Jordan

Jordan sits on the Chicamocha river at the bottom of the canyon, and it was a real town - a crossing point on the royal road, with a suspension bridge built in the 1890s, a plaza, a church and several hundred people. Then the road network changed, the traffic went elsewhere, and the population left; what remains is a village with a small number of permanent residents, empty houses in various states, the church and the old bridge. It is not a preserved ghost town or a managed site; it is simply a place that emptied. Paragliders launching from Mesa de los Santos above sometimes land nearby, and the canyon walls rise over a thousand metres on both sides. The road down is steep, unpaved and slow.

What you actually see

• A village nearly emptied - a handful of residents remain.
• A suspension bridge from the 1890s - on the old royal road.
• Empty houses and a church - not preserved, just left.
• Canyon walls over a thousand metres - on both sides.

When to go

December to March; the canyon floor is very hot. Half a day.

Honest expectations

The road down is steep, unpaved and unsuitable for ordinary cars in wet weather. The canyon floor reaches extreme heat. There are effectively no services. People live here - it is not an attraction.

Nearby

Mesa de los Santos is above; Curiti and San Gil are east.