Nobody Reaches for the First Ant
The bowl is already on the table.
Inside are hormigas culonas, Santander’s famous fat-bottom insect, freshly thawed and ready for the first nibble.
Nobody reaches for one.
Someone laughs awkwardly.
Someone else stares down the bowl a little longer than necessary.
Margarita Higuera has seen this moment many times.
She smiles.
“Just one warning,” she says. “When they are still uncooked, any unplucked legs can get stuck in your teeth.”
One by one, everyone takes their first bite.
An hour later, the same people who weren’t sure they could eat a creepy-crawly are debating which preparation tasted best.
A younger guest looks up from the final tasting and shrugs.
“Taste like Pringles. Once you pop, you can’t stop.”
The Experience
Rather than serving a finished dish, Margarita introduces guests to the insect one stage at a time. Each tasting reveals how heat slowly transforms the ants, changing their texture, aroma, and character.
The first sample is raw.
The next develops deeper roasted notes.
Regional herbs and seasonings begin to appear. Each preparation builds on the last until the final tasting becomes smoky and savory.
The questions stop being, “How am I going to eat this?”
They become, “I didn’t expect them to taste like that.”
Between bites, Margarita shares the story behind the ants.
“Ants are part of our identity here in Santander,” she explains. “It’s a tradition that hasn’t been lost over the years. These ants are present in many parts of the country, but only in Santander are we known for eating them. That’s a legacy left by our Indigenous ancestors.”
Depending on the season, the experience may begin long before the cooking starts. Guests head into nearby fields to collect the insects during their brief annual emergence before returning to prepare them together.
A Brief History
Across Colombia, people know what hormigas culonas are.
In Santander, people know how they taste.
Harvested during a short seasonal window, these large leafcutter ants have been gathered, roasted, and shared here for generations. They appear in family kitchens, local markets, roadside stalls, and holiday celebrations. They are as much a symbol of the region as they are a food.
Most travelers encounter them in a plastic bag.
Few ever learn why they became part of Santander’s identity or how dramatically their flavor changes depending on the way they’re prepared.
Who This Is For
This experience works especially well for:
- Curious food travelers looking beyond restaurant dining
- Families with adventurous children and teenagers
- Small private groups
- Culinary-focused journeys through Colombia
- Guests interested in regional traditions and storytelling
- Travelers who enjoy participating rather than simply observing
How We Use This in Our Itineraries
We often place this experience after guests have spent time wandering Barichara’s streets or walking the surrounding countryside.
Instead of another landmark or viewpoint, the afternoon unfolds around a communal table where conversation becomes just as important as the food itself.
The workshop pairs naturally with longer stays in Barichara and with broader culinary journeys across Colombia, where each destination introduces guests to the people behind its food traditions.
This experience is part of the Nicholas Gill x WhereNext Collection, a short list of restaurants, bars, and food and drink experiences in Colombia and Peru. Nicholas Gill, one of WhereNext DMC’s official tastemakers, visited and chose each one personally. He is a James Beard Award–nominated food and travel journalist and co-wrote Central and The Latin American Cookbook with chef Virgilio Martínez.
For families, it often becomes one of the most talked-about moments of the trip.
Why We Chose the Fancy Ant Tasting
We found Margarita the way many of our best relationships begin.
We were scouting Barichara in October 2025 for new culinary experiences when a friend of a friend of a restaurant owner passed us her WhatsApp number.
Our guests arrived with plenty of jokes and more than a little skepticism. Nobody wanted to be the first person to reach into the bowl.
By the end of the workshop, the conversation had changed. People were comparing roasting stages, talking about seasoning, and debating which preparation they preferred.
The biggest surprise came a few days later.
The most hesitant guest arranged another workshop so she could bring her children.
After her first nervous bite and the final tasting, the story had stopped being about eating ants.
It had become something she wanted to share.
That reaction is one of the reasons the experience earned a place in DO.
Margarita takes something travelers often encounter as a roadside novelty and gives it context. Guests cook, taste, ask questions, and begin to understand why generations in Santander have eaten hormigas culonas.
The Fancy Ant Tasting remains Margarita’s experience. WhereNext DMC selected it for DO, and quality controls how it is incorporated into the larger journeys we design.
