La Guajira

La Guajira is an arid peninsula in the northernmost part of South America.  It is the mythic place that is the home of Mareywa, the god of the Wayuu.  On your journey you will pass through the salt mines of Manaure, a gigantic complex that produces more than 27,000 metric tons (almost 30,000 tons) of salt each month.  You will also pass by Uribia, considered the indigenous capital of Colombia.

On the first part of the trip you will visit the largest open-pit mine in the world: El Carrejón (“Large Hill”), an imposing industrial project for excavating coal.  You can also visit the city of Maicao, the commercial capital of La Guajira, where resident Muslims have built a magnificent mosque.

Other destinations near Cape La Vela are:  Bahía Honda (“Deep Bay”), where you will find Puerto Bolívar, the largest coal port in Colombia; the ecological park of Jepirachí, a pilot plant for harnessing the power of the wind to generate electricity; and to visit other places, such as La Macuira Natural National Park, a green oasis in the middle of the peninsula, and Castilletes, the northernmost point of South America.