If there is one country I really wanted to visit in South America, it was Colombia… The people around the world from Colombia were always so nice; The Salsa movements of this country are amazing; The Caribbean coast is known to be one of the best beach spots in the world.
Any more reasons? Hmm, I think these are already enough:D
Colombia was amazing and being able to discover the country with friends was great. Well, I also met a lot of backpackers from all around.
Important to know: Many people told me how could I go to Colombia by myself???
- Colombia is not as dangerous as you can imagine. It is true that Colombia has a drug trafficking background but things have changed a lot in the country since that period. Today Colombia is much safer than it was in the past. I would even say Brazil is way more dangerous than Colombia.
- Colombians are lovely and very open to help you all the time.
There are too many cities in Colombia to fall in love.
Bogotá and Santa Marta
In the Amazonia, Letícia is the perfect city to be discounted from the world. If you are looking for a busy city with a charged cultural agenda, then Bogotá might be the place. To be honest I did not like Bogotá at all. The capital is super busy all the time and public transportation does not work very well (too many people in the city just like in Lima, Peru). On the other hand, if you are looking to go to the beach I would recommend the caribbean side of the country. I fell in love for the National park Tayrona and for the small beach of Taganga close to Santa Marta.
Cartagena
Cartagena de las Indias, also known as the walled city, is charming and full of night life and food street. About the beaches, please take a boat and go to the islands around because the beach close to the city is definitely not worth.
Medellin, Guatapé and Cali
Medellin, the city of Pablo Escobar, is still today associated to the drugs. However, this city is much more than that. Transportation works very well here; People dress super well; City offers many activities all the time to do.
Guatapé, a little city close to Medellin (no more than 2 hours by bus), is super cute and totally worth to visit. Make sure you hike the Pedra del Peñol.
Cali… Cali… The perfect place to take some Salsa lessons.
Pereira and Salento
The coffee area in Colombia is incredible beautiful. If I could not see much in the rainy Pereira, in Salento everything was different. Salento is the perfect place to do trekking (make sure you do Cocoroa trek) and to visit coffee farms.Do NOT FORGET that Colombian coffee is considered one of the best coffees in the world. I confirme! Tinto (typical coffee from Colombia) is amazing 😀 In this area we can also find the national tree of Colombia: the wax plan tree which is super super big.
Pasto
Pasto is a small city close to the border with Ecuador. I would not say it is a MUST VISIT city but Pasto does have “her little something”. I went to visit a friend in this city so I had loads of fun visiting the old town, eating typical food and discovering the beautiful monuments of the area.
I hope this post have convinced you visit this amazing country. Keep following my adventures.
Beijinho,
Daniela