Cabo San Juan
Rock and hut.
Felipe Restrepo Acosta — CC BY-SA 4.0 · William Neuheisel from DC, US — CC BY 2.0 · Alejandro Bayer Tamayo from Armenia, Colombia — CC BY-SA 2.0 · William Neuheisel from DC, US — CC BY 2.0 · Alejandro Bayer Tamayo from Armenia, Colombia — CC BY-SA 2.0
One of Colombia's most beautiful national parks, where the forests of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta run straight down to the Caribbean, so dense tropical forest meets golden sandy bays, huge rounded granite boulders and turquoise water. It covers about 150 square kilometres of land plus an area of sea. Visits usually start at the El Zaino entrance, then a two- to three-hour walk on boardwalks and dirt trails through the trees, where you may see monkeys and toucans, to a chain of bays: wide Arrecifes, calm La Piscina, then Cabo San Juan with its famous hut-topped rock. The park is the ancestral land of the Kogi, Arhuaco and Wiwa peoples, and it closes three times a year for their land-renewal rites. In 2026 it closes from 1 to 15 February, 1 to 15 June and 19 October to 2 November. Swimming is banned on some beaches such as Arrecifes because of dangerous currents that have cost many lives, so swim only where allowed. It is hot and humid, so carry plenty of water and insect repellent, and start walking in the morning.
Rock and hut.
Monkeys and toucans.
A calm bay.
Caribbean coast, about 34 km east of central Santa Marta; main entrance at El Zaino
From 1 to 15 February, 1 to 15 June and 19 October to 2 November, for the Indigenous peoples' land-renewal rites.