The Best Way to Get to Páramo de Santurbán

The Páramo de Santurbán is a massif. I love that word because it makes me think of massive, and that is exactly what this páramo is. (What is a páramo?) Its rocky formations are astounding. Off the start, I’ll encourage you to visit Páramo de Santurbán without a guide or with a local guide. I think that’s the best way to get to Páramo de Santurbán and truly enjoy your time. More on that below!

Click here to read about a new climbing area close by!

How to Get to Páramo de Santurbán

(See a map to get to Páramo de Santurbán from Bucaramanga at the end of this post!)

In Public Transportation:

1. Take a Flota Cáchira bus at carrera 16 #24-50 in Bucaramanga. It costs $22,000 pesos and takes you straight to Vetas, a town in the middle of the páramo.
2. This place is so large that you’ll find entrances to lots of paths to the páramo and its lagoons before and after Vetas.

In a Car:

With a GPS: look for “Vetas, Santander” on Google Maps or Waze and follow the instructions.

Without a GPS:

1. Beginning at Megamall, exit Bucaramanga headed towards Cúcuta. When you reach the roundabout, take the first exit towards Berlin.
2. Once you get to Berlin, take a left when you see the Berlin Police Station. This road will take you straight to Vetas, which happens to be right next to California! Go figure… Berlin and California. The road is unpaved.

What to Do at Páramo de Santurbán

Visit its Lagoons

What the Páramo de Santurbán has is lagoons! You can see lagoons everywhere just looking at the area on Google Maps, and a lot of them are quite close to the road. The easiest ones to get to are Laguna Pajarito and Laguna Las Calles, only 3 kilometers from Vetas, and Laguna Negra, which I marked on the map below. No guide is necessary for the hike to Laguna Negra, since there are red rocks marking the path to the lagoon. And that’s just 3 of 57 lagoons you can visit!

¿Access with or without a Guide?

There are some long hikes unknown to tourists, as well as short, easily hikable trails, like the hike to Laguna Negra. For this reason, I would say definitely try to visit without a guide if you’re there for a day trip, or at least hire completely local guides. If you do need a guide or simply need information, you can contact the following agencies from the region:

• For tours and information in English, we recommend you contact Wolf Tours.
• Ecosanturbán Travel, from Tona: 315 650 7936
• Ecosanturbán, from California: 314 238 7199
• Corposanturbán, from Vetas: 313 8936646

Some Things to Know

• There are a lot of access points to different hikes within the Páramo de Santurban. Each one may have different owners, so be aware you may have to pay various entry fees depending on where you go (usually about $3 USD).
• The road to Vetas may be difficult for low or old cars.
• Vetas is the highest municipality above sea level in Colombia!
• Some areas, such as the Laguna Negra, have a limit of people allowed inside in a day.
• Carry cash, since few places will accept card payments and getting cash is extremely complicated in the area.
• The cell service that connects best is Claro.

This is the best way to get to Páramo de Santurbán: with local guides or alone, ready to hike a lot and get to know new places! It’s definitely an amazing ecosystem!

If you want to read about what there is to do close to Tona and Vetas, click here!