San Gil is the adventure capital of Colombia. The draw of San Gil isn’t the city itself, but rather everything you can do in the surrounding areas. Zip lines, hiking, waterfall repelling, and rafting are just a few of the activities that you’ll find offered here. Although there are some calmer activities for people who don’t aren’t much of adrenaline junkies.
In this travel guide, I’ll talk about the different day trip options you’ll have in San Gil with a heavy focus on independent activities. After all, if you work with a tour operator, they’ll handle all of the logistics for you. Plus, at the end of this post, I’ll provide my own two day itinerary for San Gil.
About San Gil
San Gil is not a pretty city. Or maybe I was just jaded because I came from Villa de Levya, which is a historic colonial town full of white washed buildings. On the surface, San Gil isn’t that special. Sure you’ll find a few things to do, but the real draw is what is found outside the city. So, use San Gil as a base, but don’t plan to spend much of your days in the city.
Top Things to Do in San Gil
Let’s start with top things to do in and around San Gil. Then at the end, I’ll show you my two day itinerary for San Gil.
Adventure Activities
As I’ve mentioned, San Gil is the adventure capital of Colombia. Whether you want to zip line, bungy jump, paraglide, white water raft, repel down a waterfall, or go on some other crazy adventure, there a tour company ready to take you on your adventure. This is the reason most travelers visit San Gil. They want to get their adrenaline pumping and believe me, there are a lot of options.
Personally, I left my time in San Gil open as I was unsure of what I would want to do while I was there. In the end, I stuck to DIY day trips and I’m very happy with that. But, because of San Gil’s reputation as an adventure town, I have to include adventure activities on this list.
If you’re interested in adventure activities, you’ll find loads of companies in the city of San Gil. Obviously since I did my own tour, I don’t have any personal recommendations, but every single hotel and hostel in San Gil will be able to help you book your tour, whether they make all of the arrangements for you or if they provide you with a company to talk to.
Juan Curi Waterfall
The Juan Curi Waterfall is a short drive outside of San Gil. The waterfall itself massive and can be seen from the road. But why stop there? You can enter the park, pay your fee, and hike right up to the base of the waterfall.
This is one of the day trips I did. It turned out to be more adventurous than I was expecting, but I had a blast. Yes you’ll be hiking through the jungle, but you’ll also cross rivers and climb ladders as you work your way to the base of the waterfalls.
Remember how I said that one of the adventure activities was repelling down a waterfall? Here’s where you can do that. Yes you can pay for a tour company to take you to the Juan Curi Waterfall, but it’s so easy to get here on your own that you don’t necessarily need a tour company (although you’ll obviously have to go with a guide for the actual repelling).
To get to the waterfalls from San Gil, board a bus to Charalá and ask to get dropped off at “Las Cascadas”. This cost 8000 COP as of November 2024. From there, enter the park and pay your fee (12,000 COP as of November 2024). Hike to the falls, repel if you want (an additional cost), and when you’re done, wait on the side of the road until a bus to San Gil passes.
Curiti and Pescaderito
The main draw for travelers is Pescaderito, which is a natural swimming area. To reach Pescaderito, you’ll go through the town of Curiti so many travelers will loop these two places together.
Curiti has a history of textiles and you’ll still find some here. Beyond the textiles, enjoy a nice lunch, stroll the plaza, and visit the main church. Then you can take a walk to one of the several natural swimming pools that are just outside of town, such as Pescaderito.
A visit to Curiti is a bit calmer than many of the other activities on this list, so for those not big on high adrenaline adventures, consider visiting Curiti.
From San Gil, buses depart regularly to the center of Curiti.
Visit Barichara and Guane
For less adrenaline, consider visiting the town of Barichara. This colonial town is a favorite among travelers with many going as far as to say that it’s the prettiest town in all of Colombia.
Barichara is another place that’s easy to visit on your own, although you’ll still find some tours to Barichara offered. Instead of taking a tour, save your money and hop on the bus from San Gil to Barichara which costs 8000 COP (one way, as of November 2024). Once in Barichara, you can explore at your own pace. Wander the hilly streets, eat some traditional Santander food, and take in the views of the surrounding mountains.
For another adventure, you can hike the Camino Real. This ancient pilgrimage links Barichara to the nearby, even smaller town of Guane. The hike is 3.5 miles and mostly downhill (if you hike from Barichara to Guane). Once in Guane, you can get a bus back to Barichara for just 4000 COP.
Explore San Gil
Earlier in this article, I mentioned how San Gil isn’t the prettiest city. I still believe that most of your time should be spent exploring the surrounding area (either on your own or with a tour). But, you may find yourself with a little extra time. There are few things to do within San Gil.
There’s two viewpoints that you can visit. Each offers a nice view of San Gil if you’re willing to climb up the steep hills to reach them. There’s La Gruta on the northern side of the city and Cerro de la Cruz on the southern end of the city. In my opinion, Cerro de la Cruz was easier to hike to (although it was steeper) but the views at La Gruta were better. But if you have the time, hike to both and form your own opinion.
On the southeastern edge of San Gil, you’ll find Parque Natural El Gallineral. This is a park where you can walk and see some animals. I had plans to go, but didn’t for two reasons. First, I was running out of time. Second, based off of recent reviews on Google Maps, the park isn’t as nice as it once was. Again I didn’t go so I can’t make a judgement, but I recommend doing your own research.
And lastly, I have to mention one more iconic place in San Gil and that is Gringo Mike’s. This is a restaurant but it seems that every backpacker ends up here. The food delicious, but portions are huge (I had the children’s burger and was full). The name sounds cringy and the prices are definitely higher than more local food, but Gringo Mike’s is an institution on the backpacker trail.
Sample Two Day San Gil Itinerary
For independent travelers, take a look at my two day San Gil itinerary.
Day 1 – A Day Trip to Barichara
8:00 – Bus from San Gil to Barichara
8:45 – Arrive in Barichara
9:00 – Hike to Guane
11:30 – Bus from Guane to Barichara
12:00 – Arrival in Barichara
3:00 – Depart Barichara
3:45 – Arrival in San Gil
Day 2 – San Gil Viewpoints & Juan Curi Waterfall
9:00 – Hike to La Gruta
11:00 – Bus from San Gil to Juan Curi
11:30 – Arrival at Juan Curi
1:30 – Bus from Juan Curi to San Gil
2:00 – Hike Cerro de la Cruz
2:45 – Late lunch at Gringo Mike’s
4:00 – Visit Cathedral and Parque Principal
Getting to and from San Gil
San Gil is well connected to other cities in Colombia. The important thing to note though, is that there are two bus stations in San Gil.
The first is the main bus station is just outside of the main city center. You can walk to the station, but it’s a 20 minute walk to the main square. That said, it’s a walk along a busy road. There’s enough space for you to walk but it can be loud and very busy, so be prepared. This bus station serves all the major cities throughout Colombia. Head here for buses to Bogotá, Bucaramanga, Tunja, and more.
There’s also a smaller bus station that’s located a few short minutes from the main square. This is the Terminalito station and serves the smaller towns throughout the region. If you’re taking your own trip to Barichara, Curiti, or the Juan Curi Waterfall (Charalá), you’ll leave from this station.
I traveled to San Gil from Villa de Leyva, which involved a transfer in the larger city of Tunja.
For other many other destinations, it may be easiest to first travel to Bucaramanga. It’s a three hour bus ride to Bucaramanga, but you’ll find many more connections here. Additionally, Bucaramanga has the closest airport to San Gil.
When to Visit San Gil
San Gil can be visited all year round. While many countries have weather that can change drastically throughout the year, Colombia has just two season: dry season and rainy season.
Dry season is more popular because rain is less likely. Dry season typically runs from December through February or March. Then there is another dry season from June through August.
Rainy season comprises of the other months of the year. April and May and September through November. While it is rainy season, it may not rain every day, but you need to be prepared that it could rain at any time.
While dry season, particularly December through February, is the most popular time to travel, I chose to visit in November. It was rainy season and it did rain every day of my visit. However, the rain typically did not occur until the late afternoon or evening, meaning on most days my mornings were dry and I was able to explore in the dry sunshine.
Final Thoughts
San Gil is an adventure town and there is no shortage of things to do, especially if you like to get your adrenaline pumping. Whether you hike, raft, or meander through the towns of Barichara and Curiti, you’re sure to have a great visit.
Continue Your Adventure
San Gil and Beyond: San Gil is the adventure capital and there’s so much to see and do. Independent travelers can day trip to the colonial town of Barichara. From there, they can hike to Guane on the Camino Real. Or, consider a visit to the Juan Curi Waterfall.
More in Colombia: Beyond San Gil, don’t miss other great stops in Colombia like the capital city of Bogotá or the colonial town of Villa de Leyva.
Colombia Travel Guide: Start your planning with my Colombia Travel Guide. Get my 9 day Colombia itinerary, all of my top safety tips, and determine a realistic travel budget.