Chicamocha National Park, also known as Panachi, is a Colombian national level natural park along the Chicamocha Canyon located 50 km from the city of Bucaramanga, Santander.
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Santandereanidad Monument
4.8
(107)
The natural beauty of the area is beyond belief - I would give this 10 stars if I could! I encourage anyone in Bucaramanga, or anyone passing through the area, to take some time to stop on one of the view points along the main road.
Unfortunately the 'National Park' that they have built is not the way to enjoy this natural beauty - when you imagine a national park you think of sign-posted walks to immerse you in the area, guides to explain to you the history of the place and what's around you, and a general respect for nature.
It would be better to call this an attraction park - it's basically a fenced-in area of restaurants, shops and cafés. There are other activities such as a small museum, a cable car and other things, but you have to pay for everything and knowing the prices in Colombia (and what local people earn), it's very, very expensive. For some foreigners it's of course more manageable. But that does not justify the prices - it honestly feels like a money making machine.
The park was also incredibly busy today - we waited nearly 2 hours to use the cable car (we had already paid for it so we felt like we needed to use it), and there were crowds everywhere. It was like being in an outside shopping mall.
Our group of 4 adults would far rather have just driven to the area and not entered the 'park'. You can enjoy the views for free from the road, and there are restaurants along the way that you can eat in or have a coffee.
If the park made an effort to show respect for the surrounding nature (for example, we didn't see a single sign explaining how the canyon was formed, the history of the people that have lived around it, the plants and trees that are there etc.) that they are making a lot of money from, and made the whole thing less commercial, then I could recommend this place - but for anyone looking for a true 'National park' experience, I'm afraid you will be...
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Great experience. I was here a while ago. I had a great time with my Nieces at this National Park. The weather was pretty cool, sunny with some clouds and with a bit of a breeze. This park is located about 2 hours drive from Bucaramanga Airport.
The park was cleaned, well taking care of and very organized. We paid about $44-45 mil pesos. About $7 to 10 dollars each just to enter the park to walk in the park and to enjoy the views of canyon including visiting the monument. It was well worth it for me. There are other activities there in the park: such as paraglading, a cable transportation system going up and down the canyon, siplining, a big scary swing and big pools on the side of the canyon with indreable views of the canyon. There is extra charge to use any of those.
There are a few good restaurants at this park with amazing views to the canyon. The service at one of the restaurants could have improved. It took a bit long to get the drinks, the food came in within a timely matter.
The roads up there are beautiful. I saw some waste some garbage on the side of the roads going up and down the canyon but it seemed to have fallen from a truck. Someone needs to pick it up.
The roads up there can be a bit scary and intimidating, driving up the canyon on such narrow roads with deep hills, one way each road coming and going with big heavy trucks passing by can be very scary and intimidating. I saw some rocks also falling from the rocky hills passing by driving. My Nieces and I also saw what looked like a vehicle may have gone down those high deep hills. It looked pretty scary driving on the side of that canyon. Drive well, drive attentively....
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Is the park nice? Yes, my only recommendation if you find yourself here is the cable car ride across the valley and up the other side. The rest of the items you can do elsewhere & for less.
Paying to get into the park gets you… Access to pay for more things, that is it. $20,000 COP to park, which you need to stand in a separate line for. $23,000 COP to get in the park per person. What is in the park after you make that payment? Nothing really, you could walk up to the monument in the park or the 360º view from the highest point in the park. That is it. If you want to ride the Teleferico, that is $75,000 COP per person. Chiva (Ornate Colombian bus usually associated with parties) ride to the top of the hill where the zip line, buggies, 360º pano view is located is $8,000 per person. Zip Line, $50,000 COP per person. Extreme Swing, $50,000 COP per person. Want to see some Tucans, Ostriches, Ducks, Pheasants & Peacocks? $4,000 COP each. Paragliding in the park… $250,000 COP each which after you pay to get into the park would be $273,000 per person. You can paraglide within 5km of the park for $50,000 pesos less & you may not have top pay for parking, although it...
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