Zapatoca

• Miguel Acuña (1788-1847), Franciscan priest and medical practitioner
• José de Jesús Pimiento Rodríguez (1919 - 2019 in Floridablanca) was a Prelate of the Catholic Church. Until his death the age of 100 he was the oldest living cardinal.
• Carlos Toledo Plata (1932 - 1984 in Bucaramanga) was a doctor, politician and co-founder and early leader of the guerrilla movement known as M-19.

Iglesia de San Joaquín, the main parish church of Zapatoca, Santander, Colombia. Founded in 1743, the stone-built church features twin towers and serves as a central place of worship under the Diocese of Socorro y San Gil.

Zapatoca is near several natural attractions, including la Cueva del Nitro, a limestone cave system located approximately 6 kilometers (4 miles) from the town. The cave, formed by karst processes in Early Cretaceous rock, features extensive mineral formations such as stalactites and stalagmites, and is accessed via guided tours.

In January 2026, Zapatoca is scheduled to host the 42nd Ferias y Fiestas de la Cordialidad y el Retorno, an annual cultural festival traditionally held to welcome returning residents and visitors. The event is planned to take place from 9 to 12 January 2026. ^[2]

Fossils of Early Cretaceous animals from the Valanginian-Hauterivian Rosablanca Formation were collected near Zapatoca.^[3] Fossil material include fishes, particularly pycnodonts and hybodontiform Strophodus, ichthyosaurs, elasmosaurids.^[3] Remains of turtles,^[3] including Notoemys zapatocaensis,^[4] possible ornithocheirid pterosaurs^[5] and ammonite Saynoceras verrucosum^[4][5] also known from this location. There is also a report about metriorhynchoid crocodylomorph from these deposits.^[3] During the Valanginian and Hauterivian ages, here was a shallow sea where hybodontiforms and pycnodontiforms played an important trophic role as shell-crushing predators.^[3]