Barichara

View of the Cathedral of Barichara.

This extraordinary village is famous for its breathtaking views and beautiful colonial architecture. A village so well cared for there isn't one scrap of garbage, no overhead cables and every single house is carefully decorated. It has a welcoming local community practicing cultural, artistic and healing traditions from Colombia's incredible diversity and beyond. It's perfect for spending a few days to relax, go hiking, biking or paragliding, enjoy the art, architecture and natural surroundings, get creative, work on yourself and eat some really good food. My number one advice for enjoying Barichara is to go inside any building wherever it seems allowed! The town is beautiful on the outside but can give the impression of being empty. That's because everything is happening on the inside! Every building by law must have an open courtyard, so even when you go in, you'll invariably find yourself outside again! Have a look round the hotels (pretend to be a respective client), the galleries, workshops and cafes. You will find hidden islands of beauty wherever you look. If you want to stay a little bit out of town, try La Pacha Hostel, halfway between San Gil and Barichara. Here are some of the activities on offer in Barichara:

Restaurants

Barichara is a foodie's delight. Here are some of our favorite restaurants. They are all excellent, but there are many more not on this list. It's worth a google.

• ​La Pacha Hindú - Delicious Indian and vegetarian food and yummy desserts, and natural swimming pool.
• Barichara a la Piedra - amazing meat served on volcanic hotplates and great salads too.
• Siete Tigres - excelent mediterranean style pizza and more
• Nativa Poke -poke bowls with a local twist.
• La Peñita and Bachue - run by a prize goat farm. Try the lamburger, it's incredible!
• Gringo Mikes - gourmet burgers, Mexican, amazing salads and desserts.
• El Compa - the best of the typical Santander restaurants. Ask for the almuerzo - it's cheaper than ordering from the menu.
• Indepedencia - incredible views with a varied and tasty international menu
• Filomena - great burgers and sandwiches with lots of veggie options.
• Epice - incredible spice shop with Arabic cuisine.
• Terra Barichara - Bellísima Italian food with pool and jacuzzi too!

Taller de Papel (paper workshop)

At this women-run project you can learn how they make paper from local plants and buy some of their beautiful art and paper crafts. For more information visit their website.

Yo Soy - Dance and yoga studio

Offering a wide range of workshops from Ecstatic Dance (Danza en Libertad) to Ashtanga Yoga to Salsa classes. Run by lovely people, there's always a fun and welcoming atmosphere. Check out their instagram for weekly timetables.

Taller de Tierra (Earth Workshop)

Here you will learn about the many cultural and artistic uses of mud! Barichara is famous for it's rich reddish earth and it's traditional earth-based construction method, tapia pisada. Don't worry, you can get your hands dirty too. They have a fun and creative mud-painting workshop in English and Spanish. ​Whattsapp +51 310 3181611

Mountain Biking

Rent bikes and enjoy the incredible architecture and views at your own pace. I recommend riding out to lunch at La Maloka. Guided downhill tours are also available through this company.

​https://wa.me/c/573227856002

Casa Comun

Community shop selling lots of local products from all over the region. Very social with a great vibe. Also next door there's a little alleyway that leads to an incredible native forest. Follow the path and re-enter the village in five minutes. Breathtaking!

​Hiking

​There are a number of great hikes in the area surrounding Barichara.​ The most popular hike in the region is Barichara to Guane. A beautiful 90 min hike into the Suarez Canyon. Amazing views all the way! Take a bus or tuk tuk back to Barichara. ​For more details and hikes check out wikiloc.

Hike from Barichara to Guane.

Arts and crafts shopping and galleries

There are so many high end boutique shops and galleries you simply have to wander around and you'll find a feast of sensory delights. For delicious local products, try Casa Común, a community shop and events centre. It's run by lovely people. There's plenty of shops. The general vibe is hand-made, holistic, natural, locally made top quality products: Paintings, jewellery, ceramics, sculpture, ornaments, clothes, food, cosmetics and healing products. Our favourite shop is Naturart, but just search for "arte Barichara" and see the incredible list that comes up!

​Segua' Bee sanctuary and Biotour

Diana Reyes takes you on a tour of the natural surroundings of Barichara (in English, French, Spanish or Italian), focusing on it's beautiful bees and the vital role they play in our lives. Includes candlemaking and honey tasting!

Tabacco Tour

Learn and participate in the ancestral tradition of tobacco, from seed to smoke. You'll go out to the fields and caneys where it is dried. Includes the cigar rolling bit!

​Tel. 3016019965 and instagram

Sua-ty Taller Textil (textile workshop)

​The Sua-ty workshop is open to all those who want to learn about the traditional weaving process and the products made from fique, cotton and recycled materials. Welcome anytime! Here you find some more info and the contact data.

Weaving workshop

​Encanto Museum

Barichara is one of the places that inspired the movie, and the girl who supposedly inspired the character of Mirabel still lives there.

Drink Guarapo, Chicha or Sabajon (pron. sabahon)

These are all homebrewed alchoholic drinks traditional to the the Colombian countryside. Guarapo in it's usual form, brewed by nearly all campesinos in the region, is fermented agua de panela (raw cane sugar) but sometimes they add fruits to make a cider type drink, when corn is added to the process it becomes chicha. Sabajon is a creamy Baileys-style drink coming in a variety of flavours, original, coffee, arequipe. In Guane you'll find Goat's milk sabajon, which is really good!

​Silvestre - Healing and Nutrition

Vanessa Alba is a certified, experienced and very gifted therapist specialising in Ayurveda, yoga, massage, and nutrition. Highly recommended! Here is the contact information.

Terra Barichara

Hotel with incredible Italian restaurant, jacuzzi (as hot as you like it), swimming pool, spa, massage. Beautiful place. Really tranquil outside of high season. The ultimate relaxing treat!

Terra Barichara Hotel

​Earth Regeneration

​Most evenings from 4-6pm in the Bioparque Moncora, situated above Barichara overlooking the Suárez Canyon, you can help with planting a food forest and join the conversation . For more information speak to Joe Brewer, author of The Design Pathway for Regenerating Earth. Parque Moncora is also a great place to see the sunset at 6pm every evening!

Tel. +57 314 6640551

For more on Earth Regeneration visit the website.

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