This tour takes you to the most important and interesting sights of the “City of Eternal Spring”. Explore downtown Medellin and the historical center. Listen to local musicians and the traditional Guasca music while visiting the Parque Berrio. Stroll through the hustle and bustle of downtown Medellin to the famous Botero Plaza with an exhibition of the Colombian artist Fernando Botero, whose sculptures have become a landmark of the city. Take the Metro Cable up to Santo Domingo, which was once been a notorious area of gang violence in Medellin, but now a safe area. The cable car was constructed to make the inner city more accessible to people from the outskirts, and allows visitors a glimpse into the lives of the marginalized population. While enjoying the spectacular view you learn more about the transformation of Medellin from one of the most dangerous cities in the world into a fascinating melting pot of cultures with possibly the friendliest and warmest people in the world.
Half-day tour: duration – approximately 4 hours
The Peñol Boulder is one of the most spectacular destinations in the surrounding area of Medellin. The 200 meters high monolith can be climbed through a staircase of 740 steps. Enjoy breathtaking views over the stunning surroundings full of green mountains and blue lakes. The village of Guatape is a quiet, little place with pleasantly warm climate. It is famous for its church and its beautiful, colourful paintings that decorate the houses of the village.
On this day trip we will take you on a scenic drive through the Eastern Highlands of Antioquia. You can climb the Peñol Boulder (optional), enjoy a delicious typical Colombian lunch on the waterfront of the Guatape reservoir, explore the lake on a boat ride and take time to stroll and relax. (Duration: approx. 7-8 hours).
Meet your Host at the hotel lobby. Spend your morning guided by an expert at this living museum. Divided in twelve areas, known as collections, this wonderful space features all things botanical, from ornamental plants meant for exhibitions to local unique varieties. After that visit the Museum of Antioquia, which houses a large collection of works by Medellín Native Fernando Botero. Botero is known as “the most Colombian of Colombian artists” and has achieved international recognition for his paintings, drawings and sculptures with exhibitions across the world.
Take the opportunity to learn more about the daily life of the people living here and the cultural treasure that these families hold sacred. The tour starts by admiring the lush landscape during a 2-hour walk on a pre-Hispanic stone path that leads down to a lagoon and a beautiful viewing point. After the walk, the visit continues to a home of a traditional family of this area, the Londoños. They have dedicated their lives to growing flowers for more than 50 years and will guide us to a native forest where we will see native orchids, bromeliads and anthuriums. They will explain the process of growing clove pink flowers in greenhouses and of saddling flowers, the traditional way of transporting the flowers for sale. The visit ends by enjoying the magic of the local cuisine with a delicious picnic lunch prepared in a woodstove and served the traditional way. Duration: approximately 8 hours.
Depart your hotel with your guide for a tour of Medellin's best street food markets, including the best arepas in the city at the “Avenida del Rio”.
Meet your host in the hotel lobby. Have the best dinner experience tasting succulent dishes in three of the best restaurants in Medellín. You will get a chance to to eat each course at a different place, as you try the best food the city has to offer. Besides dining in the most renowned restaurants in town your guide will also introduce you to some of Medellín’s finest chefs who will enlighten you about the wonder of cooking with local ingredients and creating their delicious menus. Meals included. Duration - approximately 3 hours.
Pablo Escobar Gaviria is sadly the most famous son of the city of Medellin. Nevertheless, the history of Escobar and the “Cartel of Medellín” is a unique example of how organized crime can impact a whole country. During the 1980s, Escobar controlled huge parts of the international cocaine traffic. Due to the impressive financial revenue he was able to create a powerful network of corruption and social control over the population of Medellín. In the early 1990s, when the hunt for Pablo Escobar took place, the head of Medellín’s drug cartel was at its peak, but it came to its end with his death in 1993.
With your guide get an insight into the historical dimension of the phenomenon Pablo Escobar visiting some of the most emblematic sights of Pablo Escobar’s life. Understand better why Pablo Escobar is still the most controversial person in Colombia’s recent history. Half-day tour.
Meet your host at the hotel lobby. This tour begins with an explanation about the social and cultural transformation Medellin has experienced. Visit the “COMUNA 13”, one of the neighborhoods that has seen the most dramatic changes over the last few years. A local guide will teach you about all the social development Medellin has gone through to be awarded as "one of the most innovative cities of the world" (according to the Wall Street Journal). Once in the Comuna 13 you will take the Metrocable from where you can observe the city and the graffitis that decorate the streets of the district. Duration - approximately 3 hours.
Departure in the morning passing through wonderful green mountain range landscapes going down to Santa Fé de Antioquia, one of the most beautiful colonial villages in Colombia, set in a hot valley near the banks of the Rio Cauca. Visit to the colonial sites of Santa Fé de Antioquia and the “Puente de Occidente” – the West Bridge, which has been declared a national monument. At the time of construction, this 291-meter long bridge running over the Cauca River was considered the largest on the South American Sub-continent. Lunch will be served in a rustic-style restaurant on the way back to Medellín (lunch not included in price). Duration: approximately 10 hours.
