Guatape - La piedra del Peñol

From Medellín we took a bus for our day trip to Guatape, which is a small town next to a lake with a huge rock offering a beautiful view. We took the metro to the bus station in Medellín, which was super tidy and modern, and as it rides above the city, you also have a nice view on the buildings. At the bus station there were more than 40 different bus companies, taking you all over the country, but no information at all, from where and when and to where the buses leave. As we looked like lost tourists (which we actually were), two guys immediately showed us, which way to go to the ticket offices to Guatape. When we got there, the two bus companies were fighting for us and were shouting at us and showing with their hands to go to them.

We first went to the rock, which was very touristic (this was the only place except Cartagena where we saw postcards), but as it is off-season now, it was not so crowded. We walked up like 600 stairs to enjoy the beautiful view from the top. It was quite impressive standing at the sole rock, surrounded by the lake and hills. After that, we took a tuk tuk to Guatape, which is a small village full of colourful houses and small streets. We walked around, had lunch and tried some very sweet pastry with coconut, and then we headed back to Medellín.

We went to El Poblado, which is a quarter full of restaurants, pubs and hotels, which was recommended us by our guide at the walking tour for the nightlife. Some streets were closed for cars and were occupied by tables and chairs. Musicians were walking around waiting for someone to ask them to play something at their table. A lot of security and police were walking around, amd many signs about surveillance cameras. When we took the metro home, some policeman warned us that we should be careful at this time around our hotel, so it does seem to be a shady area, though nothing happened to us.Read more