Contrasts of Colombia

Arrive in Bogota, the capital of Colombia set at an altitude of over 2,600m. The city sprawls out from the high ranges of the Cordillera Mountains, blanketing the Andean peaks with an eclectic mix of historic buildings and modern, urban architecture. Its name comes from the Muisca indigenous people who inhabited the region before the arrival of the Spaniards in 1538, and the remnants of not only the Muisca empire but of Colombia's many other indigenous cultures can be found in the city's impressive Gold Museum.



For those arriving on time our Leader plans to meet you in the hotel reception at 6pm for the welcome meeting and for those that wish, there is the chance to go out for dinner. There are no activities planned today, so you are free to arrive in Bogota at any time. If you would like to receive a complimentary airport transfer today, you'll need to arrive into Bogota's El Dorado International Airport (airport code: BOG), approximately a 45 minute drive from our hotel. Should you miss the meeting, your leader will inform you of any essential information as soon as you catch up.



If your flight arrives earlier in the day, La Candelaria is a good place to orientate yourself in the city, where a wealth of museums, bars and restaurants are dotted in between colonial convents and churches.

This morning we spend time exploring the city, first delving into local life with a visit to the farmers market at Paloquemao, with its overwhelming array of smells and colours. Our Tour Leader will introduce us to some of the tropical fruits on offer here, as we speak to some of the different sellers.



From the market, we visit the Gold Museum; while many cities in Latin America have their own 'Museo de Oro', Bogota's is widely regarded as housing the region's finest collection of gold from pre-Hispanic times. The museum's star exhibit is the Muisca Raft - an impressive piece of pre-Colombian artistry that fueled the Spaniard's search for El Dorado.



From the museum we'll walk to the colourful colonial streets of La Candelaria for a traditional Colombian lunch at one of the city's many restaurants - it's an opportunity to try the popular dish Ajiaco Santafereno, which is a hearty soup made from chicken, potato and corn. It's found throughout Colombia but is particularly popular in Bogota. After lunch we continue our exploration on foot. Walking under the balconied houses from where local residents often observe the comings and goings below, we'll encounter some excellent examples of colonial architecture, such as the Catedral Primada de Colombia. The visit continues with the Museo Botero, a colonial house filled with works of art by the Colombian artist and sculptor Fernando Botero, famous for his abstract portrayal of people with large, exaggerated proportions. Our city tour ends at around 5pm.

We take a birds eye view of the city this morning, as we ascend the pilgrimage site of Mount Monserrate by cable car. We'll then drive to the airport to fly to Armenia on a one hour afternoon flight from Bogota.



Armenia is the capital of the Quindío department, an important coffee growing centre in the foothills of the Andes range. Immediately on leaving the airport, we'll drive to our hotel located about 30 minutes away. This old, characterful hacienda has views out to the Quindío valley, which we will be exploring over the next 2 days. We'll arrive in the early evening, with some time to relax.

After breakfast we take a drive to Salento, where we climb aboard an immaculately restored vintage Willys jeep and drive into the Cocora Valley. We're in the foothills of the Andes here, hiking amongst a multitude of towering wax palms that pepper the mountainside like pins in a cushion. These countryside walks are on undulating terrain with well-trodden paths and our walk will take approximately two hours. Before leaving the Cocora Valley, we'll have a typical lunch with views of the mountains. Trout is particular to the area, usually served with plantain and rice, but you may also find yuca and arepas too.



On our return to Salento, we'll play an explosive round of Colombia's national game - Tejo. This bizarre sport involved players lobbing tejos (metal discs) towards a metal ring in a sandpit that is loaded with gunpowder-filled pieces. The aim? Explosion! This lively bowls-like game is best played with a beer and a sense of fun. After the game, we'll have some time free to explore charming Salento town, its colourful architecture so characteristic of this coffee growing region, before driving back to our hacienda in the Quindio Valley.

Colombia is renowned for its excellent food, with regional specialties in almost every different town, from Bandeja Paisa (basically the Colombian equivalent of a full English breakfast, but with plantain, avocado, cornbread, delicious frijoles and heaps of different meats) to pandebono, a traditional bread made with cheese, frequently served with guava paste. Today we'll be getting stuck into the gastronomy with a cooking class at our own hacienda. A local chef here will help us to prepare 'sancocho', a typical Colombian soup that is stuffed full of vegetables, yuca, corn, plantain and either chicken, fish or beef. It is frequently eaten with avocado and white rice on the side. We'll make this together, alongside some other tasty appetizers and drinks, which we eat together for lunch.



Our hacienda here in coffee country happens to be surrounded by its own coffee farm. We'll spend the afternoon visiting the farm, learning about the whole process from the planting of the beans all the way through the picking and roasting process, finishing off with trying the fresh coffee. The physical work undertaken by the pickers in hauling their loads across the mountainside is quite amazing.



If, for any reason, the hotel changes, we will visit one of the other many coffee farms in this area.

This morning we fly to Medellin - flight times are subject to change, but we aim to arrive in the morning. Medellin has had a colourful history, yet since the death of its most infamous resident, Pablo Escobar, in 1993, the city has gone through comprehensive urban and cultural development. After many years in which the city was considered to be the most dangerous in the world, it now has a reputation for innovation and creativity and is representative of the country's social transformation. Part of this innovation lies in the building of a cable car system that allows the residents of the poorer neighbourhoods on the steep mountainsides surrounding Medellin to easily commute into the city to work and trade. This has undoubtedly had a huge social impact on the city, and our stay in Medellin is an opportunity to learn more about Colombia's recent, and fascinating, history.



Arriving in the morning, we'll take an orientation tour of the city with our Tour Leader, using the city's metro system. We'll have the afternoon at our leisure to explore the city on our own time.

Today we discover Medellin's past and present with a local guide. We'll travel by private transport, on foot and by cable car, including the outlying suburban area of Comuna 13. The tour aims to give the historical perspective behind Pablo Escobar's residency in Medellin, including what it was like when he was alive, and the changes that have made it the modern and diverse city it is today. We'll visit his old home, and the Casa de la Memoria Museum, an initiative started by the victims of the drug traffic trade that contributed to overcoming the conflict and violence in Medellin. We will also visit the Parque Memorial la Inflexion, built where the Monaco building, Escobar's property, was located until its demolition in 2019. There were as many as 46,000 victims of narcotraffico in Colombia, and this park was built in their memory.

We drive out of the city to the picturesque lakeside town of Guatape, where the houses are painted in glorious pastel shades, and where we will visit the enormous rock of El Penol. This monolith is Guatape's most visited site, and the 700 step climb to the top is well worth it for the astounding views over the town, the lake and the mountains before us. After taking a breather on the top, we descend and take a relaxing boat trip around the islands on Lake Guatape. We'll then have time in the afternoon to visit the town, known as 'Pueblo de Zocalos' for the intricate paintings of animals, musical instruments, flowers and birds found on the lower half of almost every building in the centre. The cobblestoned streets are alive with colourful architecture and locals going about their daily business.

Driving to Medellin airport this morning, we take our flight to Santa Marta. There are limited direct flights daily, but we do aim to get one of these. In case of low availability or schedule changes, the flights will go via Bogota.



Located on the Caribbean coast, Santa Marta is a hub for people seeking Colombia's northern beaches, and it is a jumping off point for the myriad trekking routes around the Lost City and in Tayrona National Park. We will be driving up the coast immediately on arrival towards the village of Palomino, where tall palm trees meet the mountains. Our hotel for the evening is a set of rustic cabanas just off the sandy beach.

Tayrona National Park is home to some of the most outstanding beaches on Colombia's northern coast, their pristine golden sands being protected by a large swathe of hilly rainforest. Today we will have a hike to explore some of these gems, walking for approximately three-four hours through rainforest paths and past rugged beaches including Arrecife and La Piscina. The coast up here is wild, with reefs and rocks creating strong waves and currents along some of the shoreline. Cabo San Juan, however, is the best swimming beach in the national park - a haven of luxurious emerald water and outstanding views of the tropical rainforest behind us.



We walk back the way we came. There is no vehicle access into the national park, so the only way to arrive and depart is on foot. The total walking distance is approximately 14 kilometres on easy terrain with minimal ascent and descent.



Please note that the Tayrona National Park closes several times a year. Closure dates for 2023 are currently 1-15 February, 1-15 June, 19 October - 2 November. This may change at the discretion of the Park Authorities. If Tayrona is closed, we will instead be visiting the Taironaka Nature Reserve, in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, on the banks of the Don Diego River. The park was originally inhabited by the Tayrona people, and there is a museum within the reserve that houses some archaeological finds, as well as ruins from the original settlement. There is a short forest walk to the reserve with some good opportunities for birdwatching both here and along the river within the reserve itself - toucans, flycatchers, woodpeckers and many native species all call this area home.



For those who don't wish to do the walk in Tayrona, there will also be the option to visit Taironaka instead, even when Tayrona National Park is open.

There is an approximately six hour journey between Santa Marta and Cartagena, as we travel hugging the coastline for much of the journey. We skirt around Barranquilla, the city that hosts Colombia's annual Carnival - the second biggest in the world after Rio de Janeiro - before continuing along the Caribbean to Cartagena.



This afternoon we are at our leisure - Cartagena has a fantastic nightlife, and the cobbled streets are perfect for exploring in the evening.

Cartagena's beauty is well documented throughout history. In recent times the writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez put it at the fore of Colombian culture by using it as the setting for many of his novels, including the famous 'Love in the Time of Cholera'. The massive fortified walls around the old city, dating back several hundred years, helped with the designation of the city as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.



Today we will visit the ancient plazas and churches of the city with our Tour Leader, exploring the narrow cobblestone streets and colonial convents that seem to be straight out of a filmset. As well as the popular walled city, we also visit the charming Getsemani district, the hilltop convent of La Popa with its spectacular panoramic views of the city, and the 16th century fortress of San Felipe Castle.



We have a free afternoon with plenty of options, including a canoe trip to the fisherman's village La Boquilla, or a Colombian rum tasting.

The trip ends after breakfast at our hotel in Cartagena.



There are no activities planned today, so you are free to depart from Cartagena at any time. If your flight is departing later in the day, luggage storage facilities are available at our hotel. If you would like to receive a complimentary airport transfer today, you need to depart from Cartagena's Rafael Nunez International Airport (airport code: CTG), approximately a 20 minute drive from our hotel.