Santa Marta - City of Colombia

Santa Marta is a city and municipality, located in northern Colombia by the Caribbean sea and the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountains, capital of the Magdalena Department. The city is an important maritime port and hub for tourism, history and culture. However many historians argue that he named it after the Spanish city of Santa Marta de Astorgas, which he had also visited. It was one of the first cities to be founded in Colombia. The first one was Santa María la Antigua del Darién.

The area where Santa Marta lies was inhabited prior to the Arrival of Spanish explorers by Amerindians from the Tairona culture, and its subsequent families: Arhuacos and Koguis among others.

In recent years, Santa Marta has attracted large numbers of people displaced by the paramilitary groups operating in the area. The warm climate and the possibility of occasional work serving the tourist industry has increased the city's population drastically.

Temperatures in the city of Santa Marta ranges from 18.65 to 31.15 degrees Celsius at sea level, but the Municipality of Santa Marta stretches up to the highest snowy peaks of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta.

Las Fiestas del Mar is celebrated on a yearly basis in this city. It serves as a tourist attraction during the midyear vacation period. One of the main events in the festival is the jetski show organized by Santa Marta Esqui. There are beauty pageants, parades and parties in the city.

Quinta de San Pedro Alejandrino Built in the 17th century, was the last home of Simon Bolivar, today it is a house/museum in his honor.

Port of Santa Marta one of Colombia's most important maritime ports.The Cathedral it is a national monument built in 1766, it held the remains of Simon Bolivar until 1842.

La Casa de la Aduana it is the oldest house of America, built in 1530. Today it is the Tayrona Museum.
Madame Agustine House it is a jewel of the colonial architecture.

San Fernando Fort built by Spanish conquerors to protect the city from the pirates, it is a fine sample of colonial military architecture.

Tairona National Park located at 34 km north of Santa Marta, it is the most important ecological reserve in Colombia. It has camping zones, virgin beaches, ecotourism, and indigenous tribes.

Quebrada Valencia a majestic waterfall emerging in the middle of the rain forest.

Pueblito also known as Cahirama, it is one of the 200 pre-Columbian cities discovered near Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta.

Taganga an authentic fishing town, it is known as a great place for scuba diving, and it has beautiful beaches nearby.

The Mamancana Natural Reserve This natural reserve offers the possibility to see wildlife and practice extreme sports such as paragliding, downhill, rock climbing, and canopying.