Visiting El Peñol and Guatapé was our favorite part of the entire trip in Colombia. A top the giant rock at El Peñol, I was in awe. I have traveled a decent amount but have never seen a landscape quite like this. Guatapé was also such a unique experience. So vibrant and colorful yet so quaint. 100% make sure you take a day trip out here!
Getting to El Peñol
There are two ways to do it.
You can book a trip through your hostel or a travel agency. They will have multiple options that include different things like transportation, boat rides, lunch, etc. They will be guided with a structured schedule.
The second option is to go on your own. Be on your own schedule and save a lot of money. Here’s how to do it:
If you are staying in the Poblado district, hop on the A (Niquia) train going North at the Poblado metro station. Take it 9 stops until you get to the Caribe stop and walk over to the North bus station, just West of the stop. Here you will go to the ticket counter and purchase a one way to El Peñol. The buses leave every half hour.
The bus ride will take about 2 hours. Disclosure- it will be a winding around cliffs, typical Colombian style driving, somewhat nauseating, bus ride. Not great after a night of partying in Medellin but I promise it is worth it!
Once you get to El Peñol, you can buy your return ticket there (if you know what time you want to leave) or you can wait to buy it in Guatapé (seats just might run out for the time you want.)
To get up to the rock, you can either take the tut-tuts up the hill or hike up. It’s not an awful walk if you’re trying to save some money. The climb from the bottom of the stairs up to the very top took about 20 minutes. We stopped a few times to catch our breath too so it can be a little longer or shorter depending on what kind of shape you are in!
The view is incredible. Soak it all up. You deserve it.
Getting to Guatapé
To get to Guatape after the climb down, take one of the trucks or tut-tuts over (about 10,000 COP each). Explore the streets of Guatapé! Get lost! The buildings were all required to be painted different colors so you won’t find 2 alike!
We got lunch at one of the restaurants in the main square. The food was really good and the amount you get for the equivalent of $5 is insane.
If you didn’t buy your bus ticket already in El Peñol, definitely go to the bus stop early to buy a spot. The times will sell out! The bus stop is located at Calle 32 and Carrera 30.
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