Paramo de Santurban

Santurban covers high ground between about 3,000 and 4,200 metres with frailejon paramo, cushion bog and a scatter of glacial lakes, and it supplies water to Bucaramanga and a large surrounding population - well over a million people depend on it. That is why it has been the subject of one of the most sustained environmental conflicts in Colombia: several large gold mining projects have been proposed in and around it, and they have been fought through mass marches in Bucaramanga, court rulings and constitutional decisions on paramo protection, with projects blocked and the boundary of the protected zone itself contested. Colombia's constitutional court has ruled repeatedly on paramo mining. The Berlin road crosses the high ground and is bitterly cold.

What you actually see

• Frailejon paramo and glacial lakes - between 3,000 and 4,200 metres.
• Water for more than a million people - the reason for the conflict.
• A long fight over gold mining - through marches and court rulings.
• The Berlin crossing - a very cold high road.

When to go

December to March. A full day.

Honest expectations

It is cold, wet and windy - Berlin is among the coldest inhabited places in Colombia. Access to the lakes needs local guides. There is no visitor infrastructure. Weather turns quickly at altitude.

Nearby

Bucaramanga is west; Pamplona is east.