Colombia
- Rotem Haskia
- Apr 22, 2020
- 7 min read
I will have to admit that I was a bit conflicted about flying to Colombia, it's no secret that this country has a certain reputation about being a place for more for nightlife seekers but since day one I was happy to discover an amazing place filled with history, culture, interesting people and magnificent nature! I welcome you to my blog that contains my full trip plan.
Medellin
Situated In a narrow valley and with a modern skyline that reminded me from a far of New York Medellin is the second biggest city in Colombia after Bogota and will sure not bore you.
Where to sleep?
Happy Buddha Hostel: a great and cheap hostel right in the middle of a restaurant and bars area. The rooms are comfortable with clean toilet and a volt to put your belongings. The atmosphere in the hostel was really nice, every evening they had a different social activity from dancing lessons to Dj and the staff was always willing to help.
What to do?
Santa Fe mall: a huge mall that offers countless of shops and restaurants.
The Rafael Uribe Uribe Palace of Culture: a beautiful palace and near it you will find Plazoleta De Las Esculturas which is a beautiful square filled with the local Colombian artist Fernando Botero sculptures. In the area you can find old churches, many markets that sells everything from clothes, electronics or the local Arepas.
Guatapé and Pablo Escobar tour: Here we took a tour from Beit Chabad to the beautiful Guatapé city. The tour starts with a sail to Pablo Escobar vacation house where not only we learned about him we also enjoyed the beautiful view of the river and the green hills around it.
After Pablo Escobar's house we drove to Guatape's famous rock where we climbed around 670 stairs to a breathtaking viewpoint over Guatapé.
After the rock we drove to the city itself where we enjoyed walking in the colorful streets that are covered with paintings, bought souvenirs in the market and saw the main park.
Comuna 13: With a 30 minutes uber or a metro to Javier station + a bus you can arrive to Comuna 13. Comuna 13 is a type of favela that reminds a bit the ones in Rio and is filled with exquisite local art galleries and street graffities that tells many fascinating stories about the history of the area. Tip: Come here by yourself and not with an organized tour and rent a guide in the street. The guides are really good and that way you will save around 40,000 COP. Also, I will strongly advise taking a guide since although the Comuna is a beautiful place to walk in you will learn so much from the guide, see more hidden spots, feel safe and understand the fascinating meanings of the graffities. Our guide was from SAG company 300-208-41-30
The House in The Air: About 3 hours from Medellin you will find a special hostel nesting on the corner of an impressive mountain. In this unique hostel you can do so much more than just sleeping you actually don't have to sleep here at all, you can come here for a daily visit and enjoy the property's facilities that includes ziplines, giant hammock above a 25 meter cliff, hammocks on a zipline above the impressive views and a Tarzan swing. During all the day you will enjoy the place remarkable green view that reminded me of Switzerland and have a lovely time disconnecting from the city. Number for contacting +573113950269
Salento
In the past the road to the town Cali used to go through Salento but after this road was diverted Salento became isolated and undeveloped which gave it a quiet and relaxed atmosphere and its pastoral, traditional colonial architecture is conserved until today. In Salento you will walk the beautiful streets and experience some of the Colombian most famous symbols- the Cocora valley and Colombian coffee!
Where to sleep?
Hilltop Hostel: this hostel is truly one of the best-looking ones I have seen, its pool is amazing, the restaurant is tasty and affordable and is in walking distance from the main square. The only negative part about this hostel is that the owner's many cats and dogs are free around here which is completely fine until they enter the rooms at night which was really not cool and the owner refused to help or give us a key to lock the door.
What to do?
Cocora Valley: One of the things that Salento is mostly famous for and attracts a lot of tourists here is the small distance to the breathtaking Cocora Valley. You can get here with an 8000 Peso jeep (both directions) that goes out every 30 minutes from the main plaza. In Cocora you will find different walking trails that goes between 1-5 hours and will take you to different breathtaking views of the valley's 50 shades of green.
Coffee tour: To the Coffee valley you also go with a jeep from the main plaza that also goes our every 30 minutes and cost 6000 pesos for both directions. There are many coffee farms in the area but there are 3 famous ones that each one offers coffee tours in English in around 12000 pesos. We chose to go to La Arzacia because it was the oldest one and is known for making a 100% organic coffee which they will teach you all about and you can also buy here. Tip: If you want to bring home coffee the coffee tour is the place to buy it. The price is not high and it's the most high-quality coffee you will be able to buy since they keep the good products for selling to tourists and for exporting abroad.
Santa Marta Hot Springs: the spectacular Santa Marta Hot Springs offers hot pools underneath a beautiful waterfall just one hour from Salento.
Viewpoints: one of my favorite things about this town is the beautiful streets and the peaceful vibe they had on me. All around the city you will find hills with impressive viewpoints and colorful cute houses.
Cartagena
This part of the blog was really important to me, before coming here everyone told me that there is nothing to look for in Cartagena except for nightlife but I decided to give it a try since it was on my way and I'm happy to share with you my own take on this beautiful city.
Where to sleep? Treehouse hostel: a cheap and good located hostel just a few minutes from the old town part. The hostel staff were always nice, they helped us to book our attractions and transportation and were very welcoming.
What to do?
The old city: the beautiful old city part of Cartagena that offers pastoral streets with unique bars, restaurants and shops.
Volcano Totumo: After a fifty minute drive from Cartagena we arrived to Volcano Totumo, we swam inside it in a 2300 meters deep mud bath with a great view. The local say this mud is healthy for your skin so it was really funny floating above a mud volcano scrubbing mud on our faces- what an experience.
Mar Rosa: the local salt flats that colors the lake in a complete red-pink color and is very incredible to see (can be combined in one tour with Volan Totumo).
Plankton Tour: the tour starts early in the morning when we drove about one hour the famous Playa Blanca that is just might be the most famous beach here. With its white sand and tourqizo water this beach is truly is beautiful but be warned- it's as touristic and crowded as its beautiful. In the beach beside restaurants you will find many types of aquatic sports in great prices and boats to different islands. In the evening around 18:00 pm we gathered around the Plankton tour agency for a briefing and around 19:00 the activity started. In this activity you will take a boat in the dark to a specific area where you are able to find the Planktons and swim with them. Depending on the amount of Planktons and the moonlight but swimming with the Plankton will make you feel like you have supernatural powers or like you're some kind of angel since moving the water causes a glowing blue magical aura. Truly an enchanting experience.
Taganga
Taganga is a small traditional fishing village jest near Santa Marta and both of them are two of the oldest remaining colonial settlements in Colombia. In Taganga you will mostly enjoy the sea- from laying on the scenic beaches to scuba diving courses to eating fresh fishes all day in the local restaurants on the beach.
Where to sleep?
Nirvana hostel: this hostel was a really nice with the best pool and the best Oreo milkshakes. I stayed in the hostel way more than I needed just because of the good atmosphere, the clean rooms, the nice staff and the delicious food. I also recommend booking your trips around Taganga through the reception here.
What to do?
Minca Tour: The full day Minca tour will take you first to a swim in a cute waterfall and then to the unique Elmento Hostel that you can also spend the night in and offers countless of giant hammocks in all sizes and shapes in front of the amazing views. The hostel also offers restaurants and a pool and is the perfect place to disconnect and rest. Tip: In looking back I would have skipped the waterfall and went straight to the Elemnto Hostel in order to have more time here since we didn't spend the night.
Tayrona park: In Tayrona park we walked two hours in an easy trail that goes inside the jungle where we spotted animals and enjoyed the beautiful ocean views. In the end of the trail we got to the amazing San Juan beach that also has a great restaurant and boats back to Taganga without needing to walk back which was very nice and offered us more time to enjoy the beach with no stress.
Beaches: if you already went to the town's beach You can also take a taxi boat to another beach like Playa Crystal.
Santa Marta: take a short taxi to Santa Marta for a day in the city.
El Mirador: In one afternoon I recommend taking a 5 minutes taxi to El Mirador hostel that offers a breathtaking viewpoint over Taganga and its beautiful geographic structure around the blue sea. The hostel also offers an infinity pool above the amazing views and a front row seats to the amazing sunset.
Scuba diving: Taganga is known for very cheap scuba dives in fact, a lot of people choose to go through a complete scuba diving course here since the price is cheap and the marine life is beautiful.
So as I said Colombia surprised me, I did not plan on visiting it but due to a music festival I attended I decided to give it a try. I think it's not fair to judge a place based on what people made of it and I'm so happy I got the chance to have my own experience here. I was here for 3 weeks but I would say that between two weeks to two and a half would be enough for the plan I written above. For more pictures or for contacting me click here or search @Travel_Rotems on Instagram.
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