Colombia Slow Travel

Welcome to Colombia! Over the next few days, let yourself be inspired by the hospitality and the small everyday treasures of Colombia, try typical delicacies and the fresh fruit! Transfer from José María Córdova airport to the hotel.

Discover Medellín, the “City of Eternal Spring,” on a fascinating full-day tour focused on the city’s remarkable social and urban transformation. Once internationally associated with violence and the legacy of Pablo Escobar, Medellín has reinvented itself over the past two decades through innovative urban planning, social inclusion projects, and community-driven development, becoming a global example of resilience and renewal. Explore the vibrant city center and visit the famous Plaza Botero, home to the iconic sculptures of renowned Colombian artist Fernando Botero. Continue through the dynamic streets of Medellín to experience the energy and creativity that define the city today. One of the highlights of the tour is a ride on Medellín’s innovative Metrocable system to the hillside district of Santo Domingo. Originally developed to better connect marginalized neighborhoods with the rest of the city, the cable car became a symbol of social integration and opportunity, transforming daily life for thousands of residents while offering spectacular panoramic views over the Aburrá Valley. The journey concludes in the vibrant Comuna 13, once one of Medellín’s most dangerous neighborhoods and today one of its most inspiring success stories. Famous for its colorful street art, local music, and community spirit, Comuna 13 showcases how culture and public infrastructure can drive positive change. Here, visitors will experience the unique outdoor escalators that helped improve mobility and quality of life for the local community, while learning about the neighborhood’s powerful transformation through the voices and stories of its residents.

Today you drive from the city of Medellín to Salamina, a municipality characterized by its impressive architectural heritage. This route is characterized by the steep green slopes of the mountains and the deep valley of the Cauca River, colourful and impressive landscapes.

At the top of the central mountain range of the Andes, almost 3,000 meters above sea level, with imposing height and beauty, stand the wax palms, the national tree of Colombia. The valley of Samaria is a magnificent vantage point from which to get in touch with this wonder of nature and its history.

You leave the idyllic village of Salamina and drive through the green and mountainous landscape of the coffee zone. The typical coffee valleys that stretch along the mountain slopes will guide you all the way to Armenia. On the way, you stop to visit Salento, a picturesque village with the typical architecture of the coffee zone and the famous 250 steps that lead you to the “Alto de la Cruz” viewpoint.

After a delicious breakfast, you can explore the area around the finca. On a guided tour of Hacienda Bambusa, you will learn more about the farm, cocoa cultivation and the trade and export of cocoa beans. Hacienda Bambusa has several hundred hectares of cocoa plants, banana trees and pineapple plantations. You walk around the farm and through the cocoa plantation and see many different cocoa trees, all of which have fruits up to 25 cm long, which can be red, yellow or brown, and learn about cocoa cultivation and its process.

The trail leads from Armenia in the coffee region to the valley of the Río Magdalena. Over steep serpentines past the Nevado del Ruiz to the Alto de Letras pass, the landscape opens up until you arrive at the Río Magdalena in Honda.

We continue through a very varied landscape, past the different climatic zones of the Andes, up into the eastern Andes Cordillera. The proximity to the Magdalena River allows you to see impressive landscapes along the way. On the way, you can make a stop at the Piedra de Capira, from where Alexander von Humboldt was already able to enjoy the magnificent view.

Take a walk to get to know the contrast between the modern and historical part of the city of Bogotá. Walk through the passages of the Paloquemao market, full of merchants offering fresh products from the countryside that gives this region, taste a delicious fruit juice that calls your attention and be impressed with the colors of the outdoor flower market. Walk through the mythical district of La Candelaria, decorated with its colorful colonial houses, located in the old center of the city, in its main square or Plaza de Bolívar. There you will find the government district, the Primate Cathedral of Colombia, the Palace of Justice, the Parliament and the Mayor’s Office, an important place for its historical events. Visit the famous museum of the Colombian artist Fernando Botero, where you will find from his sculptures in different materials, to the paintings that have made him a recognized artist, additional know an exceptional collection of contemporary art, with artists like Van Gogh, Picasso, among others. Walk through the halls of the Gold Museum, to see a unique collection of pre-Columbian gold jewelry, made by the indigenous communities that inhabited Colombia. If the weather is good, a short cable car ride will take you to the hill of Monserrate. From the top, you will be amazed by the impressive size of the city, which is home to more than eight million inhabitants.

It’s time to leave the capital and head to the old colonial town of Zipaquirá. You will visit the impressive underground church, which is completely carved out of salt stone, and learn more about the history of salt in the region from the time of the indigenous people to the present day. Then continue on the main road towards Lake Guatavita. This is an opportunity to learn more about the “El Dorado”: a ceremony in which a man covered himself in gold and threw emeralds and gold objects into the lake. The typical flora of the region and especially the famous frailejones, a very important tree for the region’s water reserves. Late afternoon arrival in Villa de Leyva, the former summer residence of the bishops of Tunja. Take a leisurely stroll through the cobbled streets and head towards the Plaza Mayor to end the day with a delicious meal.

From the hotel, you hike up the main mountain, out of the city and into the mountains, along narrow paths past impressive rock faces and native trees to a viewpoint from which you can enjoy the majestic location of the gorge town of Chiquiza. This path was a traditional way for the Muisca people to move between towns and trade. Explore the surroundings of Villa de Leyva on a beautiful hike through the surrounding hills (2 hours, easy level). The views of the old colonial city are magnificent. On this tour you will learn about the colonial history behind Villa de Leyva, the former summer residence of the bishops of Tunja. Take a leisurely stroll through the cobbled streets, visit the chocolate museum and make your way to the Plaza Mayor to end the tour in the impressive main square.

Today you continue your journey to warmer lands in the direction of Barichara. You will cross lush pastures and then follow the gorge that stretches towards the Suárez River. You can make a few stops to visit a traditional sugar factory, taste a typical guava mousse or try the cuajada con melao, a cheese cream with sugar molasses. You arrive in Barichara, which lies at an altitude of 1300 m and has a pleasant temperature all year round. Feel free to stroll through the cobbled streets and colonial architecture of this perfectly preserved village, which has been declared the most beautiful village in Colombia.

Day at leisure.

You leave the mountains and reach the Colombian lowlands. From Barichara, you head to the Canyon del Chicamocha. If conditions permit, you will cross the canyon by cable car and enjoy a fantastic panorama of this deep gorge. From here you continue to Barrancabermeja in the valley of the Ríos Magdalenas. Barrancabermeja, an industrial town at an altitude of just 75 m, is one of the hottest towns in the country. With an average annual temperature of 32°C, the hotel’s swimming pool is a great place to relax. At an altitude of 1,600 m, the certified coffee farm “El Roble”, which operates according to sustainable principles, produces excellent coffee. You can follow the path of the coffee bean from the seedling to the steaming cup and, of course, taste some of the coffee varieties grown under professional guidance.

Today’s adventure begins with a boat trip on the Magdalena River. Far from the roads, the river meanders through the landscape. After 5 hours you will reach El Banco, a small village in the south of the Magdalena department. A hundred years ago, Bogotá’s only access to the Atlantic coast died. From El Banco, the route takes you another two hours by car to Mompox, a magical colonial town in the north of Colombia that gives you a lot of history, romance and nostalgia in every corner. From El Banco, the route takes you another two hours by car to Mompox, a magical colonial town in northern Colombia that will give you a lot of history, romance and nostalgia in every corner of this village.

Following in the footsteps of delicate metal art, you will get to know two traditional places that use this ancient technique in the city. Get to know the museum house of Luis Guillermo Trespalacios, the emblematic goldsmith artist of Mompox. You will discover ancient tools developed in the city’s blacksmith workshops, machines and other elements in which the artist’s creativity fills what technology replaces today. Visit a workshop where the ancestral and traditional art of filigree is worked on with contemporary concepts and tools, without forgetting the path traveled by the forerunners of the ancient art. Walk the antiquated streets through the main attractions of this city, where you can admire and study the colonial architecture, unique for its mix of Mudejar and Baroque styles. The “Calle Real del Medio” impresses with its whitewashed walls and stately houses behind imposing wooden doors with locks and door knockers in a variety of styles and the finely carved wooden balconies overloaded with flowering plants. The picturesque Calle de la Albarrada runs along the river. Visit the city’s colonial churches, the most striking of which is the Iglesia Santa Barbara, in front of the square of the same name and next to the river. Built in 1630, it is characterized by its yellow and white painting and is unique in Colombia in having an octagonal Moorish and Baroque bell tower with balconies at the top. The Iglesia San Agustin houses the ornate gold Santo Sepulcro, which is carried through the streets on the shoulders of Nazarene pilgrims during Semana Santa processions. We continue to the Cementerio Central, perhaps the most interesting and atmospheric place to visit. Here it becomes clear that the old fairy tales of Mompox are still very much alive. The white graves are lined up one on top of the other, forming walls of remembrance around a central chapel. In a traditional boat that takes you along the river, you can observe the local fauna and flora in the Pijiño swamps. Afterwards you can take a pleasant swim in the water. Then return to your hotel in Mompox or explore the village on your own.

Today you leave quiet Mompox for the very famous and colorful Cartagena! Finally on the Caribbean coast, take the time to stroll the busy streets, sample the seafood specialties and have a drink on the terrace if you can stand the heat! In the afternoon, get to know the picturesque streets of Cartagena, its republican and colonial architecture full of history, such as the Plaza de la Aduana, where the slave market once was, the Plaza de Bolívar and the Gold Museum, admire the Inquisition Palace and appreciate the architecture of the Heredia Theater. In the old town you will come across the monastery and the church of San Pedro Claver with its construction from the mid-seventeenth century, stroll through Las Bóvedas square, which houses a colorful handicraft market. Visit San Felipe Castle, one of the city’s most important fortresses, built on the mountain by the Spanish. During the walking tour you can enjoy spectacular views of the city and its coasts. Climb to the highest point in the city to visit the ancient La Popa Monastery and enjoy panoramic views over the city.

Transfer from the hotel to the Cartagena dock. Transfer from Cartagena dock to Isla Múcura. Take a break from everyday life. In the following days, enjoy the mix of green and blue of the sea in Punta Faro as well as the activities that this place offers such as snorkeling, kayaking and others.

Transfer from Isla Múcura to Cartagena dock. Transfer from Cartagena dock to Cartagena hotel/airport. It’s time to say goodbye to Colombia. You will depart your hotel to return to Cartagena where you will await your international flight.