Color, Culture, Community
Get Straight to it
Where do I even begin? Traveling to Colombia was a major vibe! From the freshly squeezed lemonade stands (or Crin-ack) as I like to call it to the Afro-Colombian village San Basilio de Palenque where the famous Palenqueros (women in brightly colored dresses) are from.
Here’s the scoop; there is soooo much to do and so many parts to see. It was hard choosing which cities to hit up but we ultimately choose (its a lot) Cartagena, San Basilio de Palenque, Cali, Armenia, Salento, Filandia, Medellin, and Guatape. I have the Colombia Itinerary you NEED.
If you have time and energy, I have a breakdown of the cities, what we did, and what the overall vibe was. The big cities and small towns all have something wonderful to offer.
Cities:
Cartegena– Highly recommend! The walled city just needs to be experienced. You can spend the entire day walking around experiencing the food, shops, culture, and people. This is also where you’ll find the ladies with the fruit on their heads dressed in bright colors, these women are called Palenqueras. You can also check out Castillo San Felipe del morro which is the actual fort/walls where you’ll find vendors selling drinks and offering you every drug under God’s green earth smh. You can also take day trips to the surrounding islands for the low. The only con is you will be bombarded with sellers, from groups flash rapping (its great the first time but then it becomes annoying lol) to people selling sunglasses and everything else under the sun and its constant. I also recommend heading to Movich Hotel for a drink on the rooftop bar for the best sunset scene around.
San Basilio de Palenque-This is where most of the afro-Colombians are from.
The infamous women with the colorful dresses that everyone takes pictures with/Palenqueras (hints the name) are usually from here. San Basilio de Palenque was the first free slave town in the Americas. Founded by Benkos Biohó, a former African king, who was sold into slavery and escaped the slave port of Cartagena in 1599, fled his captors and went on to form an army of escaped slaves who conquered the area around the Montes de Maria. Instead of paying for one of those expensive tours not knowing who the money goes to, we asked an afro Colombian woman who had a fruit cart for advice and she volunteered to take us there since that’s where she is from. Ester was her name, she spoke Spanish only so it was a true test for my limited vocabulary. We took local Transportation which included a taxi, bus, and motorcycles to arrive. We ended up spending a fraction of the costs and got a extremely immersive experience. We drank with the locals, met a singing legend maestro Rafael Cassiani and bought his cd from him at his house (he still lives in Palenque). We ate a meal prepared by our Ester’s sister. We danced to live champeta music. We played soccer with the kids at the local basketball court. We also visited the cultural center. This tiny town is historic, its an excellent place to get off the beaten path and interact with locals.
Cali– This is where the majority of black people are located. It is a large city. The parks here are so bomb! There’s a poets park called Parque de los Poetas where you’ll find poets with typewriters writing realtime. Theres also a giant statue similar to Christ the Redeemer one in Brazil. This one is Cristo Rey. We also took a day trip to Chorrera del indio an nearby waterfall. This is where you can find the regional soup san cocho which is regional to Ponce. Also tried a drink called chicha. Chicha is fermented maize and they usually infuse it with some sort of flavor like pineapple. Its really good and I am not a beer drinker. It is strong but tastes mild so be careful because it’ll sneak up on you!
Armenia– This was basically a transit point for us really. Its more off the beaten path and a good little stopover if you’re going to Salento from Cali. Its a smaller city feel.
Salento– Cute and colorful town. It is near the infamous Cocora Valley where there are palm trees in the valley. I suggest the off the beaten path version which you can see on a mountain bike. Biking is extremely popular in Colombia so I tried it out. Luckily the tour I found involved not pedaling AT ALL. That’s right the guide drives you up the valley via truck with the biking gear(included in the tour), you see the palm trees and have a small picnic and then for ~17miles you don’t pedal. All you have to do is just guide your bike down and take stops as needed. This is definitely not for the faint at heart. It’s a bit of an adrenaline rush and its a challenge on your body (wrists, butt, and back for me since there was no pedaling). I am NOT a biker, at all, but I’ll try anything once and this was definitely something I’ll always remember.
Filandia– HIGHLY recommend. This is another really cute and colorful town. This is a hidden gem but the locals in Colombia know about it. There is a restaurant that you need to go to called Helena Adentro. Here I ate the best rabbit sandwich and empanadas. This restaurant was well worth it but try to get reservations if you can. There’s usually a line wrapped around the restaurant at all times so be prepared to wait. Although it was an adventure in itself getting here I don’t regret it one bit. This was a spontaneous stop during our trip. While we were in Salento riding bikes our guide suggested going to Helena Adentro because it was one of the “best restaurants in all of Colombia”. We couldn’t resist. Here you can go shopping at the boutiques and walk around to explore the small town streets while waiting to eat the food that dreams are made of. The restaurant is also surprising affordable for it notoriety.
Medellin– Bigger city. We heard great things about Medellin but didn’t get to experience much since they were on LD. I will say the vibe was great from what we did see. We went to a couple of restaurants and talked with locals at the parks when we could. The pool at our Airbnb was *poppington* with visitors playing music, pouring drinks, and having a good ole time.
Guatape– Amazing little resort town with sights to die for. Here you climb a giant historic rock called Penon de Guatape for sweeping views of the area. They had the best no frills food. Something about their beef and beans were out of this world. Here you can ride around in tuk-tuks and try watersports. Another great way to see Guatape is via boat. Guatape is self-proclaimed as the most colorful town in Colombia.
Planning Tools
| Suggested minimum Budget | $100/night accommodations $50/day meals $19/day transportation |
| Suggested duration | 14 days + |
| Suggested time of year | December – January |
Try This
Food; Try arepas, empanadas, Bandeja Paisa (National dish), Caldo de Costilla (soup made with beef ribs), Cholados (dessert made with crushed ice, fresh fruit, and condensed milk), Ensalada de frutas (dessert with ice cream, fresh fruit, condensed milk)
Drinks; Try aguardiente(hard liquor)
Activities
Explore the walled city Cartagena (take photos w/ Palenqueros, shop, eat)
Day trip to San Basilio de Palenque the first free slave town in the Americas. Take pic at I love being blk bldg & support the locals
Go to Volcan Totumo to mud bathe
See Christo de Rey the giant statue similar to Brazil’s famous Christ the Redeemer
Go to Cali to visit the many parks and waterfall
Visit waterfall Chorrera del indio
Try one of Columbia’s most famous sports, cycling through the world class landscape
Explore The Cocora Valley where the Colombian palm trees grow in the valley
Climb 740 steps to the top of Penon de Guatape the giant rock that used to be worshiped by the indigenous people. Stunning scaling view of the landmass
Transportation Details
BWI-FLL-CTG ~6hrs of flight time (flight from home to Cartegena)
Day Trip from Cartagena to Palenque via local transport (taxi, bus, & motorcycle)
CTG-CLO ~1.5hrs (flight from Cartagena to Cali via Avianca)
Bus from Cali to Armenia
Day trip from Armenia to Salento via bus
Half-day trip from Salento to Filandia via taxi
Bus from Filandia to Armenia
AXM-BOG-MDE ~2hr (flight from Armenia to Medellin via SA Avianca)
MDE-FLL-BWI ~6hrs flight (flight from Medellin home)
Accommodations
Airbnb in Cartegena’s Walled city Ganem Lofts
Airbnb in Cali Grenada Executive Suites 203 studio
Airbnb in the North of Armenia Calle 1 Norte 3 piso, Armenia, Quindío 630004, Colombia
Airbnb in Guatape La Valentina cabana 6
Inside Scoop
I hear the nightlife is something to see, and I don’t doubt it. Unfortunately, I went when COVID was still a concern so I wasn’t down for all the super social close proximity activities. The countryside or smaller towns had so much character. I know most people will skip those small towns but they were definitely a highlight for me. For those of my readers with less time and/or energy I suggest staying in Cartagena. It’s a good base and there are plenty of day trips you can take from there. That is the more on-the-beaten path for most of the touristy highlights of Colombia. For my off-the-beaten path readers with the time and energy go explore some of the smaller towns, you won’t regret it. I hope this helps y’all plan your Colombia travel Itinerary!