Santa Marta
El Rodadero Beach, Santa Marta
Santa Marta is a city and municipality, located in northwestern Colombia by the Caribbean sea and the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountains, capital of the Magdalena Department. Founded on July 29, 1525 by Spanish conqueror Rodrigo de Bastidas, the city is an important maritime port and hub for tourism, history and culture. It was named after the Biblical Martha and was the first city to be founded in Colombia and second in South America after Cumaná (1521) in Venezuela. El Libertador Simón Bolívar died at a ranch named Quinta de San Pedro Alejandrino on the outskirts of Santa Marta on 17 December 1830. The city has also been affected to some extent by the Colombian Armed Conflict.
Santa Marta is set by the Caribbean Sea against the backdrop of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, a mountain named after the city. From the Spanish colonial buildings of the old city to the modern luxury beach front apartments of El Rodadero, the city offers a great contrast between the past and the future.
Since 1989, Santa Marta has been a "Special District", based on the Article 328 of the Colombian Constitution Law 768 of 2002, which gave the city the suffix of "Tourism, Cultural and Historical District" (Distrito Turístico, Cultural e Histórico). This District functions allowed Santa Marta to autonomously manage economic resources for the environment, ecosystems, land planning and the possibility of establishing a shared metroplex area with Barranquilla and Cartagena. The city of Santa Marta doesn't have a metropolitan area yet, instead functions as a district which is an entity with certain autonomy.
Climate
Temperatures in the city of Santa Marta ranges from 18.65 to 31.15 degrees Celsius at sea level, but the Municipality of Santa Marta stratches up to the highest snowy peaks of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. Rainfall in this region varies from 12 to 975 mm per month.
Tourism
Las Fiestas del Mar (The Festival of the Sea) is celebrated on a yearly basis in this city. It serves as a tourist attraction during the midyear vacation period. One of the main events in the festival is the jetski show organized by Santa Marta Esqui. There are beauty pageants, parades and parties in the city. The Festival's slogan is "Santa Marta, la magia de tenerlo todo" (translates as "Santa Marta, the magic of having it all").
- Quinta de San Pedro Alejandrino: Built in the 17th century, was the last home of Simon Bolivar, today it is a house/museum in his honor.
- The Cathedral: it is a national monument built in 1766, it held the remains of Simon Bolivar until 1842.
- La Casa de la Aduana (Customs House): it is the oldest house of America, built in 1530. Today it is the Tayrona Museum.
- Madame Agustine House: it is a jewel of the colonial architecture.
- San Fernando Fort: built by Spanish conquerors to protect the city from the pirates, it is a fine sample of colonial military architecture.
- Tairona National Park: located at 34 km north of Santa Marta, it is the most important ecological reserve in Colombia. It has camping zones, virgin beaches, ecotourism, and indigenous tribes.
- Quebrada Valencia: a majestic waterfall emerging in the middle of the rain forest.
- Pueblito: also known as Cahirama, it is one of the 200 pre-Columbian cities discovered near Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta.
- Taganga: an authentic fishing town, it is known as a great place for scuba diving, and it has beautiful beaches nearby.
- The Mamancana Natural Reserve: This natural reserve offers the possibility to see wildlife and practice extreme sports such as paragliding, downhill, rock climbing, and canopying.