Norte de Santander Department · Colombia
Cúcuta travel guide
Cúcuta is a city in Norte de Santander Department, Colombia, home to about 806,000 people.
- Best months
- January and February
- Nearest airport
- CUC2 km · Camilo Daza International Airport
- Currency
- COPColombian peso
- Time zone
- America/Bogota
- Language
- Spanish
About
About Cúcuta
Cúcuta, officially San José de Cúcuta, is a Colombian municipality, capital of the department of Norte de Santander and nucleus of the Metropolitan Area of Cúcuta. The city is located in the homonymous valley, beneath the Eastern Ranges of the Colombian Andes, on the border with Venezuela.
Cúcuta is the capital of Norte de Santander, home of 1 million people (all of the metropolitan area). It's a major commercial hub in the northeastern Colombia, playing a significant role in trade between Colombia and Venezuela. Cúcuta is in the northeast, 580 km to the north of the capital Bogotá. The area of the city is 1.176 km².
Wikipedia and Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Things to do
What to see and do in Cúcuta
See
- House of Francisco de Paula Santander
- Cathedral of Cúcuta
- Templo Histórico de Cúcuta
- Biblioteca Pública Julio Pérez Ferrero
- Casa de la Cultura
Do
In the Av. Libertadores there are ample green zones and platforms that allow their visitors to walk and to contemplate the own nature of the Pamplonita River; this proximity to the shore has allowed that the custom has named it “Malecon” becoming a site of recreation par excellence. It runs from the San Rafael bridge in the south of the city to Arnulfo Briceño Square, where there's a beautiful metallic sculpture called “Musical Mirror” as well as a skating track and children's park.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
When to go
The best time to visit Cúcuta
The most comfortable months for a city stay in Cúcuta are January and February. May is the warmest month, with average highs of 25 °C; October is the wettest, with about 219 mm of rain.
Comfortable means average daytime high between 18 °C and 29 °C and under 80 mm of rain in the month. Averages for 1991–2020 over the surrounding area, a grid square about 50 km across, so a coast or a nearby mountain can make the town itself warmer or cooler. Data: CRU TS v4.10, Climatic Research Unit, University of East Anglia (Open Database License).
Getting there
Getting to Cúcuta: airports and arrival
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Camilo Daza International Airport (CUC), about 2.4 km from the city centre in a straight line; Juan Vicente Gómez International Airport (SVZ, 10 km) and Mayor Buenaventura Vivas International Airport (STD, 64 km) are also within reach.
Getting around
The city of Cúcuta is built on a grid system. The calles (also streets) cross the Avenidas (also Avenues) and run from East to West. Calles are abbreviated as C, Cll and Cl. Avenidas, abbreviated as Av, are usually larger and main streets. The numerical system for the Avenidas is used but some have names that are more commonly used such as Avenida Libertadores or Avenida de Los Faroles. Each address consists of a series of numbers, for example: Av. 4 #12-24. This indicates that the building on Av. 4 is 24 meters from the corner.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
CUC · Camilo Daza International Airport
SVZ · Juan Vicente Gómez International Airport
STD · Mayor Buenaventura Vivas International Airport
Questions
Cúcuta: questions travellers ask
When is the best time to visit Cúcuta?
The most comfortable months for a city stay in Cúcuta are January and February. May is the warmest month, with average highs of 25 °C; October is the wettest, with about 219 mm of rain.
Which airport is closest to Cúcuta?
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Camilo Daza International Airport (CUC), about 2.4 km from the city centre in a straight line; Juan Vicente Gómez International Airport (SVZ, 10 km) and Mayor Buenaventura Vivas International Airport (STD, 64 km) are also within reach.
What currency is used in Cúcuta?
Colombian peso (COP).
Nearby
Destinations near Cúcuta
Sources: city facts from Wikidata and Wikipedia; airports from OurAirports; climate from CRU TS v4.10 (University of East Anglia Climatic Research Unit), 1991–2020 monthly means, 0.5° grid; places to stay, guest scores and amenities from each operator's own public pages. How this guide is made.