National Monument · 3.3 miles on foot

The Camino Real

Stone upon stone between Barichara and Guane: a trail first opened by the Guane people, traveled by the Spanish, and paved by 19th-century trade.

1 / 11 · Mile 0

The paving begins

The trail leaves from the upper part of Barichara, near the Santa Bárbara chapel.

2 / 11 · A German name

The Lengerke trails

Signs along the way honor Geo von Lengerke, the German merchant who turned it into a freight route.

3 / 11 · The descent

Flat stone slabs

It’s built from flagstones, a material that’s plentiful in the region.

4 / 11 · Stone walls

Between dry-stone walls

Walls of stacked stone line the trail.

5 / 11 · The landscape

The canyon comes into view

As you descend, the valley opens up toward the Suárez River canyon.

6 / 11 · Dry forest

Cacti and stone

This is dry forest: cacti, shrubs, and lots of sun.

7 / 11 · Locals

The famous hormiga culona

Leafcutter ants—Santander’s famous hormigas culonas—cross the trail.

8 / 11 · Company

Birds along the way

Smooth-billed anis and other birds keep you company on the walk.

9 / 11 · Fossils

When this was sea

Some of the trail’s stones still hold marine fossils.

10 / 11 · The arrival

National Monument

A plaque greets hikers: the trail has been a National Monument since 1977.

11 / 11 · Guane

You arrive in another century

The trail ends in Guane, a village that feels frozen in time.

Good to know

Camino Real from Barichara to Guane

It’s 3.3 miles (5.3 km) of paved trail—about two to two and a half hours on foot—between Barichara and the village of Guane. It’s a National Monument and one of the most beautiful hikes in Colombia.

Distance: 3.3 miles (5.3 km)Measured on the OpenStreetMap route
Time: 2 to 2½ hoursAt an easy pace, according to the newspaper El Tiempo
Start: Upper BaricharaNear the Santa Bárbara chapel
Finish: Guane’s main squareNext to the Santa Lucía church
Bring: Water, a hat, and sunscreenAnd comfortable shoes: it’s stone the whole way

Indigenous history

Before the Spanish: the trail of the Guane

The trails in this region were originally laid out by the Guane people, who lived here and used them to trade and travel between their settlements.

Guane, the village at the end of the trail, was once called Móncora. Today its Archaeological and Paleontological Museum preserves objects from that culture: pottery, necklaces, and funeral urns.

The name Barichara also comes from their language, where it means “a place to rest.”

Spanish history

Troops, colonial rule, and missions

After the conquest, these paths were used by the colonizing troops. In 1622 Guane became a parish when it split off from Vélez, and in 1786 its Santa Lucía church was completed—considered the country’s first Indigenous mission chapel.

For centuries, people, pack animals, and the life of the whole region moved along these trails.

Geo von Lengerke

The German who turned the trail into trade

Around 1860, a character straight out of a novel arrived on these trails: the German Geo von Lengerke. According to travel accounts, he had come to Colombia around 1852, fleeing justice at home after a duel, and became the most prominent merchant in the area.

Lengerke pushed to turn these trails into trade routes to ship out goods like tobacco, cotton, cinchona bark, hats, and gold. He’s credited with the paving we see today, from around the 1860s.

His name lives on: signs along the trail refer to the “Lengerke Trails,” and from Guane the historic route continues on to Zapatoca under his name.

Why it matters

A monument you can walk

The Camino Real was declared a National Monument in 1977 and restored in 1988. It’s one of Santander’s most significant heritage routes, both for its Indigenous origins and for its role in the region’s economic history.

And it hides a surprise: some of its stones still contain fossils, a reminder of when this area lay under the sea.

History