It's been a while since I did one of these Follow Me and I’ll Show You _______ posts, and when is it a better time to revisit the concept than now? For over 6 months in 2016, I embarked on a journey through the entire length of South America, starting from Colombia all the way down to Argentina.
I spent one month in Colombia, traveling from the northern city of Santa Marta all the way down to Pasto. It was an incredible journey, and today I am here to show you the beautiful varieties of the landscape in Colombia with my "Follow Me" style photography. Hang on tight and...
Follow me, and I'll show you Colombia.
Bogota
I arrived in Bogota late at night and went straight to my friend's place. Since it was Friday night, we went straight out to party. Needless to say, I spent the next few days recovering from that ordeal. However, I did have a chance to go up the gondola to Monserrate and absorb the hilly landscape of the Colombian capital city. Monserrate is, by far, my favorite spot in Bogota.
After a week in Bogotá, my friends and I decided to go camping by a lake near Bogotá. The night was cold but calm, with people around campfires, listening to music and chilling out. It sure was a nice break from the buzzing city of Bogotá.
Santa Marta
After a lazy week in Bogota, I flew up north to Santa Marta and went straight to hike the Tayrona National Park. My friend and I went through lush green and thick rainforest and stumbled upon a village of indigenous people. They weren't very talkative and were very defensive towards tourists, but the kids loved us. :)
Minca
Two days in the forest, sleeping in extreme humidity by a beach in Tayrona National Park, it was time to move on. I spent a few days relaxing and doing day trips around the region. One of those places is Minca, which I much prefer to Santa Marta. It is greener, cooler, and much quieter and chill.
Casa de Elemento is a hostel/guesthouse atop a mountain in the forest of Minca, and it boasts a giant hammock constructed on the side of a hill. After a challenging hike, there is no other place where I would rather be than here.
Cartagena
A trip to the north of Colombia won't be complete without a stop at the tourist port city of Cartagena.
Cartagena is a colonial city on the northern coast of Colombia. It is possibly one of the most photogenic colonial towns in Colombia, hands down. I mean, just look!
Medellin
Ahh, Medellin, the expat-favorite city, the infamous hometown of Pablo Escobar, and the renowned coffee region of the world. Medellin is truly a city worth exploring for an extended period of time.
Aside from the usual tourist attractions, Medellin serves as a good hub for day hikes around the surrounding mountains. This particular hike is called Tres Cruzes, and it can be done in 30 minutes.
I spent an entire week hiking with my friend, as he showed me around the hidden hikes that normal tourists like me wouldn't know. To be honest, I don't even know which hike this was!
Since Medellin is surrounded by mountains, the weather can change quite quickly. So, when you go hiking somewhere, be prepared for mud and rain!
This hike I took with my friend started off like a regular trail, but I think we might have gotten lost and somehow ended up going through several private properties. We had to jump and crawl through barbed wire fences to get to this spot, but it was worth it.
After 2 hours of hiking up through thick grass and jumping over fences, we finally reached the top, and the view... is simply breathtaking.
If you watched Narcos, the view from the photo above may remind you of a certain scene from the show's addictive intro.
Salento
Salento is where the adventure is at. I spent one full day hiking around the Cocora Valley, where all the tall palm trees are. I have never seen anything like it before.
I really love Salento. It has to be my favorite place in the entire country. The hike in the Cocora Valley was amazing, while the town located in a remote area of the mountain served as a great spot to be amidst Colombian nature.
It was nothing short of astonishing to be able to stand among these giants up close.
Popayan
Popayan, or "White City" as it is sometimes called, is a colonial city in the south of Colombia. The city square is surrounded by beautiful white colonial architecture, unlike the colorful buildings of Cartagena. The city itself is great, but I was there for one thing: to summit "the Vulcan".
Purace Volcano is one of the most active volcanoes in Colombia, and with all my strength, I hiked the damn thing starting as early as 6 AM from the city and came back, almost collapsing at 7 PM. It was a tough hike, not because of the trail but because of the wind and snow we encountered up there. The altitude of 4,646 m didn't help either.
Even though we didn't see anything at the top, my friend was able to capture this photo, showing the landscape around Purace while the clouds cleared for a bit.
San Agustin
San Agustin is a small town in the Andes known for its archaeological park, home to numerous pre-Columbian remains. Instead of going all out on an adventure like we did in Popayan, my friend and I decided to hire a driver to drive us around the archaeological park, and we visited a bunch of waterfalls along the way.
Since San Agustin is so remote and the road connecting Popayan to San Agustin is so horrible, it took us more than 6 hours to traverse the distance of 136 km on a bus. To make things worse, I had to traverse back to Popayan to proceed to my next and last destination.
Ipiales
Ipiales is a perfect stop for people who want to cross the border to Ecuador after. Near the border is the Las Lajas Sanctuary, a basilica church built on the side of a cliff. If you are coming this way, this place is a must-visit. It is also a perfect place to say goodbye to Colombia if you proceed forward to Ecuador.
Now that we have all the information we need, it's time to start planning your trip! Here are some resources to help you get going:
Are you planning to travel independently? Be sure to check out my guide on How To Plan A Backpacking Trip here.
Want to take your photography game to the next level? Here are some resources to help you upgrade your work and photography gear:
Further Reading for Colombia
I hope you found this Colombia travel guide useful. If you are looking for something to read to help with your Colombia trip planning even further, be sure to check out the articles below:
- Looking for a complete backpacking guide to the entire South America continent? Here is the ultimate 6-Month Backpacking Itinerary for South America.
- First time in South America? Check out the 20 Best Places to Visit in South America.
- Packing for a trip to visit South America can be extremely daunting. Here's a packing guide to help you: What to Pack for South America
- Looking for a complete travel guide for Colombia? Here’s a one-month backpacking itinerary for Colombia.
- Bogota is an awesome capital city to start your Colombia journey if you know where to go. Here’s an 11 Unique Things to Do Bogota, Colombia.
- Medellin is also another fun city to visit, full of great food, salsa dancing workshops, and more. Here’s a complete travel guide on things to do in Medellin.
- Salento is home to one of the most unique places in the world, Valle del Cocora. It is an amazing place to go hiking around these tall wax palm trees. Here’s a complete hiking guide to the Cocora Valley and Salento.
- You can also watch my Colombia travel video here: Colombia is Dangerous? Travel video.
- To see all articles about Colombia, visit the Colombia Travel Guide page.
- Not sure where to go next? How about visiting Ecuador and experiencing all its wildlife in the Amazon or the Galapagos? Check out my Ecuador Travel Guide page for more information about traveling in Ecuador.
- Looking for more travel guides for South America? You can find more on my South America Travel Guide page.
- For more of my travel guides, visit my Destinations page.
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