If there’s one village that deserves to be called off the beaten path, it’s La Playa de Belen!
One of Colombia’s heritage villages, La Playa de Belen has the disadvantage of being located in one of the regions most affected by the armed conflict in Colombia
Yet it’s a village worth discovering, literally enclosed within the no less sublime Los Estoraques Natural Park! La Playa de Belen is well worth a detour on the road between Bucaramanga and Santa Marta or Mompox, if you do a bit of research before setting off (call accommodation in the village to find out the situation).
Disclaimer: we apologize in advance for any grammatical or syntactic errors, as our native language is not English (we're a Colombian-French couple), so we hope you'll forgive us and still enjoy the information we share with you! Please note that all the information on our blog is based on our own experience, and is checked and updated regularly.
General information La Playa de Belen
- Founded: 1862
- Population: 640
- People: playeros
- When to go: all year round
- Average temperature: 20 °C
- Climate: Temperate semi-arid
- Altitude: 1450 m
- Region: Andes
- County: Norte Santander
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Playa de Belen
Colombia’s heritage village
Founded in 1862, La Playa de Belen is a beautiful village in Colombia’s Norte Santander department. It is listed as one of Colombia’s Heritage Villages for its well-preserved colonial architecture, although the village was founded later.
All the houses in the village are identical, with an emphasis on architectural homogeneity: white walls, brown doors and red baseboards. The village of Playa de Belen is small and quiet, with just a few narrow streets and a beautiful church that stands out from the surrounding vistas.
Climbing up to the cemetery, for example, offers a beautiful view of the village, but it’s not the only one. The local adventure park also offers great views.
The village is literally surrounded by the rock formations of Los Estoraques. This is the other great attraction of the village of Playa de Belen. A surreal landscape, a work of erosion by Mother Nature that offers a spectacle quite unique in Colombia.
The area was once inhabited by the indigenous communities of Patatoques, Aratoques, Aspasicas, Borras, Curasicas and Peritamas. According to Wikipedia, the most important chief was Patatoque, whose name in the Muisca language means Cacique or Lord of the farm and river. It would appear that no trace of these ancestral peoples remains today.
Why La Playa de Belen
A little-known destination
How did we come to decide to visit Playa de Belen? For two main reasons.
Firstly, we’d been scouting the village for a long time, as the images we’d seen had caught our eye. Of course, the beautiful, simple but well-preserved colonial architecture. But also, and perhaps above all, the fact that the village of La Playa de Belen is nestled inside the Los Estoraques Natural Park, with its strange rock formations!
Secondly, because we had planned a road trip by car from Bogota to Santa Marta, and when we got to Giron (Bucaramanga) we wondered how we could cut the 8 or 10 hours drive to Mompox.
Stopping off at La Playa de Belen was therefore an option to consider. Considered, because the Norte Santander region, where the village of La Playa de Belen is located, is one of the areas most affected by the armed conflict that is still going on. So it was important to do your homework before deciding whether or not it was worth the detour.
Safety: Find out before you go
The easiest way to be sure that the area is safe when you arrive is to get in touch with people at La Playa de Belen and ask them directly.
For example, before leaving, we contacted the town hall and the hotel where we stayed, and it’s reassuring to have people explain to us that everything’s fine and that we’re welcome:
- La Playa de Belen Town Hall
- Casa Real (the accommodation we chose)
Los Estoraques
Natural park
As we said, there were two main reasons why we decided to visit La Playa de Belen: its heritage and the Los Estoraques Nature Park.
If Los Estoraques takes its name from a plant species called “Istoraque”(Styrax guianensis), it’s for its rock formations that we come to visit this protected natural area.
Los Estoraques has the characteristics of a desert, with a semi-desert ecosystem. The landscape is reminiscent of the Tatacoa desert, but the rock formations are much taller and more impressive. Over 270 species of butterfly have been recorded in the protected area!
Erosion, wind and water have formed these shapes – columns, small canyons, caves and so on. As we stroll through the park with our guide Alvaro, a native of La Playa de Belen, we soon have fun trying to recognize shapes, such as a king, a monkey, a screaming character, etc.
Alvaro tells us about the names given to the different areas and rock formations: the cave of the skeletons, the chalice, the boat, the lost city, the path of the virgin..
We spend a good two hours wandering through this spectacular landscape, reaching the top of a rock formation from which we can admire a truly impressive 360° landscape!
It is said that archaeological remains have been found here, including ceramics, bones, mummified bodies and petroglyphs… but as yet, few studies have been carried out to unravel their mysteries.
Practical info Los Estoraques
The entrance to Los Estoraques Natural Park is on the outskirts of the village, and you must be accompanied by a local guide to get there. What’s more, much of the interest of the walk lies in the guide’s explanations…
- Admission: $3.000/pers.
- Guide: $10.000/pers.
Conclusion
Visiting La Playa de Belen
Should you go to La Playa de Belen or not? Frankly, the village and Los Estoraques are well worth the detour. The only negative point from our point of view is that it’s hard to fit it into a classic Colombian travel itinerary.
But if you’re planning to take the road between Bucaramanga and Santa Marta, we’d really advise you to branch off to La Playa de Belen, a destination that’s truly off the beaten path and which, despite the area’s bad reputation, is a tourist destination that’s safe and accessible to all.
Where to stay in La Playa de Belen
La Playa de Belen
Appartement
Casa de campo el placer
Double room : $100.000 to $150.000 COP
Casa de Campo El placer is a small house conveniently located in Playa de Belén.Entire accommodation for 2 people or more in a pleasant setting with a garden to enjoy the village in peace and quiet
La Playa de Belen
Finca
Casa Real Hotel
Double room : $150.000 to $200.000 COP
This is where we stayed and we recommend it 100%! Located a 5-minute drive from the village center, the atmosphere is very tranquil. The rooms are basic but clean, and the terrace overlooking the Estoraques is just perfect!
How to get to La Playa de Belen
Unless you have your own vehicle, it’s not possible to drive directly to La Playa de Belen. You’ll have to make a stop in Ocaña.
From Ocaña
Ocaña -La Playa de Belen
Once in Ocaña, the easiest way is to take a cab to La Playa de Belen
- Fare: $10.000
- Time: 40 minutes
If you book with Casa Real, you can arrange transport with them
From Bucaramanga
Bucaramanga – Ocaña
To get to Playa de Belen, first take a bus from Bucaramanga to Ocaña.
- Fares: $50.000 and $65.000
- Duration: approx. 5 hours
- Regular departures all day
- Companies: Cotaxi from Bucaramanga Terminal or Cootransunidos and Cootranshacaritama from Bucaramanga’s Parque Antonia Santos
From Mompox
From Mompox there is only one direct route to Ocaña
Mompox – Ocaña
- One departure at 4pm, arrival at 9pm
- Fare: around $90.000
- Duration: approx. 6 hours
- Companies: Copetran
Otherwise, it’s a bit of an obstacle course:
- Bus Mompox -El Banco
- Bus El Banco -Aguachica
- Bus Aguachica -Ocaña
From Santa Marta
From Santa Marta, there’s only one departure for a direct route to Ocaña, but that means arriving at 3 a.m. on the spot… we don’t really recommend it… So you’ll have to go through Aguachica first, then on to Ocaña before arriving at La Playa de Belen.
Santa Marta – Aguachica
- Price: approx. $60.000
- Duration: approx. 7 hours
- Departures all day
- Companies: Copetran, Expreso Brasilia
Aguachica – Ocaña
- Fare: approx. $20.000
- Duration: approx. 2 hours
- Regular departures all day
From Cartagena
Cartagena – Ocaña
- Price: approx. $75.000
- Duration: approx. 10h
- Regular departures all day
- Companies: Copetran, Expreso Brasilia
