When you have any preconceptions about Colombia, depart them at residence. This exceptional nation will take you unexpectedly.

The second-most biodiverse nation in the world harbors huge swaths of wildlife-rich Amazon jungle in its inside, whereas coral-white seashores, dizzying mountains and leafy highland espresso plantations crown Colombia as a spot of extraordinary pure contrasts. 

However this thrilling nook of South America is rather more than the sum of its pure elements. Its kinetic cities buzz with an upbeat power that units Colombia aside from most of the continent, proving that this once-troubled nation has properly and actually shed its historical past of battle. 

With journey and infectious beats round virtually each nook, choosing the best places to visit in the nation could be a problem. Nonetheless, thanks to plentiful home flights and long-distance buses, Colombia is a spot the place it is easy to cowl a lot of floor, even on a brief journey.

That can assist you with the planning, listed below are the best places to visit in Colombia.

1. Cartagena

Best for structure and environment

At the prime of most vacationers’ bucket lists for Colombia is the sultry metropolis of Cartagena, and it is easy to see why. The stately previous city is a magical walled advanced of bougainvillea-slung cobblestone streets and shady squares the place native performers shake, stamp and twirl, the residing embodiment of the metropolis’s well-known power.

Absorbing the environment of Cartagena could be as spirited – or as languid – as you select. Laze the day away on Playa de Bocagrande or sit down to lengthy, leisurely lunches of sharp coconut ceviche at a family-run restaurant. At night time, indulge in a sundowner on a rooftop bar and pattern the energetic vibe of the metropolis’s bars and golf equipment.

Planning tip: The guts of Cartagena – comprising the historic districts of El Centro and San Diego inside the metropolis partitions – is best explored on foot so you possibly can absorb the environment.

2. The Amazon jungle

Best for wildlife encounters

Colombia lays declare to a unprecedented glut of natural world that ought to place it on any wildlife lover’s must-see listing. Whereas it covers a 3rd of Colombia’s territory, the Amazon jungle could be tough to entry, but it stays the prime location for encountering tropical wildlife in huge swaths of untouched rainforest.

Ebook a tour into the rainforest from the distant outpost of Leticia and spend a pair of nights exploring one of the globe’s wildest places. Boat journeys putter alongside the Río Amazonas, and distant trails throughout the forest flooring promise encounters with inquisitive pink river dolphins, sluggish sloths and a cacophony of howler monkeys.

3. Zona Cafetera

Best for espresso lovers

If there’s one factor that retains Colombia operating, it is espresso. Discover out what all the fuss is about by exploring the Zona Cafetera, Colombia’s espresso heartland. Filling the lush hillsides of the departments of Risaralda, Caldas and Quindío are inexperienced plantations rising Colombia’s magic arabica beans. Many family-run fincas (farms) have opened their doorways to curious vacationers, with day excursions and in a single day stays providing a deep dive into espresso tradition.

Planning tip: Set up your transport to espresso nation from the regional hubs of Manizales and Pereira.

4. Parque Nacional Pure Tayrona

Best for combining nature and seashores

Dwelling to palm-lined tropical seashores and secluded coves, Parque Nacional Pure Tayrona is one of Colombia’s pure jewels. Set on the Caribbean shoreline east of Santa Marta, this nationwide park is a paradise of leisure in opposition to the dramatic backdrop of the looming Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountains.

Chilling on sun-soaked seashores or ambling alongside the jungle trails that edge the shoreline are the taste of the day right here, as water currents at most seashores are too harmful for swimming. To keep away from the crowds, head by speedboat to Playa Cristal, an remoted island with pristine waters and gleaming seashores.

Planning tip: Time your visit to Tayrona outdoors of January or February, when the park sometimes closes for upkeep. And contemplate tacking on a visit to Parque Nacional Pure Los Nevados in the Zona Cafetera, as half of an bold four-day itinerary. 

5. Medellín

Best for road artwork

As soon as the stronghold of Colombia’s most notorious drug lord, Pablo Escobar, trendy Medellín is a metropolis reborn. Backpackers will discover enjoyable in the metropolis’s plethora of hip music venues, whereas vacationers looking for a extra refined keep can take pleasure in well-heeled neighborhoods that court docket guests with shady restaurant terraces and slick bars. Identified for its perennially spring-like local weather, Medellín holds a boundless enchantment, making it one of the best cities to visit when you’re brief on time, and it is also a gateway to the Zona Cafetera. 

For artwork lovers, the imprint of Colombian heavyweight, Fernando Botero, is seen all through the metropolis, together with his emblematic, engorged statues including humor to rowdy market squares. To get deeper beneath the metropolis’s pores and skin, visit the city regeneration tasks at Comuna 13 and Moravia to see how road artwork and revolutionary varieties of transport are injecting life into previously down-at-heel neighborhoods.

Planning tip: For a change of tempo, a trip on a contemporary cable automotive will spirit you up and out of the valley into Parque Arví, a nature reserve with pre-Hispanic trails by forests adorned with orchids.

6. Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta

Best for archaeological adventures

For a tantalizing glimpse into the previous, head to the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, a mountain vary that slices throughout the northeast of Colombia. After a tricky three-day hike by thick jungle, you will attain Colombia’s best archaeological web site, La Ciudad Perdida.

The stone terraces of this once-crowded metropolis have been constructed round 850 CE alongside a steep-sided ridge, and the web site was solely reclaimed from the jungle in the 1970s. Accessible solely on a tour, La Ciudad Perdida stays distant, untouched and blissfully free of vacationers.

Planning tip: Ebook excursions to La Ciudad Perdida by businesses akin to Expotur in Santa Marta.

7. La Guajira Peninsula

Best for studying about Indigenous tradition

Wild expanses of desert sit alongside the splendid blue of the Caribbean Sea in one of Colombia’s most distant and distinctive corners. The Indigenous Wayuu individuals who name the Guajira Peninsula residence have defied invaders all through historical past, and nonetheless dwell right here in secluded villages, following their very own distinctive rhythms.

Planning tip: To understand the dazzling wildness of Colombia’s northernmost level, you will want to manage a tour from Riohacha. Goal to spend a minimum of one night time on the peninsula and head out to Playa Taroa – usually touted as Colombia’s most lovely seaside – the place sand dunes empty of guests slide straight into the glistening sea.

8. Cali

Best for occasion individuals

Few places in South America love to occasion as a lot as Cali, Colombia’s buzzing capital of salsa. The town’s dependancy to rhythm is infectious, and a visit to Cali will see you glued to the dance flooring till daybreak. Polish your strikes at one of the many dance colleges earlier than hitting the dance flooring with the locals in Zaperoco, a standout salsa membership.

Planning tip: For the most iconic – and explosive – introduction to Cali’s obsession with salsa, get your fingers on a ticket to Delirio, a salsa and cabaret showcase of epic proportions. It takes place on the closing Friday of each month.

9. Bogotá

Best for museums and tradition

Wet and chilly thanks to its lofty perch in the Andes Mountains, Bogotá would possibly really feel like a mere jumping-off level for Colombia’s extra temperate locations. But those that give it an opportunity will discover the capital metropolis a spot with a cosmopolitan environment and a wealthy array of museums.

Gourmand eating rubs shoulders with rowdy nightlife in the metropolis’s more and more fashionable neighborhoods of Zona Rosa and Chapinero. However for a extra sedate and academic visit, spend a day marveling at the great riches on show in the Museo de Oro, one of the continent’s best collections of pre-Hispanic metallurgy. One other spotlight is the Museo Botero, which includes a major assortment of trendy and Impressionist artwork, together with 123 items by Botero himself.

10. Providencia

Best for an island escape

Located some 1240km (770 miles) north of Colombia in the balmy waters of the Caribbean Sea, the idyllic island of Providencia is one of the nation’s most lovely places to visit. Image-perfect, golden-sand seashores – usually virtually devoid of guests – and a laid-back environment are all half of the enchantment of this distant and sun-kissed patch of paradise.

Divers can splash into crystal clear waters alongside enormous stingrays, turtles and reef sharks alongside a 32km (20-mile) stretch of the world’s third-largest barrier reef. For those who favor to maintain your head above water, blond sands, beachside eating places and 25ºC (77ºF) water temperatures will greater than cater to your wants.

11. Parque Nacional Pure Serranía de La Macarena

Best for pure spectacles

Due south of Bogotá, Parque Nacional Pure Serranía de La Macarena is one of the most unbelievable places to visit in Colombia. Only a brief drive from the city of La Macarena, Caño Cristales is a river that runs vivid pink. Dubbed the “liquid rainbow,” this exceptional stretch of water good points its rhubarb hue from the riverweed that grows right here between July and October. Pack a washing go well with – you possibly can swim in designated areas of the river. 

Planning tip: Caño Cristales solely grew to become accessible to guests in 2010 because it lay in previously FARC-occupied territory, nevertheless it has grow to be a sufferer of its personal loveliness. Customer numbers are actually capped at 200 per day, and you will want to e book your ticket with a neighborhood tour operator in advance.

12. San Gil

Best for thrill-seekers

Adrenaline junkies ought to look no additional than Colombia’s capital of journey, San Gil. Water sports activities are one of the important attracts right here, with white-water rafting or hydrospeed excursions buffeting you thru scenic canyons alongside Class I to Class V rapids.

For those who’re eager to get off the floor, abseiling excursions down gushing waterfalls, paragliding over rugged mountain peaks and bungee leaping will get adrenaline ranges hovering. Caving, mountain biking and canyoning are extra well-liked actions. 

13. Parque Arqueológico Nacional de San Agustín

Best for misplaced kingdom vibes

In the far southwestern division of Huila lies Parque Arqueológico Nacional de San Agustín. This exceptional place includes a community of ceremonial websites and burial grounds dotted with fantastical stone statues whose semi-human faces grin by fanged mouths with dizzyingly broad eyes. Whereas their goal stays largely a thriller to archaeologists, many imagine the space to have been a spot of pilgrimage and ancestor worship constructed greater than 2000 years in the past.

Planning tip: The archaeological park sits 2.5km (1.6 miles) from the city of San Agustín; colectivos (shared vans) run out to the park gates. Decide up a neighborhood information at the entrance to study extra as you discover the web site.