The misconception that Colombia is dangerous because of drug cartels has gone on long enough! Since Pablo Escobar was taken out, Colombia has changed a lot. Crime has decreased exponentially, more and more tourists are visiting, and people are realizing just how beautiful Colombia really is! You see, for me, Colombia was never this super dangerous place that you heard about on the news; for me, it was just a place where I went to visit my grandma. Granted, there are some dangerous places, but everywhere has that part of town you don't go to.
My favorite place to go is Medellín and the surrounding areas (and it totally doesn't have anything to do with it being where my family lives). There are so many museums and attractions that one week just isn't enough! There's the botanical gardens, El Parque de los Pies Descalzos, and my personal favorite, the Rafael Uribe Uribe Palace of Culture in the center of Medellín. In addition, there's La Comuna 13 (District 13) that used to be the most dangerous place in Medellín, but now is a gorgeous place, filled with street art from local artists! There's even a book sold by the street vendors there that tells their story. In Medellín, you really don't need a car, Uber or otherwise, because it has one of the best public transport systems I've seen. There are buses literally everywhere, trains and subways, even cable cars! But if you want to get to one of the smaller cities near Medellín, I would recommend renting a car.
There are 2 places that I recommend going to with every fiber of my being, and they are Guatapé and Carolina. Carolina is a small town about 2 hours outside of
Medellín. The drive there is beautiful, there are plenty of mom-and-pop restaurants to stop in and have a Bandeja Paisa (share with someone, that's a lot of food), and there are street vendors that sell fruit unique to Colombia! Once you get to Carolina, it's like you step back into the 1920s. Everything in town revolves around the town square where there's a bar, a few shops, a supermarket, and (of course) a church. Fun fact: Colombian singer Juanes is from Carolina and has a statue in front of his house there. Carolina is a great place to go horseback riding, swim in the river, and unplug from the world (until you get wifi), but the main attraction has to be the cemetery. I know what you're thinking: "a cemetery? You can't be serious." This cemetery is amazing! It's circular, has markers for the hundreds who lost their lives in battle, and has a mummy! Trust me you'll love it! If you find one of the employees, ask them about the haunted heart.
Carolina is great if you need a breather from city life and just need a quiet place to relax. Guatapé on the other hand, is good for thrill seeking and relaxation! It's about an hour outside of
Medellín, and on the drive in, you'll see the town's claim to fame: La Piedra del Peñol. This is a massive rock that has stairs you can climb for only $6,000 pesos (about $2 USD). If you can make it to the top (there are hundreds of steps), there is a lovely restaurant (I've heard it's lovely, I only made it half-way up and had to go back down). Happy climbing! Just before the rock, you'll find a replica of the old Peñol, the town that was drowned in order to make the reservoir (the only part left of the original town is the cross that was at the top of a steeple of the town church). It's cute and if you climb the little tower they have there, you can see the rock from there! Once you're in
Guatapé, you can go zip lining, jet skiing, and take a tour of the reservoir with a guide on a boat! And, for the Pablo Escobar fans, for an additional $5,000 pesos, you can take a tour of the ruins of his home "La Manuela Hacienda" and even go paint balling on the property!
Overall, Colombia has changed a lot in the past 20+ years, you should really grab some friends and go check it out!
