Cali, the Coffee region, Medellín & Guatape – Colombia

On 23rd January 2023 we took a 1-hour flight south to Cali from Bogotá. The flight was about £50 each and we thought this was a better option than the 14-hour £20 bus. Cali is famous for Salsa dancing and as our hostel also had a dance studio, we decided to have lessons! We were only there for a couple of days, so we chose to have a 2-hour lesson on each day and boy it was tiring. Whilst we can’t claim to now be professionals, we enjoyed our lessons and getting involved in an activity which is deeply entrenched in the city’s culture. We also did a walking food tour of the city which introduced us to local foods, in particular fruit. Colombia is famous for its exotic fruit and whilst on the tour we enjoyed eating lots in the local market, most of which we had never seen before and isn’t available in the UK. Liv really liked the Lulo fruit, which is a small, round, yellow fruit which is very tangy and citrus like and apparently very good for the immune system. We stayed in a great hostel called La Palmera which was in a nice part of the city with lots of good vibrant restaurants nearby. Our double room had a balcony and amazing views overlooking the city. Sadly, Cali is also known for being a relatively unsafe city in Colombia and we heard stories of other travellers being robbed at gunpoint. When we checked into our hostel, they told us some do’s and don’ts and places we shouldn’t go at night. Whilst nothing bad happened to us it was unnerving to hear that the city still has this reputation. We liked our time in Cali, in particularly our Salsa lessons and although Cali is a cool city we would only recommend going if you love Salsa or are in Colombia for a long time.

The Coffee Region - Filandia

From Cali we travelled north by bus (via Armenia) to the scenic sleepy little town of Filandia in Colombia’s coffee growing region. Filandia has beautiful views of the countryside, cobbled streets, tiled roofed houses which are painted in bright colours and old wooden beams. Each building has a different combination of colours to its neighbours, and we spent a lot of time trying to find our favourite colour combination!

We hired bikes from our hostel and went on a beautiful ride though the hills and coffee fields to a town called Quimbaya. The 17km ride was all downhill on a bumpy track through fields and gave us amazing views of the coffee and banana plantations. Not wanting to do the steep uphill ride back to Filandia, we put our bikes in the back of a Jeep and got a lift back to town. There is a network of Jeeps that travel between all the town in the coffee region.

The next day we did a nice hike through the coffee fields hoping to find a double waterfall but ended up taking a wrong turn so gave up and headed back to town before finding the waterfall. Whilst we didn’t see the waterfall the hike itself was stunning and we even had a nice local dog walk with us for half of it.

That evening we played the local game Tejo! Tejo is a Colombian game where you throw a metal puck/disc (called a tejo) (about the size of you palm) across an alley (officially about 18 meters) onto a clay board which has two tiny triangles of paper filled with dynamite on it. You know when you’ve hit the target as there is an explosion as the dynamite goes up. Imagine Pétanque meets bonfire night! It was a lot of fun having a few beers with the local old men of Filandia as we played.

In Filandia we had two amazing meals at Helena’s and La Remesa. Both renowned in the area for serving delicious Colombian food (we had trout) and tasty cocktails.

The Coffee Region - Salento

After two nights in Filandia we took a quick Jeep ride over to Salento where we would be staying a further two days. The weather was beautiful, hot in the days but a little chilly at night. Salento is slightly larger than Filandia but still has the same charm. All the buildings are decorated with the same colourful sections and the town has a similar central plaza and church. More people visit Salento because it’s bigger but mainly because it’s closer to where you start the Cocora Valley trek.

The Cocora Valley trek is one of Colombia most famous sites as it is home to the world’s tallest palm trees. The day starts off with getting a Jeep from the central square to the valley where you start the trek. We got there at 8am thinking we were going to be one of the first groups of people to go but we were met with a huge queue around the square for the Jeeps. At that point we realised it was a Sunday, so it was very busy with local tourists who were visiting for the weekend. Luckily the wait wasn’t too long, and we were soon holding onto the back of a Jeep on our way to start the trek. The start is a bit of a tourist trap where there are lots of shops and attractions next to the palm trees at the bottom of the valley. We soon realised that most of the tourists were here just for this and as soon we walked up the valley, we lost the crowds, and it was if we were the only ones there. The next six hour we’re spent walking through the forest and crossing rivers. All whilst observing the huge palm trees. Some grow to 60 meters (200 feet)!

We also saw Hummingbirds on the walk, and went to a Hummingbird sanctuary, essentially, they just have a few bird feeders put out and the Hummingbird flock to feed at them. We paid entry to the Hummingbird Sanctuary (£3 each) but got given a hot chocolate served with cheese. Apparently hot chocolate and cheese is a normal Colombian thing and there's a saying in Colombia: “chocolate sin queso es como amor sin beso”, chocolate without cheese is like love without a kiss. We actually really liked it. This was definitely one of the best hikes we have done on our whole trip as it had such a variety of scenery, and the weather was perfect.

Salento has got a good food and drinks scene. We enjoyed trying local craft beers and rainbow trout, a prominent dish in the area. We loved our time in both towns and highly recommend visiting Colombia’s beautiful coffee region.

Guatapé and Medellín

From Salento we got a 7-hour bus ride to Medellin, nicknamed ‘the city of eternal spring’ We had heard good things about this city so were both super excited. At first, we spent one night in Medellin as the next day we headed to Guatapé for a couple of nights and then back to Medellin to explore it properly. Most people only go to Guatapé on a day trip from Medellin, but we decided to spend two nights there as generally enjoy the small countryside towns more that cities.

Guatapé is a charming town about 2 hours from Medellin. It is known as the most colourful town in Colombia as each building is painted a different colour and has 3D murals incorporated onto them, often depicting the shop inside (the baker had lots of croissants & breads painted and the cobbler had lots of shoes!)

Guatapé is on the shore of the beautiful lake and is a nice town to wander around whilst enjoying the relaxed atmosphere. The main attraction is the giant rock named ‘El peñón de Guatapé’ (Rock of Guatapé,) which is on the outskirts of the town. Visitors can climb the rock up the 708 concrete steps which have been built onto the side and is pretty tiring! It’s worth it, as at the top you have amazing views of Lake Guatape.

On our second day we wanted to explore the lake more so in the morning we hired a jet-ski. This was great fun and we got to explore some of the coves the lake has. In the afternoon we went back on the lake but this time in a kayak for a slightly more relaxing time. Opposite our hostel there was a delicious vegetarian restaurant. Colombian food is pretty heavy and is very carb / meat focused (often you receive two carbs with a meal). So to have some fresh salads and lighter meals was a welcomed change.

We were back in Medellín for the weekend and were excited to explore the city so many people rave about. We stayed in the amazing Los Patios hostel in the famous El Poblado area. The hostel was amazing and had great facilities, including a rooftop with a swimming pool, a gym, a cocktail bar and amazing views of the city. We met lots of people here and enjoyed socialising and having drinks with our new friends. El Poblado is an affluent area and has a lot of good restaurants with our favourite being a Vietnamese although closely followed by an Indian restaurant. As it was the weekend we also went to a few bars and a Techno club and enjoyed dancing the night away in the Parque Lleras area which was a 15-minute walk from our hostel.

During the weekend Liv went on two walking tours! The first, Rory also joined and was to the city centre and was very interesting. The tour guide talked about the hardship of growing up in a city which was caught in the middle of a cartel drug war with Cali. Having to live with the daily fear of being caught in the crossfire of cartel shootings or bombs and the perception from the rest of the world that everyone including normal Colombia’s were criminals. Things started to turn around for the city in 1993 after Pablo Escabar the notorious drug baron and leader of the Medellin cartel was killed on the rooftops of his beloved hometown Medellín. A lot of people believe he shot himself in the head, however the official view is he was shot while being chased by Colombian and US security forces.

On the tour we visited San Antonio Plaza where we saw two giant bird status made by the famous Colombian artist Botero. The original status had had a bomb placed in it which exploded during a 1995 music concert, killing 29 people, a lot of whom were children. Sadly, although the city had started to become safer Colombia still had a lot of friction between different groups. The bomb was never officially claimed but people believe it was placed by FARC (a Marxist–Leninist guerrilla group). Botero replaced the statue with an identical one but asked for the bombed original remains to stay as “homage to stupidity,” and a symbol of peace, and a memorial to the victims.

The tour ended after visiting a really good fresh juice bar at the Botero Square of Medellín, where 23 Botero sculptures sit overlooked by the Palacio de la Cultura. The striking palace was designed in a Gothic-Revival style, complete with chequered white and black stones, as well as a domed roof.

The next walking tour which Liv did whilst Rory went to a football match was to ‘Comuna 13’ also called San Javier an area in Medellín which used to be one of the most dangerous neighbourhoods in the world. In the 80s and 90s it was run by violent drug trafficking organisations, who used the deprived, sprawling hillside barrio as a transit route in and out of the city. In 2022 the president launched multiple raids on the area using solders and helicopters to try and eliminate the criminals. Inevitably lots of innocent locals were caught in the crossfire, but the community came together to try and end the siege by waving white flags above their heads. During the tour we heard some harrowing stories about disappearances and the violence there, but since 2006 the area has received investment, with a new cable car line being added to integrate the area in 2008. In 2011 a series of outdoor escalators were added to the area and since then community projects have thrived and the area is now known for its vibrant street art and lively atmosphere, making it a popular tourist destination.

Rory had spent the day at a football match, joining a group leaving from our hostel. Before the game they stopped from drinks outside an off-licence near the stadium and purchased a match day shirt. The teams playing were Independiente Medellín (DIM) vs Independiente Santa Fe, both in Colombia’s first division. The result was 1:1, and the game had a great atmosphere with the ultra-fans in full voice.

Whilst it wasn’t the cheapest weekend, we had a great time in Medellín. We met lots of fun other travellers, enjoyed all the activities and had some great food and drinks. For us it’s the best big city in Colombia we have visited and was definitely worth all the hype.