Los Angeles to Bucaramanga, Colombia from $342

🌍 About Bucaramanga, Colombia

Bucaramanga is the capital of Santander and the jumping-off point for the Chicamocha Canyon, one of the world's largest, about an hour south. Most people come to ride the cable car across it or paraglide off the Mesa de Ruitoque ridge, where steady thermals make for some of Colombia's most reliable flying. The thing to eat is hormigas culonas — fat-bottomed ants roasted with salt, crunchy and faintly nutty, sold only for a few weeks around April–May when the rains bring them out. The city itself is flat, hot and built around parks rather than colonial streets, so base here but spend your days in the canyon. It's warm year-round (around 25°C); December–February is driest and easiest, while March–May brings rain but also the ants.