95km (60 miles) from Bucaramanga
This quaint, 300-year-old town is charming enough, but there was little reason to come here until a couple of decades ago, when adventure sport enthusiasts began descending upon the mountain hamlet. Today San Gil is the adventure sport capital of Colombia, and many adrenaline focused travelers plan their entire trips to Colombia around what they can do here. Rafting, kayaking, hiking, paragliding, mountain biking, caving, rappelling, paragliding, and many other dangerous (yet for some reason appealing) activities can easily be arranged through the many operators that call San Gil their base.
The town itself has little going on other than Parque El Gallineral (daily 8am–6pm; admission COP$6,000), a 4-hectare park on an island in the Río Fonce, where thousands of trees drip with Spanish moss. There are a few short trails, a pool, and some small cafes.
