Since it’s a bad idea to make a short post only saying: come here or I’ll find you and end you, I’ll only try not to extend myself too much on this OBLIGATORY landmark that has burned an unfadable memory in my mind, and if you ever step anywhere in Colombia, you are already close enough to not miss this remarkable place.
Guatapé is also known as the plinth town, with not a very special or particular story on its history, because its famous decoration comes from the simplicity that the priest of the town was shown a socle to decorate his church and it looked so pretty that everyone in the town also wanted to have that in their homes, and from then on, the fashion of shaping history to the walls became the norm.
If you are at Bogota, you first have to make a 10 hour bus trip to Medellin, or half an hour by plane, to then, at the bus station, go on another less than 2 hours trip to Guatapé that could cost you 12,000 pesos, BUT, if you want to make the perfect trip, you must first ask the bus driver to leave you at the rock, that is like 15 minutes before arriving to the town of Guatapé and you’ll be left at a gas station where your journey of awesomeness will begin!
At the gas station you’ll see some TukTuks, or motortaxis that can take you to the giant rock, BUT they’ll charge you too much to only leave you halfway, so its not worth it AT ALL, so you can walk through that path or take the shortest route that are the stairs at the right of the gas station near the bathrooms, it’ll be impossible to get lost because the path is easy to follow.
When you finish your visit to the rock, you can return from where you came, and the same TukTuks can take you to the town of Guatapé for 5,000 per person, and perhaps if you give them something more, they can give you a mini tour and tell you some of the story of the place.
already at the parking lot, you’ll be surrounded by restaurants and souvenir shops, also you’ll see the entrance to the more than 600 steps stairway to heaven, the entrance fee is 20,000 pesos, and at the summit you’ll be welcomed by the amazing and psicodelic view that seemed taken from the fight of Goku vs Freezer and really cold beers with mango if you are adventurous enough.
If you start early, you’ll be done by noon and hopefully, take my advice, and don’t have lunch at the rock, wait till you get to the town of Guatapé and you can eat in front of the water reservoir, where you’ll see the boats with music, zipline, and much more, don’t worry, you’ll have time to come back to Medellin if you only have one day, the last bus leaves Guatapé at 7 or 8pm. You’ll thank me later!
If it’s the weekend, it is more likely that the water attractions are open, with lot’s of inflatable parks, kayaks and an infinite list of adventures if you are an adrenaline junkie, but if not, you can hop on the Rumba boats that tour you through the reservoir with music and lots of drinks! then wander around the beautiful town of Guatapé, where it’s walls decorated with history will undoubtedly become one of your favorite places you’ve ever visited, and trust me, there is so much to do, hikes, mountain biking, and so much! that you’ll need more than a day to do them in this touristic paradise.
There are lot’s of hostals an hotels at Guatapé, even in front of the main square you can find something nice and cheap aroud 30,000 pesos the night per person and are cozzy and good looking enough, it you’re not on the peak season or at the weekend, you don’t need a reservation, in fact, it wouldn’t surprise me if you arrive at a saturday you might still find where to stay without provision, in the worst case scenario you might be able to find some camping grounds, or fall back to plan M, return to Medellin QUICK! jeje
