Hostal Juan Palitos — Hotel in Santander

We came for sportclimbing at La Mojarra and found this little oasis in midst of a wonderfull nature. The sportclimbingroutes are 5min walk away and have a great level of safety due to many bolts. The routes are challenging, but you´ll find enough at the easy grades up to 5c / 5.9 for three or four days. On top there is a bouldering area nearby (local busride an walk 8km all together). You can rent crashpads and get directions at the neighbour hostel (Refugio la rocca). All other climbing equipment you can rent at Juan Palitos. ||Gustavo, our host in Juan Palitos, was very friendly and super helpful in all our questions. He also speaks enough english for all common requests, if you speak no spanish. He made this place to our home, which we are sad to leave. We love the music he plays at the restaurant (Ska, Rock, Reggae). The food at the restaurant is very delicious with a few vegetarian alternatives. For vegetarians there is a small grocery shop nearby with lots of fruits and vegtables that can be cooked at the common kitchen.||At the end we have to say, th busride with the localbus is a nice adventure by itself. You take a taxi from Bucaramanga terminal to Piedecuesta. From there you take the local bus to Los Santos and ask the driver to drop you off at Juan Palitos....

I stayed here for four nights, even though I'm not a climber, which is the main attraction of the area. There are also some nice hiking trails down into the canyon. There are regular buses to town and out to the highway where you can get connections for Bucaramanga and San Gil. There are also a few direct buses to Buca from the town of Los Santos. |The place is perched on a hill, lovely views, a pretty garden and good facilities. It's slightly more like a BnB than a hostel, you can only use the kitchen at certain times, for example. But that also means you can purchase breakfast and dinner, and they also sell beers, soft drinks, coffee etc all day. |It's clean and the beds are comfy and there's a tv room with couches to chill out in. There is no wifi, which is really nice actually as it allows you to switch off! There's an Internet cafe in town if you need to book your next hostel etc. |You can't drink the water here but there's a little shop across the road selling water and another that sells fruit and veg. Or you can go to town or the weekend farmer's market a few kilometres away. |The staff here only speak Spanish, and they are very friendly and helpful. Highly...

I noticed that no one had written a review for this place in quite sometime, so I figured I'd add my two cents.||Juan Palitos is hands down one of the nicest, most tranquil, and best located hostals I've ever stayed at. Perched a ten minute walk from the entrance to the La Mojarra climbing park, close to a handy little tienda, and a short bus ride away from amenities such as a farmers market and the town of Los Santos, you basically have everything you need right at your fingertips with which to enjoy your stay. Most people are there for the climbing, so the hostal rents gear, and can help you get set up for a great time climbing on the wall. The kitchen is clean and well stocked, the rooms are clean and maintained daily, and the bathrooms are well-stocked and nearly spotless. Good wifi, and laundry service, too. If you don't feel like cooking, the hostal restaurant features great food for a reasonable price, cold beers, and a friendly ambience. I stayed for over a week, and really didn't want to leave. I'll definitely be coming back, and I highly recommend you stay at Juan...