"Lovely Barichara" a Barichara Travel Page by MalenaN

Barichara is a charming colonial town with whitewashed houses and stone paved streets. The stone used on the streets is a brown stone found locally in Santander. Barichara was founded in 1705 and in 1978 it was declared a national monument. Since then the town has been carefully restored with a good result, and new modern buildings are not allowed to be built. Barichara is situated at an altitude of 1340 metres and the average temperature is 22° C, so it has got a pleasant climate.

The Guane Indians were the original inhabitants in this area and their word Barachalá (from which Barichara comes) means “a good place for a rest”. That is absolutely true today. Barichara is a very tranquil little town situated 20 km northwest of San Gil. I visited on a daytrip in the middle of the week and it was very quiet. I walked around the streets, visited the town’s four churches and a museum, had lunch at a restaurant and ate an ice cream at the central square.

I had been recommended to take the track to the nice village Guane from Barichara. It is an old Spanish trail which has been declared a national monument. Since than the path has been restored and laid with stones so it is easy to walk and it takes about one and a half hour. There are beautiful views along the walk. Well, I didn’t feel I had the time, but if I ever come to Barichara again I would do the walk.