On our road trip between Bogota and Santa Marta, we stopped off in Bucaramanga. Instead, we decided to spend the night and visit Giron, a small town in the metropolitan area whose well-preserved historic center is well worth a visit!
Giron is part of the network of 18 heritage towns and villages in Colombia. This label aims to promote destinations steeped in history, know-how and preserved architecture.
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.
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A little history
Visit Giron in Santander, Colombia
Giron is one of the “pueblos patrimonios de Colombia” for the architectural preservation of its historic center since its foundation in 1631.
When we thought about the itinerary for our road trip between Bogotá and Santa Marta, we didn’t hesitate for long. We had to pick up Angélica’s dad from Bucaramanga airport, and Giron seemed the ideal spot to spend a night and visit the old town. What’s more, Angélica had heard of the traditional tobacco factories, and we were keen to get a closer look!
Giron is called “la ciudad blanca” for the simple reason that its old town is made up of colonial-style houses with whitewashed walls. The white walls, cobbled streets and wooden doors are part of Giron’s reputation and identity. All this has created a beautiful architectural homogeneity that is truly surprising when you arrive in the Bucaramanga agglo.
Long a small colonial village, Giron is now a city of over 180.000 inhabitants, entirely encircled by the Bucaramanga agglomeration (1 million inhabitants). Yet the old town has remained intact and has the atmosphere of a small country village. It’s like entering a village frozen in time, lost in the middle of a megalopolis!
Giron is the gypsy capital of Colombia! We’re talking about a few hundred inhabitants who migrated here in the 1930s, fleeing persecution in Europe, particularly during the Spanish Civil War. Today, the gypsies in Giron’s main square are part of Giron’s identity. They’ll read your palm in exchange for a small ticket, and perhaps tell you their story.
There are several thousand gypsies in Colombia, living in around 11 different parts of the country. Most have settled down and abandoned their nomadic lifestyle. Some continue to practice palmistry and speak their Caló language.
Tales and legends
Visiting Giron in Santander, Colombia
Like many villages in Colombia, Giron is a town with a wealth of folk tales and legends, often linked to religious beliefs. Thanks to our meeting with the “Guardians of Tourism and Heritage” we’re going to learn plenty of stories about Giron.
The story of Giron’s eight bells
In 1881, the community of Giron raised a large sum of gold and sent an emissary to Toledo in Spain to bring back the eight most beautiful bells possible.
The story goes that the emissary was attacked and robbed of all the gold he was carrying. Knowing he couldn’t return to Giron without the bells, he set to work to raise the money again. And after several years, the people of Giron thought they’d never see the emissary again, that he must be dead, that he’d stolen the money, that he’d squandered it on booze… in short, when they saw him arrive with the 8 bells, they threw the biggest party Giron had ever seen!
Legend has it that the devil stole the largest bell, and on certain days it can be heard ringing in the mountains… since then, a Lion has been carved near the bells to protect them from the devil.
The legend of the Nazareno sin cabeza
The legend of the “Nazareno sin cabeza”: During each Holy Week, it is said that around the Parque de las Nievas, a ghost dressed as a penitent (but without his pointed hood) goes out at night to atone for his sin: he ate meat during Lent and died of it..
He is also said to levitate, to wear his arms in the shape of a cross, and to carry people with him as they stroll down the street (and not on the sidewalk). Some claim to have seen him levitating in the street and then disappearing as he entered the chapel.
In the end, it’s easy to imagine that this legend was a way for the church to scare the population and keep the Lenten tradition intact.
Best things to do in Giron
Visit Giron in the Santander region of Colombia
We arrive in Giron in the evening and it’s hot, very hot!
In the morning we were still in Barichara, visiting a weaving workshop, then at lunchtime we went to the Juan Curi waterfall near San Gil, before taking the road through the Chicamocha Canyon towards Giron. Once settled into our hotel in the old town, we had a bite to eat at a nice little restaurant.
The next day, we head for the main square, where the great basilica, also dressed in white, is enthroned. Here, the faithful can be seen walking on their knees with their hearts up to the altar.
In the square, we meet a group of high-school students wearing polo shirts bearing the mysterious words “Guardianes del turismo”. Daniela approaches us and offers to accompany us as we explore the old town and learn more about Giron’s history.
As part of their studies, these high school students spend a few hours a week offering their services as free guides to tourists. We think it’s a great way of teaching young people to love their town and its history, by sharing it with others.
So we wander the narrow streets of Giron, learning the town’s tales and legends, and a few historical details. The “guardians of tourism” are there every day in Giron square, and we really recommend you take a walk with them!
Good to know
Best things to do in Giron
- Taste Maracumix, Rasapao or Cocadas
- Visit a tobacco factory
- Visit the Basilica Menor San Juan Bautista
- Visit the Parque de Las Nieves and its chapel
- Casa Museo Mansión del Frayle
- Stroll through the historic center
Daniela will also help us find the entrance to Doña Guillermina’s tobacco factory. Not easy without a precise address, but by asking several shopkeepers we eventually found the workshop and were able to visit it!
Giron’s gastronomic traditions include the popular raspaos (made with ice cream, natural flavourings, honey and condensed milk) and the delicious cocadas (made with coconut, sugar and milk). Another local pride is the maracumix! An ice cream served inside a passion fruit. You can sample all this directly from the stalls in the main square.
Cigar factories
Best things to do in Giron, Santander
We didn’t want to leave Giron without visiting a tobacco factory. Chatting to the manager of the Cactus restaurant, where we’d eaten the best pizza in Giron the previous evening, César told us about Doña Guillermina’s factory. By the way, we recommend that you drop in on César if you’d like some tips for visiting Giron and the surrounding area..
Giron is a land of tobacco, and this tradition has existed since the 18th century! Thanks to Daniela and the “guardians of tourism”, we were able to find Dona Guillermina’s workshop, where we were welcomed by her husband, Don Victor.
Don Victor takes us into his workshop, which is in fact his home. Downstairs we enter the kitchen, where we find a small room filled with large dried tobacco leaves. Then, in the back kitchen, we find a small room where all the cigar packs are stored. Then up a small staircase into a small room where the cigar-makers work.
When we came there were only the men working up there, but the “work chain” consists of the men preparing the tobacco leaf and the women rolling and finalizing the cigar. Downstairs, the packets are prepared for sale.
In Don Victor’s house, 10.000 cigars are made every day and marketed under the “La Paz” brand, mainly in Medellín and Cali.
Don Victor tells us that this ancestral craft is being lost. Young people are no longer interested in this work, and one workshop after another is closing down. There are only 3 factories left in Giron. But there are more in the surrounding villages, where you can also visit the tobacco-growing fields.
Contact a local guide
City Tour in Giron
Where to stay in Giron
Giron
Hotel
Chill Out Hotel
During our stay in Giron, we stayed at the Chill out hotel. Superbly located in the historic center of Giron, the hotel offers beautifully decorated rooms in the colonial style.
How to get to Giron
Giron is located in the outskirts of Bucaramanga, a stone’s throw from Palo Negro airport.
BUS | Bucaramanga center <> Giron
- Travel time: approx. 20 min.
- Fare: approx. $3.000 COP
- Companies: Cotaxi
BUS | Bucaramanga airport <> Giron
Buses cannot go as far as the airport, and stop at the tollbooth 15 minutes’ walk from the airport.
TAXI | Bucaramanga center <> Giron
- Travel time: approx. 20 min.
- Fare: $32.000 COP
TAXI | Bucaramanga airport <> Giron
- Travel time: approx. 10 min
- Fare: $26.000 COP
