For Russians, a visa is not needed in Colombia, without it in the country you can be up to 90 days. When traveling to the Caribbean coast and to Tyrona Park, it is recommended to get a jail from yellow fever.
How to get
There are no direct flights, get to the capital, Bogota, will have to be transplanted. The cost of an air ticket back and forth starts from 68,000 rubles* per person.
It is better to plan a trip for the winter or for August. Colombia is located at the equator, so there are no traditional seasons, there is dry (December -January, July -August) and rainy (April -May, October – November) seasons.
Local currency – Colombian peso (COP) – is estimated in the area of two kopecks per unit. Locals denote it to $, but do not confuse with the dollar. Clarify the current course before the trip.
What to see in Colombia
Having arrived in the country, keep in mind a greater time difference – minus eight hours with Moscow – and possible Jetlag. I advise you not to plan a rich program with crossings for the first days in order to have time to recover after the flight.
Bogota
Moving around the city is more convenient by taxi: there is Uber and the local Cabife service. It is not worth renting a car for this purpose, since Bogota is a city-trip city with a crazy movement.
Where to stop In Bogota
Close to the main attractions are hotels in safe areas of Candelaria (Historical Center) or Zona Rosa (fashion quarter). Fixed options have been selected:
SELINA La Candelaria Bogotá – from 1800 rubles* per night for two;
Ibis Bogota Museo – from 2300 rubles* per night for two;
El Yarumo Hostel – from 2800 rubles* per night (family number).
Day 1
We begin the acquaintance with Bogota from the Square of Bolivar (Plaza de Bolívar). Here is the monument to the first president of Colombia Simon Bolivar, the Cathedral and the Presidential Palace.
We are walking around the Kandelia region with bright colonial buildings to a funicular to Montserrat Mount, from where the best view of the city opens. The rise costs 13,000 COP*, you can go down down. Then we go to the journalists park (El Parque de Los Periodistas), where does the free on foot of the graffiti tour start. Graffiti is part of Colombian culture, and in the capital it was allowed at the government level.
Museum lovers can look at the gold museum (4000 COP*), the National Museum (3000 COP*) and the MAMBO Museum of Modern Art (12,000 COP*). The first presents 36,000 gold exhibits, the second will tell about the history of Colombia, and the latter exhibited the works of Warhol, Picasso and Dali. It is also worth visiting the Fernando Bothero Museum (free), the most famous Colombian artist and sculptor.
Villa de Leviv
In Bogot, we take the car for two days and go to watch the surroundings-the city of Williae de Leva, where the colonial architecture of the 16th century has been preserved. You can rent a car on OneTwotrip in a couple of clicks – it costs from 3700 rubles* per day.
Day 2
The first stop 50 km from Bogota – The sacred lake of GuatavitaAt the bottom of which Eldorado is located according to legend. Nearby is the town of the same name with houses with white facades and clay tiles, it is also worthy of attention.
Further – moving to Villa de Leviv (130 km). The architecture of the city has not changed over time, therefore, wandering through the narrow streets, you catch the feeling that you were in the colonial era. The main attraction is the central area paved with stone, which occupies 14,000 m², which makes it the largest in South America in its own way.
Villa de Leva is also interesting to paleontological finds: ammonites, skeletons of pliosaurs, an 18-meter ground lizard and a cronosaurus found here. You can see some exhibits in a dinosaur park (entrance 16 500 COP*).
Where to stop In Willy de Leva
We chose atmospheric hotels with courtyards, arches and balconies:
Hotel Plaza Mayor – from 2800 rubles* per night for two;
Casa San Nicolas – from 3800 rubles* per night for two.
Rakira
Photo: Mark Pitt Images / Shutterstock.com
Day 3
After breakfast, we go to Rakira, the craft capital of Colombia. Each house in the city is unique: on the first floors there are pottery and ceramic workshops and shops, and the upper ones are decorated with bizarre patterns and attributes. It is here that it is worth looking for original and cheap Colombian souvenirs, for example, multi -colored hammocks or poncho.
It’s better to go towards Bogota at noon to have time to return to evening traffic jams. We hand over the car and in the morning we fly to Pereyra by local airlines. The cost of the flight is from 3,500 rubles per person*.
Salento
Day 4
At the airport, we take the car again, this time for five days. Our ultimate goal for today is Salento, but on the way to the city we will make a circle and drop in Parque Nacional del Cafe. This is a park of attractions and an open -air museum, where they tell the history of Colombian coffee (a ticket with unlimited skiing – 59 000 COP*).
Salento is a small bright city. The most popular classes here are coffee farms and plantations (Finca Don Eduardo, Finca El Ocaso Salento and Finca Las Brisas), as well as hiking in the surrounding valleys and national passages.
Where to stop In Salento
Hotel Camino Nacional Salento – from 2300 rubles* per night for two;
Hostal Tralala Salento – from 1,500 rubles* per night for two.
Kokora valley
Day 5
We will devote this day a walk in a park with wax palm trees – a symbol of Colombia. These huge trees reach a height of 80 m, and in cloudy weather their tops are lost among the clouds. Also here are hummingbirds and nasals, which can often be seen at the feeders in the way.
We advise you to go to the valley on multi-colored jeeps-uillis. They depart from the central Square Salento every hour, have time for the very first at 7:00. A trip back and forth will cost 8000 COP*.
The entrance to the park itself is free, but hiking is paid. There are two marked routes: a short one 5 km (3000 COP*), which will lead directly to the valley with palm trees, and a long one 17 km (7000 COP*), covering all parts of the valley.
After we go to Medelin (260 km).
Medelin
Day 6
Today we walk around the “city of eternal spring”. The program includes Bothero Square, Metrocable cable car over slums (we don’t recommend walking along them, so do not go out, and immediately go back), the botanical garden (Jardín Botánico) and the historical village of Pueblito Paisa. It is convenient to move around the city by the subway (the fare is from 2450 COP*, depends on the zone).
Be sure to go to a free pedestrian tour with local on the 13th commune. More recently, it was the most criminal area of the city, now it is an area of artists and musicians. There are even street escalators here!
Where to stay in Medelin
We chose hotels in the El Poblado area.
Selina Medellin – from 1400 rubles* per night for two;
Soy Local – from 2900 rubles* for apartments.
Guatapa
Day 7-8
We rest on the lake and admire landscapes. Be sure to stop by wandering along the colorful streets of a tiny guatap and try local street food. You can rent a kayak (from 50,000 COP*) and a SAP border (from 20,000 COP*) in city travel agencies.
At the end of the rest, we return to Medelin, hand over the car and fly to Kartate.
Where to stop
Picked up options for placing with a view of the lake.
Bacoa Hostel – from 2100 rubles* per night for two;
Paradise Lake Hotel – from 4900 rubles* per night for two.
Cartagena
Flight Medelin – Cartagena: from 2700 rubles per person*.
Day 9
Take a walk along the prayer streets of the old city – the historical center of Cartagena, surrounded by a wall to protect against pirates. Visit the Palace Museum of the Inquisition Palacio de la Inquisic (11,000 Cop*), the Castillo San Felipe de Barajas (25,000 COP*), the Barrio Getsemani area with bright graffiti and evening performances of street musicians. Meet the sunset on the roof of Cafe del Mar, ride in the evening on Chiva (entertaining bus with music) and dance the salsa at Cafe Havana.
If you want to spend the day on the beach, go on a one -day trip to the islands of Islas del Rosario. You can get to them with a tour of motor boats (from 8600 rubles). There are clean beaches with white sand, blue water and beautiful reefs.
Where to stay in Cartagena
We chose an option in the historical center of the city.
Hotel Casa de la Tablada – from 3800 rubles* per night for two.
Mink
We go from Cartagena to Santa Martu (230 km): on a regular bus or a rented car. Further from the central market on the collectivo (minibus) to Minka for 7000 COP (21 km).
Day 10-11
Cascaded waterfalls, mountain air, paths through the jungle with monkeys, coffee plantations, hummingbirds and tukans turn a mine into paradise for nature lovers. The roads here are inaccessible, tourists move on motorbikes-taxi or jeeps.
Here we go on a tour of the 130-year-old coffee farm La Victoria (15,000 COP*), we take a walk to the Pozo Azul and Las Cascadas de Marinka waterfalls, hiking along the Los Pinos route, we observe birds (from 25,000 COP*), we meet a sunset in a gamut in casa Loma. You can also go to the track for the peak of Cerro Kennedy.
Where to stop
We chose hotels in Mink itself, from where it is convenient to get to all attractions.
Casas Colibri Hostal Minca – from 1300 rubles* per night for two;
Rio Elemento – from 1700 rubles per rubles* per night for two.
Tyrone Park
Day 12-13
You can get into the park in two ways. On boats from Santa Mart (one hour, from 60,000 COP*) you will be immediately brought to the popular beach of San Juan, where there are campsites for an overnight and cafe. If you want to explore the park, then you can get by bus from the Santa Martu market to the main entrance El Zaino (45 minutes, 7000 COP*), from where it is 2.5 hours on foot through the jungle and along the sea. To maximize the park in two days, download Maps.me.
The entrance to the park is paid (66,000 COP, plus insurance 2500 COP per day), you need to buy tickets in advance on the site to get into the quota and avoid queues.
Take a passport with you, a certificate of vaccination from yellow fever, water and a snack. There are several cafes and tents with food on the territory, but the prices there are high.
Where to stop
You can spend the night in the park on special equipped parking lots in hammocks (from 15,000 COP*) or tents (from 30,000 COP*). They are occupied in fact
After rest, we return to Bogota by plane from Santa Marta (from 3400 rubles* per person).
The author of the text: Kristina Boyko
*Prices are valid at the time of publication
If the article did not convince you to start planning a trip to Columbia now, go to the material in which we briefly tell, What countries Russian tourists can go to and what entry rules are valid for them.
