Bucaramanga, Colombia 🇨🇴 Gringo's Guide

Everything you MUST know about this amazing "hidden gem" in the mountains...

Bucaramanga, Colombia is known as "La Ciudad Bonita" or “The Beautiful City” by its residents, and often by other Colombians as well. It is indeed a very pretty city — and is very walkable. Just overall a very nice environment to be in. 

Its main downside is that it's very sleepy, especially considering how many people live there. Consequently, some people visiting here may love it at first, but get bored very quickly. Others may prefer the relaxed atmosphere and slow pace of this mid-sized city. 

Is this a place where you could hang out for an extended period? Keep reading to find out!

---

Bucaramanga, Colombia 🇨🇴

Population:

The city of Bucaramanga only has around 625,000 souls living there, but the total population of the metro area is roughly twice that, clocking in at around 1,225,000 or so residents.

It's also currently the most rapidly growing area in Colombia, and, curiously, has the lowest unemployment rate in the whole country.

Climate and Topography:

Bucaramanga, like many Latin American cities, is situated on a plateau, surrounded by mountains. This means you constantly have gorgeous mountain ranges on the horizon, almost no matter where you look. On the downside, the land on the plateau is pretty limited, and is quickly running out these days! 

The city has an average elevation of just under a kilometer. This makes for a climate where some days are balmy, others are a little on the hot side, especially during the afternoon hours. 

Many people feel that the city has gotten hotter and more humid in recent years. The humidity usually sticks around 80% when it's not raining, which is a bit on the high side for some people, especially if the temperature hits 30-33 C (87-92 F) in the middle of an especially warm day. At night, Bucaramanga is very comfortable, generally not going below 18 C (65 F). 

It can rain quite a bit in Bucaramanga, but it doesn't rain as much as it does in Bogotá or Medellín, much less the cities of the coffee region, namely Pereira, Manizales and Armenia.