Colombia's Caribbean coast secret — jungle-backed beaches, river tubing, and the Sierra Nevada visible from the surf
Palomino is a small community on Colombia's Caribbean coast in La Guajira department, wedged between the sea and the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta — the highest coastal mountain range in the world, rising from sea level to 5,700m in under 50 kilometres. The beach (Playa Palomino, a long, palm-backed sweep of grey sand) is reached by tubing down the Palomino River from the jungle foothills — one of Colombia's most pleasurable transport options. The town has remained small and relatively undiscovered compared to Tayrona and Santa Marta, though the quality of accommodation options (hammock-and-th…
Palomino's coast was inhabited by the Tayrona people — the Caribbean coastal civilisation that the Spanish both admired and systematically destroyed in the 16th and 17th centuries. The town itself is a relatively modern agricultural community, growing banana and panela (unrefined sugar). Its position on the edge of Tayrona National Park (which ends just south of the town) has protected it from the heavy development that affected nearby Caño Cristales and Parque Tayrona's gateway communities.