Giron

San Juan de Giron was founded in 1631 and grew on tobacco and on gold panned from the Rio de Oro. It is now effectively a suburb of Bucaramanga, but the old core is protected and looks the part: lime-washed walls, red tiled roofs, cobbled lanes and a set of low stone footbridges over the stream that runs through it. The Basilica Menor de San Juan Bautista faces the main square, while the smaller Plazuela Peralta a block away is the quieter and better-looking of the two. Sundays bring families out, with sweet stalls, obleas and street food around the plaza.

What you actually see

• Plazuela Peralta - the small tree-shaded square away from the main plaza.
• The stone footbridges - low arched crossings over the stream through town.
• Basilica Menor de San Juan Bautista - the white church on the main square.
• The lime-washed lanes - cobbled streets kept uniformly white by local rule.

When to go

Any dry morning works; December to March and July are the least wet, and the valley is warm all year. Sunday is the local day out, with stalls, music and crowds, while a weekday morning is quiet and better for photographs. Half a day is enough, and it fits neatly around a flight, since the airport road passes close by.

Honest expectations

It is small and can be walked in two hours. Modern sprawl presses right against the old core and the approach roads are ugly, so arriving is unglamorous. The cobbles are uneven and hard going in the heat. There is very little to actually go inside, since the appeal is the streets themselves, and weekend parking and traffic are difficult.

Nearby

Bucaramanga is twenty minutes away; San Gil and Barichara are two to three hours south.