Tag Archives: San Gil

San Gil – Adventure Capital of Colombia

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San Gil is often subtitled as the adventure capital of Colombia – and it seemed, really everything was on offer here … from easy stuff like hiking, to canyoning, caving, paragliding (tandem of course), rafting (various levels) and bungee jumping – so a bit like a Colombian Queenstown. 😉

I decided for the rafting on Suarez River, according to Colombia Rafting Expeditions one of the most exciting rivers in Colombia to practice whitewater rafting and kayaking,  with rapids class IV + V.
After a drive of about an hour we made it to the starting point for an introduction to actual rafting, rescue and self-rescue measures (necessary with level 5 rapids ahead of us). The actual rafting turned out major fun – with water coming from every direction. Below some evidence from our trip and our raft – courtesy of Colombia Rafting Expeditions.

San Gil and Barichara

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This morning we made it from Villa de Leyva to San Gil – a journey of approximately 175km, that technically takes 3.5 hours (we made it in well less than three hours) and one toilet break (we were given none).

Arrival in San Gil was in time for a short orientation walk and lunch in the food court of the local mall (ceviche anyone?). It was also here, where we reviewed and discussed our adventure for the following day.

With San Gil itself not offering too much, we decided to jump on a local bus, to get over to Barichara. This little town is well known for its well preserved colonial center and made a nice getaway for this afternoon.