The skyline of Bucaramanga oscillates like a wave below the mighty peaks of the Cordillera Oriental, ebbing with the makeshift corrugation of the barrio slums, rising with the shimmering blocks of the Central Business District that line the Parque Santander. In many ways this peak and trough tells the story of Columbia’s fifth-largest city; a town that’s gone from war-torn departmental capital in the early years of the 20^th century, to a booming university centre today.

And sure enough, Bucaramanga now swaggers with a certain panache that could only be the prerogative of youth. Its myriad bars slosh with cocktails, Columbian coffee and cerveza (beer) until the early hours; its countless parks (and there are plenty here) are dotted with clusters of students, picnicking and picking at steaming plates of fritanga (a deep-fried medley of corn and sausage and potato) during the days.

Of the ‘must sees’ around the city, Bucaramanga tour guides often recommend starting by heading up to one of the soaring lookout points on the tips of Morrorico or Palonegro, followed up by a jaunt out to the soaring vistas of Chicamocha National Park, or the whitewashed colonial town of Giron—redolent of Clint Eastwood circa 1964!