Parque Natural Regional Santurbán-Arboledas, Nature reserve in Norte de Santander, Colombia

Parque Natural Regional Santurbán-Arboledas is a protected area that spans high Andean forests and mountain grasslands across varying elevations. The terrain displays distinct vegetation zones that shift dramatically depending on how high you climb.

The park was declared a Regional Natural Park on 28 December 2015, covering 21,840 hectares between 1,456 and 3,967 metres above sea level in the municipality of Arboledas. Of its 119 properties, 84 lie entirely within the protected area and 35 partially; only seven properties, totalling 1,288 hectares, are publicly owned.

The park lies in the hamlets of Chicaguá Alto, Chicaguá Bajo, Helechal Alto, Helechal Bajo, San Onofre, San Joaquín, Playoncito, Quebrada Grande, Peñitas, Guzaman, Mohán and Santo Domingo, in the municipality of Arboledas. Its water feeds the Cúcuta aqueduct, the Tasajero thermal power station, the Zulia irrigation district and about 16,000 hectares of coffee, so the páramo is worked as a source of water rather than visited as a monument.

Access to Laguna Brava, the largest water body in the Santurbán biogeographic unit at 40 hectares, is on foot only, several hours from the Arboledas municipal seat at 3,600 m. The park spans 1,456 to 3,967 m, so plan for cold páramo conditions at the top and warmer Andean forest lower down. Steep slopes and loose soils make landslides frequent; check trail conditions before setting out.

Laguna Brava, in the Quebrada Grande hamlet at 3,600 m, is the largest water body in the Santurbán biogeographic unit at about 40 hectares. It can only be reached on foot, on a walk of several hours from the municipal seat of Arboledas.