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Santa Marta is a Caribbean port city in northern Colombia and the capital of Magdalena Department. Founded on 29 July 1525 by the Spanish conqueror Rodrigo de Bastidas, it is the oldest surviving city in Colombia and the second oldest in South America, and it is known across Latin America as the place where Simón Bolívar died in 1830.
The city sits on its own bay between the sea and the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, the highest coastal mountain range in the tropics, whose snowy peaks of about 5,700 meters rise only 42 kilometers from the shore. This mix of beaches, jungle and mountains, home to the Kogi and other descendants of the Tairona culture, makes it one of the country's main tourist destinations.
Visitors explore the colonial cathedral and the gold museum in the old center, relax on the beaches of El Rodadero and Taganga, and head out to Tayrona National Park, the coffee village of Minca and the multi-day trek to Ciudad Perdida.
Santa Marta Cathedral, a whitewashed basilica in the historic center of Santa Marta, is described as the first church built under a South American diocese, its present building begun in 1766. Simón Bolívar was buried here from 1830 to 1842, and founder Rodrigo de Bastidas has rested here since 1953.
The Museo del Oro Tairona occupies the Casa de la Aduana on Plaza de Bolívar in Santa Marta, a colonial house of 1730 with a tower for watching ships arrive. Bolívar's body lay in state here in December 1830, and today the Gold Museum shows the goldwork of the Sierra Nevada's ancient peoples.
Parque de los Novios, also called Parque Santander, is a square in the historic center of Santa Marta and one of its main hubs for dining and tourism. Once a meat market, it took Santander's name in the 1930s, his statue stands at its center, and its streets were pedestrianized in 2008.
The Quinta de San Pedro Alejandrino, in the Mamatoco district of Santa Marta, is a hacienda built in 1608 that once produced rum, honey and panela. Simón Bolívar died here on 17 December 1830, and today it is a museum and landmark with a botanical garden and the Altar de la Patria.
The Bay of Santa Marta stretches from Punta Betín to Punta Gaira and is often called the most beautiful bay in the Americas. Off its north end rises El Morro, a rocky islet about 65 meters high with a lighthouse and an old fort, and the Playa Central runs from the port to the Manzanares River.
El Rodadero is a resort district of Santa Marta on the Caribbean coast south of the center, known for light sand and tall buildings. It began to develop in the mid 1950s and has become one of the country's leading beach destinations, and its four 80-meter towers are the city's tallest buildings.
Taganga is a traditional fishing village about 3 kilometers north of Santa Marta, founded by Rodrigo de Bastidas on the same day as the city in 1525. This bohemian backpacker hub is famous for its sunsets, its many scuba diving schools and its easy access to Tayrona National Park.
Cabo San Juan del Guía, in Tayrona National Natural Park east of Santa Marta, is a pair of beaches split by a rocky point and one of the most visited spots in the park. It is reached on a walk of about 2.5 hours from El Zaino or by boat from Taganga, and visitors sleep in tents or hammocks.
Tayrona National Natural Park protects about 150 square kilometers of land and 30 of sea some 34 kilometers from central Santa Marta, where the slopes of the Sierra Nevada meet the sea. It was Colombia's second most visited national park in 2022, and it closes several times a year to rest.
Ciudad Perdida, or Teyuna, is an ancient Tairona city in the Sierra Nevada within the Santa Marta district, believed to date from about 800 AD. Its 169 terraces, stone paths and plazas are reached by climbing 1,200 steps at the end of a 4 to 6 day jungle trek with an authorized operator.
The Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta rises behind Santa Marta to about 5,700 meters just 42 kilometers from the Caribbean, the highest coastal range in the tropics. Separate from the Andes, it feeds 36 rivers and is home to the Kogi, Wiwa and Arhuaco peoples, who live in reserves on its slopes.
Minca is a small village about 15 kilometers from central Santa Marta at some 650 meters in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, known as the region's ecological capital. Settled by coffee growers, it offers a cooler climate, waterfalls such as Marinka, and nearly 300 species of birds in the forests.
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