Guatape, Colombia

Guatape, Colombia is a small colorful resort town east of Medellín. It’s easily accessed by bus and only about two hours away so you can go and stay the night there or do a day trip, which is what we opted to do. The bus to Guatape makes a stop at Piedra del Peñol, a giant granite rock with a 360 degree views of the surrounding man-made reservoir. I recommend doing that first as it can get hotter later in the day.

Piedra del Peñol boasts some of the best views in the world. It has over 700 steps all the way to the top and it can take some time to get all the way up. There is only one way up and one way down so take your time to enjoy the scenery as you climb. Once you make it to the top there are cafes and restaurants if you wanna relax and take in the view.

Once you’ve made your way back down you can walk to town but it is about 5km or you can catch a rickshaw or tuk tuk for about 10,000 pesos ($3) We shared one with another guy as they have space for 3 and split the cost. The driver dropped us off right at the entrance to the main square and we wandered around these colorful streets for ages. There are plenty of restaurants and cafes but beware because we didn’t have a great experience with our lunch so check the reviews as much as possible.

We stopped at a great little cafe on Carrera 29 for some chocolate cafe and a coffee to make up for the lunch and it was an excellent idea! I can always go for some chocolate! It was a great little pick-me-up before our boat ride around the reservoir.

There are several different options for boat rides around the reservoir and every single salesman will tell you or promise you something different and at a really high rate so definitely try haggling a bit. There were a couple other girls we happened to meet wanting to do a boat ride as well so we joined forces and got the price to drop down. It ended up just being the four of us on the boat and sky filled with sun out for a little over an hour. The boat ride around the reservoir was a great idea and such a fantastic way to end our little day trip to Guatape.