The Santo Domingo Church was built during  the 16th century in Cartagena, Colombia. It is  the oldest church in the city. It was firstly built in 1539 in Plaza de los Coches, but after a fire and was rebuilt in its present location in 1552. It has a wide central nave and  a heavy roof coverage.However the vault began to crack and solid counterforts had to be added in order to support the structure and prevent it from collapsing.

There is a large space inside the interior. The remarkable statue of Christ made of  wood is set in the baroque altar at the head of the right hand aisle.On the floor you could see the 19th century pavings with old tombstones.

Monasterio de La Candelaria in Colombia was found in 1597.The Augustine monks have built it for three years.Today it is still functioning like a monastery, however part of ti is opened for visitors.The guests could see the library, a little museum, the chapel and the large courtyard.There are 16th and 17th – century paintings inside the chapel and on the courtyard’s walls with a very interesting sample of religious art on The authors are Gregorio Vásquez de Arce y Ceballos and the Figueroa brothers.

You can reach the monastery by the two buses going there daily.They are going from Bogota.You could also go there by 1 hour nice walk through Raquira.

Another option is to spend a quiet night there and eat at their restaurant.

Iguaque is a small area of wasteland and Andean forest embedded in the development of the intercepted areas of the Eastern Cordillera, Colombia. Travels a distance of 8 km and covers the municipalities of Tunja, Villa de Leyva and Arcabuco in the department of Boyaca. Its forests are the water supplyers to the local municipalities.

The Sanctuary is the sacred lake of Iguaque, which, according to legend Muisca is the cradle of humanity. Bachu emerged there, the mother of men Muiscas. Pilgrimage to the sacred lake cleanses the soul and purifies the spirit.

The Sanctuary has an area of 6,750 hectares and includes elevations ranging from 2,400 meters to 3,800 meters. Its wealth is represented in the abundant flora and streams that supply the neighboring towns as aqueducts Sáchica, San Pedro de Iguaque, Santa Sofia, branch Arcabuco.El Gachantivá and the higher the Black Morro visible from Villa de Leyva and passes of 3,400 meters, the westernmost Esterillal the hill, which is over 3,000 meters.

In Villa de Leyva, Colombia the time has stopped.Cobblestone roads and whitewashed buildings make its beauty complete and mild.It is a collonial village founded in 1572 by Hernán Suárez de Villalobos, who named it for his boss,Andres Díaz V enero de Leyva, the first president of the New Kingdom of Granada.The village’s function was as a shelter for the military ofiicers.

Nowadays the atmosphere is completely different.Many day-trippers and tourists are visiting the fashion hotels, gourmet restaurants and cafes housed in the local family houses.However the new outlook it is still an intriguing place to see.

After two year restoration, a magnificent 250-year-old colonial mansion in the heart of the historic city of Cartagena has come to life. Colombian designer Silvia Tcherassi converted a Spanish-colonial mansion into a white-on-white urban escape that pops with funky decorative accents reminiscent of the accessories from her collections.  The Tcherassi Hotel has been nominated in the 17th Annual World Travel Awards in the category “South America’s Leading New Hotel”. The World Travel Awards are the most prestigious awards in the global travel industry.

The charm of the mansion was preserved and as a result the hotel could be called “boutique”.  With seven unique rooms and suites, it combines the magical setting of a bygone era and all of the modern amenities discerning travelers have come to expect. The details are breathtaking – the lone red rose commanding attention in front of an exposed brick wall in the Organdie room, the gold iron gate that greets you in the front of the hotel, and the lighting in the outdoor garden at night are only a few that make the experience magical. 

The hotel boasts a full service spa, a 40-seat chic Italian restaurant, four pools, an air conditioned lounge overlooking a vertical garden featuring over 2,000 different plants, and a rooftop deck that offers breathtaking 360 degree views of Cartagena.Tcherassi Hotel & Spa is the perfect place from which to enjoy the vibrant colors and culture of Cartagena de Indias.

Official website: www.tcherassihotels.com 

For more photos: click here

This fascinating Spa center is located in a traditional square in Bogota between two other building. The activities are organized into four levels and related to the different thermal levels of the Sierra Nevada of Santa Marta through botanical and animal shapes.

The whole structure of the Spa center is very stylish and the materials range from glass to epoxy floors and ceramic veneers. The humid therapies in the third floor, the flooring material is a wood deck that permits the filtering of water and a warm contact with the skin.

On the first floor are located the entry, the reception, the warehouse and a restaurant that opens onto a patio covered with vegetation. In the second floor are located facial massage rooms with multiple doors to disappear and provide a clean and quiet space. In the third floor are located the pools and all water sports for relaxation, these activities are open on one side and have visuals towards the eastern mountains. The fourth and final level expands and an open courtyard is built that connects the yoga room and a cafeteria that once again enjoys the outside and the distant views.

The facade of the center is composed by double skin, which gives transparency or isolation and defines the visual and environmental exchanges with the outside. The double skin allows intimacy without losing relationship with the outside and depth perception; it acts as a veil that covers the entertainment and sensory characteristics of a Spa.

Location: Bogota, Columbia.

In the heart of the old walled city of Cartagena is La Passion – a small hotel created with all the emotion and romance that its name implies. Overlooking the Caribbean Sea, Cartagena de Indias is one of South America‘s most beautiful and vibrant cities and this hotel captures much of the Colombian city’s spirit with its beguiling shabby-chic grandeur. 

The hotel is small, with eight high-ceilinged bedrooms. Except to find murals, ancient floor-to-ceiling windows, wicker chests, old-carved-wood headboards, Persian and Columbian rugs, Moroccan ashtrays, and lamps from Seville. You may get a vast concrete bathtub, fashionably flaking plaster, or grand French furniture. Amid all this period style there are still state-of-the-art features such as air-conditioning and plasma televisions.

La Passion is more than just a style. There is substance, too, especially in the rooftop pool that is subtly lit at night and gives striking views of the city’s monuments and the sea beyond. The hotel has its own speedboat that can whisk guests to nearby islands. There is even a small wooden fishing boat hung from the ceiling for guests to use as a swinging sofa.

The Pygmy marmosets are the smallest living monkeys in the world. They inhabit the rainforests in Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia and Brazil. This species live in the upper canopy of the forest and survive on an omnivorous diet of fruit, leaves, insects, small reptiles. Image from: Frösö Zoo via DRB

Adults are about 13 cm long with a 20 cm tail and weigh is in the range 85-140 grams. They are small, squirrel-like, and monogamous. Its tawny coat is sprinkled with gray and its tail is ringed. Long hairs on its head and cheeks form a mane which hides its ears. Its eyes are almond-shaped.

Las Lajas Cathedral, built in 1916, is located in remote southwest Colombia, deep down in a gorge of the Guaitara River. An example of Gothic revival architecture, the cathedral is memorably framed by stark mountains and 100 feet waterfalls. The name Laja comes from the name of a type of flat sedimentary rock similar to floor tiles found in the Andes Mountains.

The church was built to commemorate the appearance of the Virgin which legend has it, her image appeared on an enormous vertical rock 45m above the river. Apparently, an image of Virgin of Las Lajas was painted on the side of the cliff. As a result, the altar is located here and the rest of the church is built jutting outwards  from the cliff.

The story of the cathedral’s creation is that in 1754 an Amerindian named “Maria Mueces” and deaf-mute daughter “Rosa” were caught up by a very strong storm. They found refuge between the gigantic Lajas.

This image was imprinted on the rocks of a gorge above the Guaitara River. The image is situated inside a cave very high in the mountains, and was completely unknown until it was discovered in the mid-18th century by an Indian.

Parque Tayrona is truly a magnificent natural park located at the Caribbean coast of Colombia. The Park covers an area 300 square kilometres in size. Off the coast are a number of coral reefs, and nearby is the archaeological site. This little delightful spot is located about 30 minutes from the city of Rodadero, with beautiful beaches and hammocks to rent. Park Tayrona is about 45 minutes East of Santa Marta.

The park covers some 30 square kilometres of maritime area in the Caribbean sea and some 150 km² of land. One nature reserve where there is an incredible variety of dry and wet tropical forests, coral reefs and seagrass beds. The park boasts fascinating wildlife including black howler and “titi” monkeys, red woodpeckers, iguanas and jaguars.

Places of interest include Canaveral (camping area), Neguange, Arrecifes, El Cabo beach, Playa Linda and La Piscina . Arrecifes is centrally located to explore many of Park Tayrona’s beaches. The scenery is breathtaking: verdant jungle sloping down to meet the Caribbean sea at white sandy beaches. Most beaches right next to the camping grounds are relatively unsafe for swimming due to heavy currents.

Bahia Cinto, Parque Tayrona- Nested within the Tayrona Park, this hideaway bay with exclusive bungalows serves as an ideal base for diving in the Tayrona Park.

La Piscina- La Piscina is mostly a place to swim and hang out.

The accommodation is very natural: you can enjoy traditional camping hammocks between palm trees and overlooking the majestic mountain. Or private, two storey huts perched on a hillside overlooking the sea. Tayrona Park has just one genuine hotel, called “Eco-habs”.

The Sierra Nevada del Cocuy is a National Park and a set of highlands within the Cordillera Oriental mountain range in the Andes Mountains of Colombia.  The Sierra Nevada Del Cocuy, about 8 hours from Bogota, has over 20 snow capped peaks and some forty lagoons. Temperatures oscillate in the lower part at around 23º C and go down to 3º C in the snow covered peaks.

The Sierra Nevada del Cocuy is a 306,000 km² protected area from which rise 23 snow peaks surrounded by waterfalls, lakes, parama vegetation. Also and tapirs, spectacled bears, Andean condors, eagles, and paramo deer.

The Park area contains several high peaks covered with snow: Pan de Azucar (5120m), Diamante (4800 m), el Pulpito del Diablo (5100 m), Toti (4800 m), Portales (4800 m), Concavo (5200 m), Concavito (5100 m) and others. Some peaks are inaccessible to man; for example, the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta , on the Caribbean Coast.