Colombia Travel Guide

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Top Things to See

• Head for the dizzying heights of Bogotá, which sits at 2,600m (8,600ft). Historical landmarks include the Capitol (congress building) and the cathedral (the Capilla del Sangrario) on the main square, the Plaza Bolivar.

• Get sucked into the El Dorado dream: visit Bogotá’s astonishing Gold Museum (website: www.banrep.gov.co/museo), housing an extraordinary wealth of glistening pre-Columbian treasures. Also take the cable car to a mountaintop overlooking the city for sunset.

• Wander among voluptuous sculptures created by Colombian artist Fernando Botero in the Plaza Botero or see around 120 of his paintings, as well as an impressive collection of Impressionist and modern art, at the Museo Botero (website: www.lablaa.org/museobotero.htm).

• Travel to Zipaquirá and enter the famous Salt Cathedral, an underground church built within a salt mine, in the body of a mountain. Stalactites and specks of salt jostle with crosses and chapels (website: www.catedraldesal.gov.co).

• Join in the festivities of the Barranquilla Carnaval, when vibrant costumes, energetic dancing and lively music transform the industrial port. The main parades take place on the three days preceding Ash Wednesday and are second in size only to Rio’s carnival (website: www.carnavaldebarranquilla.org).

• Go to the Tayrona National Park, some 35km (22 miles) south of Santa Marta, to see one of the country’s most popular parks. Its major attraction is its deep bays, shaded with coconut trees, beautiful beaches and several coral reefs (website: www.parquesnacionales.gov.co).

• Be bewitched by the colonial port of Cartagena (website: www.turismocartagenadeindias.com), its balconied streets dense with history and overhung by bougainvillea. From here you can take trips to local coral islands, the Islas del Rosario, beaches, dive sites, mangrove labyrinths and a mud volcano.

• Climb high into the jungle-covered Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta to the archeological ruins of the Ciudad Perdida (Lost City), discovered in 1976. (Travelers are strongly advised to check local advice first, as the area has been unsafe in the past.)

• Fly to the tropical islands of San Andrés and its smaller sibling Providencia, one of the Caribbean’s most unspoiled gems, north of the Colombian coast. They were once the headquarters of the English pirate Captain Henry Morgan (websites: www.sanandres.gov.co and www.oldprovidence.com).

• Weave your way around more than 500 mysterious pre-Columbian stone statues and tombs in one of South America’s most fascinating archaeological sites, San Agustín (website: www.sanagustin.com.co). It is the largest group of religious monuments and megalithic sculptures on the continent.

Top Things to Do

•Cycle or skate along car-free roads in central Bogotá: on Sundays and holidays from 0700 to 1400, 121km (75 miles) of the capital’s streets are transformed into ciclovías (cycleways) (website: www.idrd.gov.co).

• Dive into the tropical waters of the UNESCO Seaflower Biosphere Reserve around San Andrés and Providencia, home to a multitude of fish and coral species. Other diving hotspots include the Islas del Rosario and Tayrona National Park.

• Raft the rapids on the Rio Negro in Cundinamarca and Fonce or kayak through the Chicamocha canyon in Santander.

• Climb the snow-capped Nevado del Ruiz: the 5,400m (17,717ft) peak is one of five permanently white-tipped volcanoes in Los Nevados National Park (website: www.parquesnacionales.gov.co). Guided treks are available from Manizales.

• Head off-road on a motorbike or 4-wheel drive vehicle: Colombia’s rugged terrain is ideally suited to driving enthusiasts seeking a muddy challenge.

• Warm up those hips for some serious salsa dancing. The hot-blooded city of Cali (website: www.cali.gov.co) is one of the world’s top destinations for salsa.

• Take a jungle tour into the Amazon basin, which covers almost one-third of Colombia’s territory. Boat trips depart from Leticia to the nearby Amacayu National Park and often include visits to Indian tribes.

• Stay on a coffee farm: over 300 haciendas offer lodging to tourists and can arrange walks through the coffee fields as well as horse riding, fishing, mountain biking and trips to local villages.