Mesa de los Santos: Paragliding Capital Over the Chicamocha Canyon
The Mesa de los Santos — a flat plateau above the dramatic Chicamocha River canyon near Bucaramanga — is Colombia's paragliding capital; the thermal currents, the canyon views, and the coffee and cacao farms of the mesa create an extraordinary highland destination
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Home page for paragliding
Mesa de los Santos is Colombia's best paragliding site — the consistent thermals rising from the Chicamocha Gorge allow flights of several hours; the tandem flights from the cliff edge above the 2,000 m deep canyon are a life-defining experience
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Chicamocha Canyon View
Chicamocha Canyon—one of South America's deepest, carved by the Chicamocha River through the eastern Andes—is visible in its full dramatic scale from the Mesa's edge; the great depth, the dry canyon walls and the river far below are extraordinary
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Mesa de los Santos Coffee
The mesa's cool climate and fertile soil produce excellent coffee — the small farms on the plateau grow Santander shade-grown coffee; visits to the coffee farms combine spectacular scenery with the practical coffee experience
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Cocoa Growing Region
Santander is Colombia's main cacao-growing region — mesa farms produce some of Colombia's finest artisanal chocolate; the cocoa harvest, fermentation process and chocolate making is a growing agritourism attraction
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Páramo Ecosystems Above
Highlights of the mesa transition to páramo — the high-elevation Andean grassland ecosystem; the espeletia (frailejón) plants, the cloud forest edges and the páramo's extraordinary bird life are accessible via hiking trails
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The colonial village of Los Santos
The village of Los Santos - on the mesa - has a colonial church, a central square and the artisan crafts of the region; the village's leisurely pace, its cafes and its location above the canyon make it a natural base for mesa exploration