2021 Travel Review – Part 1: Colombia

In 2020 I had three memorable trips to Colombia, Greece/Georgia, and the Mexican state of Oaxaca. Since I started this blog after the second of these trips, I am sharing belated reviews of the previous trips.

I rang in 2021 at El Botanico Hostel in Bogotá, Colombia. Having spent New Years 2020 in Ushuaia, Argentina, I made a pact with myself to spend every forthcoming New Years in a new country (bc honestly I’m extra, and being somewhere foreign makes it memorable no matter what happens). Travelers whom I had met in 2020 touted Colombia as an up and coming location due to its still relatively low numbers of tourists, something even more apparent amidst the Covid-19 pandemic.

I spent five days total in Bogotá, which is perhaps more than I needed. Tickets for museums were only available through online registration, which honestly irritated me so I stuck primarily to wandering the streets. The most memorable moments included a bicycle tour with others from the hostel, and a New Years Eve morning hike up the mountain that forms Bogotá’s backbone – Monserrate. There was a nighttime curfew in Bogotá to avoid gatherings on New Years Eve, but our hostel still had its own home cooked dinner celebration and we watched fireworks across the city from our balcony.

On 2 January I took the 8+ hour bus from Bogotá to Medellín. While it was long and tiring, I am happy that I decided to make the trip during the day, as the mountain scenery was beautiful.

Medellín was formerly known as the “Murder Capital of the World”, and as such has a fascinating and dark history. I was particularly drawn to the geography of the city, tucked in a valley surrounded on all sides by mountains. There is a growing expat population here, and the hostels I stayed in were full of remote workers.

I spent two afternoons visiting one of Medellín’s most popular areas: Comuna 13, which was controlled by drug traffickers in the 80’s and 90’s until a controversial and deadly police raid in 2002 initiated a new beginning. On my first day I wandered the area alone, and on the next I took a tour with a local guide. I highly recommend this, as most of the guides speak from first hand experience growing up there prior to the raid. (These free, tip-based walking tours can be scheduled online. FYI – the booking websites may ask for a credit card number for verification, which seems sketchy for a “free” tour, but I was never charged for anything).

Part of the revitalization of Comuna 13 was the addition of a series of escalators, which allowed locals of the favela to more easily integrate with the rest of the city and expand economic prosperity. The combination of the colorful murals, maze-like streets, and escalators created an atmosphere that I felt was completely unique. In the time that I explored this area alone I never felt unsafe, although they still do ask tourists to be cautious.

From Medellín I took a brief bus ride to the nearby resort town of Guatapé, where I stayed in a hostel for one night. Guatapé is beloved by the Colombian people, who come from all corners of the country to see it, boasting of it’s giant rock, the “Piedra Del Peñol” as having the “greatest view in the world”.

If you have ample time and want the exercise, walk east of Guatapé along the road which wraps in a big circle to the rock. This walk took me about 2.5 hours and provided great views and sights of rural Colombian properties. (Keep in mind you will then hike up the rock).

The exhausting staircase to the top of the rock rewards you with a panoramic view of the surrounding man-made lakes. I recommend visiting later in the afternoon – the crowds will be smaller, and the lighting will be more ideal. I enjoyed being here alone, and I probably spent 45 minutes at the top, soaking in the views. Make sure to buy the popsicles that are up there, they were probably the best popsicles I’ve ever had!

Though most tourists make a day trip from Medellín, I think it is worth it to stay at least one night in Guatapé. The town is small, and only a 45 minute walk from the rock. There is a central square with decently priced restaurants, and the colorful buildings around town are full of character. I recommend getting breakfast along the main street that runs through town, facing the lake. The only downside to staying here overnight is that there is only one hostel, though more hotels are surely available.

After returning to Medellín for another night I took a series of buses to another small resort town called Salento. This was the part of the trip I anticipated the most, as I was eager to see the world’s tallest palm trees in the nearby Valle de Cocora (Cocora Valley).

You can buy a ticket for a shared jeep on a 12-15 minute drive to the valley from the central square in Salento. This was quite an experience, as the drivers race through some bumpy roads with no concern. Once at the valley you can walk straight to the palms, or you can take a 3+ hour hike through the forest that directs you back to the palms. I chose the latter, and it was one of my favorite solo hikes that I’ve taken. It wasn’t particularly strenuous, except for a portion in the middle that was all up hill in the middle of the forest.

Make sure to stop at the Acaime hummingbird sanctuary which is located deep in the forest along the trail, marked by a sign. You pay the owner a small fee to enter and are treated to a seemingly endless display of hummingbirds – one even landed on my camera mid-photo! The owner gave me a sugar water and a piece of cheese, which was fitting. I was really impressed, and I had the whole place to myself!

Before Colombia entered my radar I didn’t know about the Cocora Valley, or that there was even a place in the world where the tallest palm trees called home. The only downside to my experience is that I thought we could free-roam through acres of wax palms, but the reality was that there are trails for tourists to stick to and the area wasn’t particularly large large. Still, the palms were a spectacle I’ll never forget.

The three days I spent in Salento were a cozy and sociable end to my trip. There I reunited with a couple travelers from Bogotá, and I also made some new acquaintances. The town has plenty of restaurants, cafes, and artisan shops – so there was always something to do. While still in town, Bogotá and Medellín announced partial Covid lockdowns, and so not wanting to get stuck in Colombia I made the overnight trip back to the capital and flew to the U.S. the next day.

If you look at a map of Colombia and pinpoint the places I visited on this trip you will realize that I saw only a small portion of this massive country. There is so much more to see including the Tatacoa Desert, the city of Calle, the Colombian portion of the Amazon, Cartagena, the Parque Nacional Sierra Nevada, and Palomino.