want to drink like the locals do, in the tiendas. 

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  • SIGHTS - For me, the best thing to do in Barichara is to just walk around. Stare at the white buildings with synchronized red brick roofs as you walk through the cobblestoned streets. Its a lovely town to just walk around. Theres a beautiful square, a lovely church, and its just a great place to stroll around in. Stop and have a coffee. A beer in the afternoon. Buy a souvenir. Take some pictures. It's a lovely little spot. Outside of walking around and enjoying this place there isnt much to do though. 

    • Have a beer or a bottle of wine in the town square around sunset.

    • Drink like a local and have some drinks in the tiendas that surround the square. 

    • Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception - as is the case with all colonial towns, theres a church here in the middle. If you like churches then you can check this one out but no matter what you do you cant miss it if you are walking around. Its pretty to look at and take a picture of.  

    • San Gil - Nearby San Gil is also a nice place to go and visit. 

    • Adventure Stuff near San Gil - there's lots of adventure and outdoor related stuff to do within an hour or Barichara. Go and check it out if yo like that stuff. You can white water raft, paraglide, bungee jump, or canoyoning. Lots of stuff from an extreme sports and outdoor adventure perspective to do. I linked to a Culture Tip article that has some of the things you can do here from an extreme sports perspective. 

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  • SURFING - Middle of the country. A country with no surf even if you are on the coast so you're double fucked.  

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