portal 2: Santa Marta

City of Santa Marta Colombia
Santa Marta is one of the oldest cities in South America, a totally natural paradise with a huge cultural legacy and full of magic, offers thousands of activities including diving, historical tours of the city, sports, visiting the heart of culture Tayrona and its treasures, enjoy its beautiful sunset, sail on sailboats or yachts, swim with dolphins, and visit beautiful beaches.
From the depths of a tropical sea emerges to touch the clouds a Sierra Nevada, as if he wanted to have the best view of the charming city that lies at his feet. Santa Marta, the oldest city in America; small and dreamy where the indigenous Tayronas mixed with African and Spanish blacks, giving rise to a race rich in values ​​and traditions.
Although its description is surprising, the city of Santa Marta is a monument to beauty, architecture and culture. Its warm climate and Caribbean atmosphere are synonymous with rest and fun. Hot springs, crystalline rivers, waterfalls, aquariums and lots of nature at your fingertips are what this warm city offers you. The view of the Andes mountain range, in the back of Santa Marta, is great and sublime. Some of the mountains are very high and, therefore, are covered with snow at their summit.
A road along the coast and up the mountain, takes you to the legendary world of the Tayrona Culture, group of warriors, goldsmiths and navigators, one of the most outstanding pre-Columbian civilizations of the Old World.
Santa Marta, gives you the opportunity to delve into the legendary world of Macondo, a place detailed by the Nobel Prize for Literature Gabriel García Márquez.
The natural and spiritual magic that is perceived in the landscapes of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta along with the vestiges and knowledge of ancestral cultures has led to believe that this is one of the great energetic poles of the earth connected to Tibet and other gifted places of spiritual value. True or false, it can not be denied that Santa Marta is a land that radiates great energy flashes.
We invite you to let your imagination fly and experience the Experience of touring each space of a city of charm and unique stories in Colombia.
What to do in Santa Marta?
Santa Marta offers its visitors a variety of activities ranging from cultural and ecological, starting with its preserved historical relics and important museums with exuberant beaches framed by nature, to its modern and lively nightlife.
A good time to visit the city is during the month of July, season in which the Festival of the Sea is celebrated, a moment full of music, joy, rhythms of drums and the competitions of the best aquatic sports, in which national and international tourists participate. foreign. The National Sea Reign brings together candidates from different regions of Colombia and abroad, who must demonstrate their skills for swimming and water sports. But the Fiestas del Mar, are not just sports. Throughout the five days of celebrations, parades, cultural events and concerts with the most renowned musical groups of the region take place in different parts of the city.
The Quinta de San Pedro Alejandrino, highlighted not only by its historical value, this being the place where El Libertador Simón Bolívar died, but also by its exterior appearance adorned by beautiful gardens in which the native species of Santa Marta proliferate. In its facilities it has a representative sample of the flora and fauna of the Caribbean in the so-called Living Collection, as well as a beautiful Botanical Garden, an art collection and a new complex that serves as the headquarters of the Bolivarian Museum of Contemporary Art.
The Park of Bolívar, site of forced passage in Santa Marta. Located in the midst of modern structures, it retains its colonial air and is guarded by the statues of Simón Bolívar and Santander. Its beautiful lighting at night is a show that you can not miss.
A few steps away is Casa de la Aduana, a beautiful colonial-style building considered one of the oldest in America and the home of the Tayrona Gold Museum exhibit. It has the most complete display of gold items that they give an example of the goldsmithing of the inhabitants who belonged to the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta.
Like Santa Marta, its Cathedral is very old. Also known as the Minor Basilica, it retains its Renaissance Roman style and is a monument that contrasts with the size of the colonial buildings of Santa Marta, landmark of the city and America for Christianity.
The Malecon or Paseo de Bastidas is located along the avenue that borders the beach of the Santa Marta Bay, when crossing it you can see the Morro, an islet in the middle of the sea on which lies the lighthouse that serves as maritime support to the boats that They approach the city. Also, several sculptures alluding to Tayrona tradition and heritage, characteristic symbol of the City.
The Convent of Santo Domingo, with its marked religious architecture, was probably the first church in Colombia. The Academy of History of Santa Marta operates in its facilities.
Leaving aside this tour through the history of Colombia, Santa Marta also offers spaces for recreation. Its beaches and nature reserves are of incomparable majesty.
The Rodadero Beaches, located 10 minutes from Santa Marta, are the meeting place for water sports such as water skiing, wind surfing and diving. In addition, sports championships are held such as beach volleyball and beach soccer or simply to rent an umbrella and lie on the fine sands that cover the place.
It is also the starting point to visit the Aquarium, just 5 minutes away by boat after leaving the port of La Cangreja. In the Aquarium, you will be able to appreciate a great variety of sea fish, turtles, sharks, dolphins, seals, and at the end of the tour an artistic show. In addition, you can appreciate the Museum of the Sea, which surprises with the different jaws of sharks and the remains of Spanish galleons sunk in the waters of the Caribbean Sea.
In this magical journey through the wonders of the sea, you can not miss the Agua Viva Biopark, with large exotic gardens that allow you to admire a variety of farm animals and endangered species. In addition, it has an aquarium where you can see fish from the Amazon, the Orinoco, the Magdalena, and the rivers of the Sierra.
To the east is Taganga, a fishing village that has preserved its originality and charm. Here you can attend diving classes, enjoy the typical food of the region or plunge into an atmosphere of peace and tranquility.
Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, enjoy all the natural and spiritual magic that is perceived in the landscapes of this sierra, land of indigenous ancestors Koguis, Kankuamo, Arhuacos and Uiwas, who still inhabit and protect a vast area of ​​this territory. In the bowels of the Sierra Nevada, the Lost City awakens the adventurous spirit of those who visit it. Built by the Tay tribe.
Where to sleep in Santa Marta?
Santa Marta brings together in one place close contact with nature, an excellent hotel infrastructure and a perfect space for water sports. Being one of the favorite tourist destinations by nationals and foreigners. Here you find luxury hotels or small and cozy hotels with modern and colonial architecture; some in front of the beach with a family or executive atmosphere.
For the mystique and history that each of the streets of the city preserves, Santa Marta offers you the option of Boutique Hotel, old houses that preserve their colonial style, but that have been remodeled to offer intimate, luxurious, unconventional and personalized attention
Or enjoy the varied offer of tourist apartments, located in front of the beach or in the areas of greater influence of Santa Marta. These with accommodations of one up to four rooms with all the comforts.
Santa Marta, thanks to being a destination frequented by national and foreign tourists during the 12 months of the year, offers all-inclusive hotels, among which the Hotel Decameron Galeón stands out, with a varied offer that includes all the necessary amenities to spend a vacation of great experiences and unforgettable moments.
On the other hand, the country houses, offer their visitors an environment away from the hustle, recreation, welfare and rest. Here you can live with nature and enjoy all the amenities of the city of Santa Marta. This type of accommodation usually includes pool service, cable TV, bathrooms and showers with hot water, independent spaces, kitchen and activities for children, guided walks and meals.
Also, the hostels are very popular, lodging in which you share the same bedroom and bathroom with other travelers. In some hostels, the value can include breakfast and Wi-Fi internet, among other services. This type of accommodation gives you the possibility of interacting closely with other travelers thanks to the dynamics of accommodation and activities that are normally carried out with guests.
Tayrona National Natural Park, one of the tourist landmarks of Colombia, has comfortable cabins, called ecohabs, or offers you the possibility of camping in the unforgettable foothills of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, but if you prefer a place of warm and typical homes; Suitable especially for informal travelers and adventure lovers. The Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, offers you 6 Tourist Inns in its surroundings.
Where to eat in Santa Marta?
The art of cooking is a remarkable part of the identity of the Colombian people. The fine blend of aromas and flavors combined with sensitivity and imagination, decorate the kitchens of each region of the country.
As multicultural as the mixture of ethnic origins and musical influences of the city is the typical cuisine in Santa Marta, simply a sea of ​​possibilities. As in the rest of the Colombian Caribbean coast, fish and seafood are essential ingredients in the culinary of this region.
International cuisine also has its place in Santa Marta, African, Caribbean, European and Latin flavors compete for a space on the menu, in charge of offering dishes for all tastes and budgets, in restaurants that are located in the middle of the history of the city. One of the most spectacular restaurants in Santa Marta is the Gourmet Plaza Bistrot, located in the historic center of the city. The decoration and beauty of the colonial house where it is located transport you back in time to an unforgettable gastronomic experience that you can accompany with a good wine.
As far as typical foods are concerned, the patacones complement the dishes with fish or meat. Accompanied by coastal cheese and coffee with milk, they are a typical breakfast. La Mojarra fried with green banana plantains and rice with coconut, seasoned with coastal serum, can not miss on the table. Or a good plate of rice with chipichipi (small mollusk of exquisite flavor), after a fun day on the beaches of the rodadero. Any time of the day is a good excuse to let yourself be tempted by the unmistakable proclamations of the black women of Palenque and approach you to savor the delicious arepa and egg, the yam and the clean bun accompanied by the particular flavor of coastal whey.
A good plan is to visit Playa Blanca five minutes by boat from the Rodadero and taste the exquisite food of the restaurants, very artisanal, but served on the shores of the crystal clear waters that bathe this beautiful beach. A tasty rice with shrimp, followed by a coconut candy or a few cocadas is ideal.
As for drinks, the mango smoothie and fruit juices such as anón, corozo, guanábana, cashew, tamarind, guava, sapodilla and medlar are the favorites when mitigating the sweltering heat of the beaches.

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