The town of Guatapé, together with the dam, is one of the essential places to see in Colombia. This municipality is one of the most beautiful and colorful in Colombia due to the baseboards painted by its inhabitants to decorate practically all the houses and shops in the town; The Plazoleta De Los Zócalos in the center of Guatapé is the best example of this.
On the other hand, the Guatapé reservoir is an artificial lake that was created in 1970 after the town of El Peñol and part of the town of Guatapé were flooded. Forming an incredible landscape of small coasts and a perfect reservoir for water activities.
To get to Guatapé you can only do it by land, it is 1 hour and 50 minutes from Medellín in the department of Antioquia. If you want to get to the town of Guatapé by car from Medellín you must leave the city by the north highway or the highway to Bello and turn off at the Toscana roundabout to take the highway to Bogotá. You continue along that road until you reach the town of Marinilla where you have to return past the town at the road interchange, before the La Felicidad farm, so that you do not have to enter the town. At the first crossroads on the right, take the road to El Peñol.
On this road, you will first arrive at the town of El Peñol, which is 30 minutes away, 10 minutes later you will find the entrance to the great stone of Peñol de Guatapé and after another 10 minutes you will find the houses of the town of Guatapé, you will recognize it. for its great boardwalk in front of the dam.
The distance from Medellín to Guatapé is 84 kilometers and you will only have to pay a toll that is located in Guarne (almost reaching the entrance of Marinilla) and has an average cost of 12,000 Colombian pesos ($4 US dollars). ).
How to get to Guatapé by bus
If you want to get to Guatapé from Medellín by bus you can only do it from the northern terminal of Medellín. Two transportation companies go directly to the town, one is called Sotrapeñol at ticket office 9 and the other Sotrasanvicente at ticket office 14. The bus ticket from Medellín to Guatapé costs 15,000 Colombian pesos (5 dollars) and the schedule of the routes is from 06:00 to 19:00 every 20 minutes.
Moto chivas de GuatapéTourist sites in Guatapé
In this list, we leave you the main tourist sites to visit in Guatapé Colombia. In each one, we tell you how to get there, recommendations, and possible rates
The Rock of Guatapé
The Piedra del Peñol (Guatapé) is a large stone 220 meters high. We tell you the prices and how to get cheaper from GuatapéLeer más del sitioWhat To Do In Guatapé Antioquia
Guatapé is a very beautiful, magical, and colorful town to which you have to dedicate time to enjoy it, meet its people, see beautiful places such as the main square, the church, the shops, and the boardwalk and explore the natural attractions that are around it. There are many things to see and do in Guatapé in terms of tourism, so here we recommend the best 9 activities that revolve around this place:
Walk along the Malecón
Once you get to the town, the first tourist place you will see is the boardwalk in front of the dam. The plan is to walk through it to get to know the different shops of the inhabitants of Guatapé, you will find sales of handicrafts and its gastronomy. Most of them are only open on weekends or Thursdays.
Walking on the Dock
You can continue with the tour by visiting the pier to buy boat trips or motorboats in which you can tour the dam. At night some boats turn them into bars and discos.
Walk through the streets of downtown Guatapé.
In the center of Guatapé is the colonial architecture that characterizes the paisa towns. In it, he visits the community historical museum, La Calle del Recuerdo, the main park, the town hall, and the parish. In the center is where the largest trade is, there are all kinds of items such as crafts, decoration, art, and more, but especially buy in the famous "baratillos" paisas because there are unique things. On weekends, the main park becomes a meeting point for the whole town.
Calles del Pueblo de Guatapé AntioquiaHave a coffee on the Colorful Stairs of Guatapé.
The famous colored steps that you see in many photos are located in La Plazoleta del Zócalo. It is a perfect pedestrian space to have a good coffee, buy typical paisa handicrafts or take a photo to remember.
Take photos next to the giant letters of Guatape.
They are giant and colorful letters with the name of the town. They are located at the end of the boardwalk, a little before the main bridge that leads to San Rafael.
Climb the Peñol Stone
Regarding plans near Guatapé, you should visit La Gran Piedra del Peñol in one morning. It is considered by many to be the largest stone in the world since it is 220 meters high and 702 steps were built on it to reach the top. At the top, there is a viewpoint, restaurants, and the sale of handicrafts.
Go to the Guatapé Waterfalls
In the afternoon take a hike to the 4 waterfalls of Guatapé. To get to them you must leave the town by the main bridge and turn right as soon as the bridge ends. From there, a 20-minute walk begins until you reach a "Y" where you turn left to go through a gate that is at the end of the road.
You continue along the path marked inside the farm until you reach the trout farm. To better show you the way we leave you this video.
The first waterfall is 45 minutes away, then the rest of the waterfalls are 10 minutes from each other. The last waterfall is the biggest.
Hiking to the People's Hill
If you prefer something closer for a walk, the hill of Guatapé is behind the town and you can reach it by going up 28th street of the town.
Go to the town of San Rafael and bathe in its puddles.
Finally, a one-day plan to do in the towns near Guatapé is to visit one of the 14 pools of San Rafael. This is a town that is 30 minutes away continuing along the main bridge road.
To get to San Rafael you can do it by bus from Guatapé, the ticket costs 4,000 Colombian pesos (1 dollar) and leaves you in the town square. We recommend you go very early because the last route back to Guatapé leaves at 5 in the afternoon.
Recommendations for going to Guatapé
If you are going to travel to Guatapé on special dates, we recommend that you arrive as early as possible in the town of Guatapé or Piedra del Peñol because after passing Marinilla the road is a single carriageway and many tourists only head towards Piedra del Peñol. This causes congestion on the road due to the number of cars entering the stone parking lot, which causes traffic jams on the road and can delay your trip for up to 2 hours. After passing the entrance to Piedra del Peñol, traffic is normal and you arrive at the Guatapé boardwalk in 10 minutes.
Casas de colores en GuatapéHotels in Guatape
In Guatapé you can find different types of lodging in the town and its surroundings distributed throughout the dam and also rental of farms, country hotels, glamping, and even cabins for couples on the lagoon. Before reaching the town there are most hotels, within the town, it is easier to find inns with private or shared rooms, some have a swimming pool.
If you want a more natural option, leaving through the northern part of the town or passing the bridge, there are country hostels that connect you with nature.
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