Eastern Colombia

By Lorraine Caputo

Eastern Colombia encompasses those lands northeast of the nation’s capital that are embraced by the broad lowlands of the Lower Magdalena River valley to the West and the towering heights of the Cordillera Oriental to the East. Within this area are the Departments of Boyacá, Santander and Norte de Santander. A major highway connects Bogotá and Santa Marta, passing through Tunja and Bucaramanga (13 peajes, or tollbooths). From Bucaramanga another thoroughfare heads east to Pamplona, Cúcuta and the Venezuelan border. An older, peaje-free road twists through the mountains from Tunja to Capitanejo, Málaga and down to Pamplona, connecting with the Bucaramanga-Cúcuta highway. This is the preferred route for buses and trucks, and the fastest way to get to Parque Nacional Natural El Cocuy and its associated pueblos, El Cocuy and Güicán.

The physical and cultural beauty of this area of Colombia surpasses anything one could imagine. Colonial villages abound, as do the reminders of former inhabitants, from prehistoric sea creatures to the pre-Conquest Muisca and Guane nations. Modern-day U’wa indigenous hang on to their way of life in the Cocuy region, struggling to prevent the violation of their Mother Earth by oil companies. The Cordillera Oriental, with three peaks surpassing 5300 meters (17,000 feet), shelters the largest snow field in South America north of the Equator.

Colombians of this region have the reputation of being ultra-courteous, especially in Boyacá. In this Department, do not be surprised if locals address you with the medieval su merced. They often call even visitors vecino, and often will ask, “Le provoca un tintico” (Would you like a coffee) and upon ordering something in a store, say, “Regáleme such-and-such.”