CityOutline guide

San Cristóbal (Venezuela)

City in Táchira, Venezuela

Photo: Rufino from Caracas, Venezuela, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Overview

San Cristobal is a leafy, prosperous city of west Venezuela. The city is in a mountainous valley in the temperate green hills of the Andes bordering Colombia.

Sights and activities

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Cathedral of St. Christopher
See
Catedral de San Cristóbal
Details
Anthropological museum of Táchira
See
Museo Antropológico del Táchira
Details

Getting there and around

Getting there

By train
By car
San Cristobal is about 840 km (10 hours drive) from Caracas, 250 km (3½ hours) from Merida, and 445 km from Maracaibo (6 hours). San Cristobal is the capital of the bordering state of Tachira.
By bus
There is a large option of company buses that go from San Cristobal to many other cities of the country.
By boat

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Airports and nearby hotels

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Juan Vicente Gómez International Airport

San Antonio del Tachira · Regional · SVZ

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Read before you go to San Cristóbal (Venezuela)

Articles and travel topics about San Cristóbal (Venezuela) and Venezuela.

Nature & adventure

National parks in Venezuela

In total, there are 43 national parks in Venezuela.

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Food & drink

Street food

Colourful and diverse, street food is an experience you can find in cities and towns all around the world. It's generally convenient and cheap, but its appeal goes far beyond that.

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Itineraries

Voyaging along the Amazon River

This itinerary details travelling downstream on the Amazon from Iquitos via Tabatinga, Manaus, Santarém, Santana/Macapá to Belem.

Wikivoyage

Itineraries

Gringo Trail

The Gringo trail is a term for places in Latin America visited by gringos, that is, people from North America or Europe. It is the Western Hemisphere's equivalent of tropical Asia's Banana Pancake Trail.

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Full travel guide

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UnderstandThe city struck oil in the late 1800s at a site now known as "La Petrolera", and has attracted investors and business innovation.

Get inThere are three airports that serve the city of San Cristobal. The airport Juan Vicente Gomez of San Antonio del Tachira is on the border with Colombia, on the Venezuelan side.

SeeTake a 30 minute drive uphill to "Chorro del Indio", a remote mountain waterfall rich in blue butterflies and people enjoying a bathe in the cool waters often enjoying a cold beer.

DoEvents hosted in the city are either related to sport, the arts or tie in with agriculture and cattle farming. The big annual events held in the city, reflect this.

BuyThe city's most popular and cheapest place to do shopping is downtown (5ta and 7ma Avenues).

Eat

DrinkThe University of Los Andes is in San Cristobal, close to Pueblo Nuevo, and therefore the city homes a large number of students.) and primarily, La Plaza de los Mangos.

SleepHotel 5ta Avenida (Avenida 5, entre calles 10 y 11) has rooms with AC, TV and a private bathroom.

Stay safeSafety in the city has traditionally been good, however frontier problems, "Vaccine" payments, kidnapping threats and exponential population growth have made the city a place of increasing unrest and insecurity.

Sources and licences

Guide text adapted from the Wikivoyage article "San Cristóbal (Venezuela)" by its contributors, available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read on Wikivoyage · Contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0
Summary from the Wikipedia article "San Cristóbal, Táchira", available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Wikipedia
Photo: Rufino from Caracas, Venezuela, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

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Overview

Sights and activities

Cathedral of St. Christopher

Anthropological museum of Táchira