The Alta Guajira Overview

By Lorraine Caputo

The Alta Giajira has many other impressive places. On the road to Nazareth is Puerto López, once an important port, now a ghost town abandoned to the desert. Petroglyphs decorate Piedra de Alas at Siapana, a holy spring. Punta Espada, or Piedra del Destino, is a mythical rock that reveals the future of the visitor.

Along the north coast are other features, such as Puerto Bolívar, the port where the El Cerrón mine railway arrives; Bahía Portete, another important port with beaches, mangroves and the only sea crocodiles in the world; Bahía Honda with fortress ruins; and Punta Gallina, the northern-most point of South America, where golden dunes tumble to a deep-blue sea.