Punta Gallinas & Cabo de la Vela • 3 Days
Interact with the nature and be part of the culture of the indigenous Wayúu. We take you to Cabo de la Vela, the Salinas de Manaure and other special spots we have chosen for an unforgettable experience: You will feel the desert heat, pass trough untouched nature and sleep in humble indigenous acommodations in front of the sea. Please consider you will be in a remote part of the Country where the amenities such as water, electricity, internet etc. are not always available.
You help the local and indigenous community with your tour booking because we donate a percentage to social projects.
ItineraryDay 1: Start with Salinas de Manaure, Cabo de la Vela and a spectacular SunsetStop At: Riohacha, Riohacha, La Guajira Department
In the municipality of Riohacha is the Santuario de Fauna y Flora los Flamencos Natural Park, which is known for the Cuban flamingos (see our Flamingo Tour). In the capital of La Guajira, a typical Caribbean breakfast awaits you before continuing with the Tour.
Duration: 1 hour
Stop At: Salinas de Manaure, Manaure Colombia
Learn about the salt process, and see a pink lagoon with beautiful beaches - the Salinas de Manaure combine it all. A landscape that is not easily seen anywhere. Our bilingual guide will explain the entire process of extracting salt from the sea for free.
Duration: 1 hour
Stop At: Uribia, Uribia, La Guajira Department
We stop in the town of Uribia to buy gifts for the Wayúu children. Uribia was founded in 1935 in the heart of Wayúu Indigenous territory. The site was previously Chitki, known as the indigenous capital of Colombia. Part of the territory of the municipality consists of desert.
Duration: 30 minutes
Stop At: Cabo de La Vela, Cabo de La Vela, La Guajira Department
Welcome to our accommodation! We will spend one night here: The Cabo de la Vela is a cape on the northwestern coast of the Guajira Peninsula and is located in the northernmost region of South America. The Gulf of Darién stretches to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the north and east. The desert region around the Cabo de la Vela is inhabited by the indigenous Wayúu people.
Here we will make is a short break to enjoy lunch with a unique view above the Cabo de la Vela.
Duration: 2 hours
Stop At: Playa Arcoiris, Colombia
Playa Arcoiris is a good place to understand and respect the power of the sea. The name "Rainbow Beach" comes from the fact that the impact of the water against the rocks of the coast causes the sun's rays to break through the splashes and forms a rainbow - a great natural spectacle.
Duration: 1 hour
Stop At: Cerro Pilón de Azúcar, Uribia, La Guajira, Colombia
Three hours north of Riohacha, at Cabo de La Vela, rises the Pilón de Azúcar. One has the impression that the peaked mountain rises several kilometers, but it can be climbed in just under 15 minutes. Arriving at the top of this small mountain, where stands an altar of the Virgin of Fátima, you can enjoy the refreshing breeze and a magnificent view of the Caribbean Sea.
Duration: 30 minutes
Stop At: Playa Ojo de Agua, Cabo de La Vela, Uribia, La Guajira, Colombia
Playa Ojo de Agua is stucked between the coast of Cabo de la Vela and its Wayuú ranches. Gentle waves sway along the secluded, white sandy beaches and invite you to take a refrescing swim.
Duration: 30 minutes
Stop At: Faro, Cabo de la Vela, Cl. 68 Bis #9844, Bogotá, Uribia, La Guajira, Colombia
Let the day end with one of the best sunsets in Colombia: Enjoy the the spectacular view from Faro at Cabo de la Vela. It is a mystical place that is not overrun with tourists.
Duration: 30 minutes
Meals included:
• Breakfast: Typical Caribbean: Choose between various Arepas (meat, chicken, fish) with it eggs al gusto, cheese and orange juice.
• Lunch: Enjoy your typical Carribean lunch at your accommodation on the beach of Cabo de la Vela.
• Dinner: Enjoy your dinner with typical Carribean Empanadas at your accommodation on the beach of Cabo de la Vela.
Accommodation included: You sleep right at the beach in an indigenous hammock, the chinchorro wayuú. A room is available at an additional cost.
Day 2: Visit to Punta Gallinas and more tourist attractions of La GuajiraStop At: Punta Gallinas, Carrera 5 3a 02, Uribia Colombia
Punta Gallinas is the northernmost tip of the South American continental plate.
It is an end of land that enters the sea in a northwesterly direction and that closes a set of accidents that make up a bay of the peninsula that goes from Punta Gallinas to Cabo de la Vela or Jepirra (in Wayúu). Between both points are Puerto Bolívar, Portete Bay and Honda Bay.
Duration: 2 hours
Stop At: Bahia Portete, Colombia
Portete Bay is a small bay in the Caribbean. Among the numerous bays and gulfs of La Guajira, it is one of the most privileged due to its depth and the protection provided by the cove. Likewise, due to the proximity of the Cerrejón coal mines, it was chosen as the ideal place to build Puerto Bolívar, one of the most important mining ports in the country.
Duration: 30 minutes
Stop At: Bahia Honda, Colombia
Around the Bahia Hondita, just south of Punta Gallinas, there are a number of small and very different beaches that make a visit worthwhile. Even the view of the Bahia Hondita itself is a visual delight, because the turquoise color of the flat bay, framed by the orange-yellow colors of the surrounding sandy desert floor, are a magical mixture that fulfills all wishes... The beaches themselves - be it the small sandy bays at Punta Gallinas itself, which are surrounded by fascinating rocky grounds, or the beaches that extend along the Portetico headland, such as the Playas at Punta Agujas or the long Playa Boquita, score points with a wide variety of charms, such as perfect sunsets or the mutual View of the other bank...
Duration: 3 hours
Stop At: Playa La boquita, Uribia, La Guajira, Colombia
Rest in the waves of Playa Boquita, which is situated nearby to Playa Aguja, and west of Cayo Puruéinpana in the Bahia Honda.
Duration: 1 hour
Stop At: Parque eólico Jepírachi, Uribia, La Guajira, Colombia
Jepírachi in the Wayú language means winds coming from the northeast. The wind farm is the first of its kind in Colombia. The Peninsula of La Guajira is characterized by being subject to trade winds approximately throughout the year, which allows using the wind energy available in Alta Guajira.
Duration: 30 minutes
Stop At: Punta Gallinas, Uribia, La Guajira, Colombia
Near the Punta Gallinas Lighthouse there is a community of about 100 inhabitants of the Wayúu ethnic group, one of the few South American cultures that preserve their ancestral traditions intact. It is an impressive natural setting of plateaus, dunes and rocky cliffs that emerge from the sea, embracing the Hondita bay. It has an immense dune that reaches 60 meters in height that rises like a wall right on the shore of the sea.3
At the tip is the northernmost lighthouse in all of South America; This lighthouse has a height of 18 meters and opened its operations in 1989.
Duration: 30 minutes
Stop At: Dunas de Taroa, Uribia Colombia
Located on the almost northernmost tip of the impressive Guajira peninsula - a desert landscape with little vegetation in northern South America - beige-yellow beaches wind their way along the coast in the middle of high sand dunes - kilometers long: the dunes of Taroa. Lying on the beach against the backdrop of this desert-like panorama - the turquoise-milky Caribbean Sea in front of your eyes, gently breaking waves on the beach in your ears - is a very special pleasure and definitely conveys a Caribbean feeling. As far as the visual impression is concerned, we undoubtedly have one of the most beautiful beaches in the country in front of us. Already the access to the sea is a force and only leads over the breathtaking dune landscape with hundred meter high fine sandy dune colossuses... Already at the edge of the water there is enthusiasm: Wow! What a beach that you can look down on from above...
Duration: 1 hour
Meals included:
• Breakfast: Enjoy your typical Carribean Breakfast at your accommodation on the beach of Cabo de la Vela.
• Lunch: Enjoy your typical Carribean Lunch at your accommodation on the beach of Punta Gallinas.
• Dinner: Enjoy your typical Carribean Dinner at your accommodation on the beach of Punta Gallinas.
Accommodation included: You sleep right at the beach in an indigenous hammock, the chinchorro wayuú. A room is available at an additional cost.
Day 3: A walk at the pier of Riohacha and return to PalominoStop At: Punta Gallinas, Carrera 5 3a 02, Uribia Colombia
Enjoy the morning in Punta Gallinas. It is an end of land that enters the sea in a northwesterly direction and that closes a set of accidents that make up a bay of the peninsula that goes from Punta Gallinas to Cabo de la Vela or Jepirra (in Wayúu). Between both points are Puerto Bolívar, Portete Bay and Honda Bay.
Duration: 1 hour
Stop At: Riohacha, Riohacha, La Guajira Department
In the municipality of Riohacha is the Santuario de Fauna y Flora los Flamencos Natural Park, which is known for the Cuban flamingos (see our Flamingo Tour). In the capital of La Guajira, a typical Caribbean breakfast awaits you before continuing with the Tour.
Duration: 2 hours
Stop At: Malecón Playa, # a 3-128,, Cl. 1 #32, Riohacha, La Guajira, Colombia
With an extension of approximately 1,2 km, this boardwalk borders the beaches where you can appreciate the beautiful sunsets enjoying a cold drink and learning more about the Wayú culture through its handicrafts.
There is also the Monument to the Wayú palabrero. The boardwalk is not very big, but it is worth going out for a walk around this place and going for a photograph to the "Yo Amo Riohacha" that is found on this promenade, as well as the mouth of the Ranchería River in the sea.
Duration: 2 hours
Stop At: Palomino, Palomino, La Guajira Department
End the day back in Palomino. Here you can do one thing above all: lie in seclusion in a hammock under palm trees on the beach and forget the time. During the day, around noon, a large flock of pelicans flies by, which you can watch from the hammock
Duration: 2 hours
Meals included:
• Breakfast: Disfruta tu typical Carribean Breakfast at the accomodation, in the middle of Punta Gallinas.
• Lunch: Eat at the pier of Riohacha one of the typical tropical lunches, they offer you - near to the Carribean Sea.
No accommodation included on this day.
Informacion Adicional
"Not recommended for travelers with back problems"
"No heart problems or other serious medical conditions"
"Not recommended for pregnant travelers"
"Service animals allowed"
"Near public transportation"
"Most travelers can participate"
"Not wheelchair accessible"
"This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund"
"This experience requires a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund"
"This tour/activity will have a maximum of 4 travelers"
"Confirmation will be received within 48 hours of booking, subject to availability"
Start Time:
07:00 AM
Duration: 3 Days
Start location: To'Buru, Cl. 1ª C, Palomino, Dibulla, La Guajira, Colombia
Traveler pickup is offered
Please be aware the pickup point will be around an area of 2 kilometers around Palomino. We do not pick up from Santa Marta or Riohacha.
If you want to get picked up from Santa Marta to Palomino, we can arrange a private transportation for an additional cost of 100 USD return or 50 USD one way. Otherwise you can take the public bus. Just let us know in time.
Cancellations and refunds:
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours in advance of the start time of the experience.
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