Pamplona

Pamplona was founded in 1549 and was for a long period the most important town in the region, sending settlers out to found others - it sits at around 2,300 metres in a bowl in the mountains, which makes it cold and wet by Colombian standards and gives it a distinct feel from the hot lowlands nearby. An earthquake in 1875 destroyed much of the colonial fabric, so what stands is a mix of survivals and rebuilding. The university gives the town a large student population. Its Holy Week processions are long-established and among the more elaborate in the country. Several museums occupy colonial houses, including one for the sculptor Eduardo Ramirez Villamizar, who was from the town and whose geometric work is held there.

History

Pedro de Ursúa and Ortún Velasco de Velázquez founded the town on 1 November 1549 as Nueva Pamplona del Valle del Espíritu Santo, after the capital of Navarre, and expeditions from here founded Mérida, San Cristóbal and La Grita in today's Venezuela and Ocaña, Bucaramanga and Cúcuta in Colombia, among others. On the trade route between New Granada and Venezuela, with fertile land and gold in the mountains, it became one of the richest territories of the colony; on 4 July 1810, led by Águeda Gallardo de Villamizar, it proclaimed its independence, and Bolívar called it the Patriotic City. It became part of the new department of Norte de Santander in 1910, and its historic centre was declared a national monument in 1963 (Wikipedia, Pamplona, Norte de Santander).

What to look for

• A town founded in 1549 - which sent out settlers to found others.
• A cold wet bowl at 2,300 metres - unlike the lowlands nearby.
• Holy Week processions - among the more elaborate in Colombia.
• The Ramirez Villamizar museum - geometric sculpture by a local artist.

When to go

Year round; Holy Week is the peak. Half a day.

Things to know

It is genuinely cold and often wet - bring warm clothes. The 1875 earthquake removed much of the colonial fabric. Museums keep short and variable hours. Holy Week fills the town.

Nearby

Cucuta and the Venezuelan border are north-east; Bucaramanga is south-west.

Key facts