Day Trip to Guatapé: The Most Colorful Town in Colombia

Before I begin, let’s touch on my writing about travel in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. For me, writing has been a form of escape. Writing about past travels to beautiful destinations in our currently suffering world – even more so. I’m hanging onto the fact that these places will be there waiting for us on the other side of COVID-19. There are, however, countless destinations that rely heavily, if not completely, on tourism. They’re sure to need all the help they can get in the coming years. As such, I’m working on content that hopefully inspires you now and helps you plan trips to these destinations when we’re once again free to roam. Thank you for reading. I hope you’re staying safe and healthy wherever you are.

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Jesus counted down as our bus approached our first glimpse of El Peñol, the temptress of a rock whose peak offered views that even I, a true sedentary creature, felt compelled to climb 740 steps to see.

5, 4, 3, 2, and…

Hold up. Jesus? A rock? Are you thinking I’ve gone mad? Perhaps I have a little bit… that’d explain why I was so eager to scale this thing.

El Peñol is a big, famous rock situated on the outskirts of the colorful pueblo of Guatapé. The combination of the rock and the town is one of the most popular day trip destinations for Medellin visitors. Jesus was our quippy, punny guide from Tours Guatapé who knows Guatapé and Medellin inside and out. We had an awesome time, despite starting to get really stressed out about coronavirus (wow, this does sound like a million years ago). That must prove what a gem the experience really was.

But First, Breakfast and a Wander

I was nervous that we would only skim the surface of a Guatapé experience being part of such a large tour group. I needn’t have worried.

The Spanish and English tours depart on the same bus, but are guided separately which made for much less chaos, numbers-wise. Also, with plenty of thoughtful details sprinkled throughout, Tours Guatapé ensured that we were in for a unique, memorable excursion. (By the way, this post is not sponsored, but I wanted to provide an honest review of our experience.)

Exhibit A: I was delighted when our bus pulled over at a roadside restaurant for a breakfast of coffee and arepas con queso. What a way to literally butter me up.

Exhibit B: a short wander around Marinilla for the sole reason that what makes the town so special is… that it isn’t very special at all. A far cry from everything else we’d be visiting that day.

“It’s an authentic look into everyday life in Colombia, away from tourist eyes,” Jesus explained. Soviet-style playground gyms for the community, run-of-the-mill barber shops and corner markets, a main square bustling with juice stands and gaggles of grandpas settling down for lunch. It was an unexpected and lovely peek.

Climbing El Peñol

…And there she was.

About an hour after leaving Marinilla, Jesus directed our gazes towards the right-side windows. He ended the countdown by bringing us into full view of El Peñol rising augustly out of lush fields and a lake pockmarked by a smattering of islands.

El Peñol’s climb takes 740 zig-zag steps exactly, marked off by white chalk every 25 steps. We fell in step with a couple of guys from our tour group, and raced to beat Jesus’s record of 7 minutes (or so he claimed). Alas, we clocked in at a respectable 15 minutes, although that included photography at each of the viewpoints Jesus recommended (likely to throw us off).

We made it to the top, red and sweaty and legs shaking. The crowds were out in full force. After elbowing our way through to take a few obligatory photos and admire the view, we congregated in the parking lot to commiserate over coronavirus and wait for the stragglers.

Practical Tips for Visiting El Peñol:

• The entrance fee to climb El Peñol (18,000 COP). This isn’t included in the Tours Guatapé day trip price, which is perhaps the one con of the tour. You purchase tickets at the entrance; hustle over to do so rather than take pictures (which you can do at the end) to beat the crowds.
• There are a lot of food and drink vendors in the parking area. Jesus advised that we skip these, and purchase beverages and snacks at the top where the vendors are much cheaper.
• Many tour operators include a spin around the lake in a boat; Jesus and other tourists we met recommended skipping this as the views are not nearly as nice on the water. We also met a gentleman who took a helicopter up, which he said was awesome if you want to splurge!
• Bring comfortable shoes and sunscreen! The sun is no joke up there.

Guatapé: The Most Colorful Town in Colombia

The pueblo of Guatapé is stone’s throw away from El Peñol. So, in less time than it took to get up to the top of a rock, our bus dropped us off at a restaurant in town. Here, we all feasted on variations of bandeja paisa for lunch while getting to know our fellow travelers a bit better.

After lunch, Jesus rounded us up to take us on a walk through town. I said in my last post that visiting Salento was like walking in a rainbow. Guatapé is like that too… but on steroids. The town is made of swaths of brightly colored buildings, which are particularly distinctive thanks to the zocalos that line the bottoms. These cheerful frescoes are beautiful, yes, but also depict the goods or services sold by the businesses inside or commemorate the heritage of those who live within their walls.

Upon reaching the piéce de resistance, Plaza de Zocalos, the group split off. Some went off with Jesus to a “secret destination,” others to grab a coffee. Leah and I pre-gamed our quest to hunt down postcards (I swear, Colombia is completely devoid of them) by sharing an enormous cinnamon roll. It was the best cinnamon roll I’ve ever had. If you find yourself in Plaza de Zocalos in a tiny, colorful town in the Andes… turn to the cafe on your right and get yourself a fluffy cinnamon roll as fast as you possibly can. Get an extra one to-go as well.

I never did end up finding those postcards.

Instead, I convinced Leah that we should just retrace our steps to linger and take some photos at our favorite corners. I’ll print them out and make our own postcards out of them, I promised. (Still working on that…) That worked for us until a rainstorm swept through. We sped from overhang to overhang on our way to the tour group’s meeting point, still getting soaked despite our best efforts but having a blast anyway.

That’s the thing about colorful towns. There are rainbows everywhere, rainy days especially.

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