Guatapé day trip from Medellín: the complete guide

What Guatapé actually is

Two things share the name. El Peñón de Guatapé is the 200 meter granite monolith with a staircase built into a crack in its face. Guatapé town is the village fifteen minutes past it, where every building carries a painted panel along its base called a zócalo.

Wrapping both is the reservoir, a flooded valley that turned old hilltops into hundreds of green islands. Most people see the rock, walk the town and skip the water. The water is the part worth staying for.

How to get from Medellín to Guatapé

It is roughly 80 kilometers and takes two hours each way, sometimes closer to two and a half on Sunday afternoons when everyone drives back at once.

• ·Private driver. The simplest option. You leave when you want, stop where you want, and your bags and jackets stay in the car all day. Expect a full day rate rather than a per kilometer fare.
• ·Group tour bus. Cheap, but you are locked into the schedule and you will hit the staircase at the same hour as every other bus.
• ·Public bus from Terminal Norte. Around two and a half hours, drops you in town, then a tuk tuk out to the rock. Fine if time does not matter.
• ·Self drive. Doable, though the last stretch is winding and parking near the rock fills early on weekends.

Timing that actually works

The whole trip lives or dies on when you leave. Guatapé is a domestic weekend favorite, so crowds build fast after 10am.

• ·7:30am leave Medellín. You are on the staircase by 9:30 with cool air and a clear view from the top.
• ·11:00am into the town. Coffee in the main square, the zócalo streets, and the plaza before it fills up.
• ·1:00pm lunch on the water. Trout is the local dish and every lakeside kitchen does it well.
• ·2:30pm boat hour on the reservoir. Late light on the islands, far fewer boats than midday.
• ·4:00pm head back. You are home before the Sunday return traffic builds.
• ·Go Tuesday to Friday if you can choose. Saturday is busy, Sunday is very busy.

Climbing El Peñón: what the 740 steps are really like

The staircase zigzags up the crack in the rock face and takes most people 20 to 30 minutes. It is steep but never technical, and there are landings with drink stands where you can stop without holding up the line.

At the top there is a viewing tower over the reservoir, which is one of the genuinely great views in Colombia. Bring water, wear real shoes, and skip it if stairs are a problem for you. The view from the base and from a boat is still worth the drive.

• ·Entry to the rock is a small cash fee paid at the base.
• ·Mornings are cooler and clearer. Afternoon cloud rolls in most days.
• ·The rock at altitude will surprise fit people. Pace it and you are fine.

The town, the zócalos and where to eat

Guatapé town is small enough to walk in an hour and pretty enough that you will not want to. Calle del Recuerdo and the streets around Plazoleta del Zócalo hold the best painted panels, each one showing what the family inside did for a living.

For food, the lakeside restaurants on the malecón do grilled trout, patacones and cold beer with the water in front of you. In town, the square has better coffee and the arepas de chócolo that people drive out here for.

The boat hour most people skip

Public boats run a loop from the malecón with music and a crowd. A private launch costs more and changes the day completely: you decide where to stop, you can swim off the back, and you can get to the quiet arms of the reservoir the big boats never enter.

If you are doing Guatapé once, do it with the water included. The islands at 3pm light are what people remember six months later.

What a Guatapé day trip costs

Roughly, for two to four people traveling comfortably:

• ·Private vehicle and driver for the full day, from around $220.
• ·Rock entry, a few dollars per person, cash.
• ·Lunch on the water, $15 to $30 per person.
• ·Private boat hour, typically $80 to $150 for the group depending on the vessel.
• ·Group bus tours run far cheaper and are a completely different experience. Both are valid, they are just not the same day.

What to bring

Short list, but each one saves the day for somebody.

• ·Cash in small bills. Rock entry, tuk tuks and boat guys are cash first.
• ·Shoes you can climb in.
• ·Sun protection. You are at altitude on open water.
• ·A light rain layer. Antioquia afternoons do what they want.
• ·Swimwear if you plan on a boat stop.