Could not not include in my itinerary of 3 weeks in Colombia a visit to Medellin. But what to see in Medellin ? A favela, a popular district, an emblematic site, a place that has become exemplary ... yes it is Comuna district 13 that we are going to discover and without taking any risk since it is safe today !
Dangerous Medellin?
Yes, we can say that during the 80s and 90s, Medellín was considered one of the most dangerous cities in the world by its extremely high rate of homicides, violence, kidnappings and disappearances. It was the territory of the drug star: Pablo Escobar and the Medellín cartel. Police and politicians were corrupt and left all power to drug and arms traffickers.
For about twenty years, the cartel has been dissolved and the city is undergoing major changes. To illustrate this revival, our guide Ludovic, explained to us the history of Comuna 13 and its wonderful and amazing transformation (see below).
Despite everything, there are still dangerous neighborhoods in Medellin and areas of lawlessness and violence, still in the grip of drug traffickers, armed groups and ELN activists.
The violent and dangerous Comuna 13
In 90 years Community 13 (one of the neighborhoods on the heights of Medellin) was daily confronted with violence, murders, kidnappings orchestrated in turn by the FARC (far left group), drug cartels, local militias and paramilitaries (group far right). All wanted power and territory, especially after the death of Pablo Escobar.
The far-right armed factions of the AUC (the main Colombian paramilitary group) will lead a guerrilla war to retake Comuna 13 from the FARC and the ELN which controlled this area (trafficking in arms and cocaine).
It's the 16th October, 2002 that the Colombian military launch Operation Orion in order to suppress the last far-left rebels in the area. For almost 3 days, more than 1000 soldiers and police with helicopters and armored vehicles "cleaned" la Commune 13 in blood and horror. The toll will be disastrous: 11 dead (according to official figures), more than 200 injured and several hundred missing ...
Transformation of Comuna 13
Since then, the Colombian government has participated in the transformation of this favela in a quiet and touristy area. In particular, he helped rebuild roofs, created a free library for everyone ... but what allowed the inhabitants of this favela to truly reborn was the installation of an escalator and the provision of public transportation which allows the district to be connected to the city.
Little by little, with access to transport (return to work), the education of the youngest, easier access to culture, the development of art including graffiti, the inhabitants of this favela have come out of violence and illegality.
Today, the inhabitants of Comuna 13 are proud of the progress of their neighborhood and it is a real renaissance that they are experiencing. They are courageous and go ahead to develop tourism thanks to the many graffiti that make "Trece" a truly Art Gallery.
And the other districts of Medellin?
La Commune 13 is the example to follow… Indeed, there are unfortunately still 2 or 3 neighborhoods perched on the hills of Medellin where a regime of terror still reigns and where drugs and weapons make their laws.
How to visit Comuna 13?
Visit Comuna 13 for yourself
From El Poblado, take the metro to San Antonio. In San Antonio, take the metro to San Javier. In San Javier, it is enough to walk 10 minutes towards the escalators.
Then by taking these famous escalators, you stop where you want in Comuna 13 or you go up to the top to have a superb view of Medellin.
Visit Comuna 13 with a guide
That's what we did. And that's really what I recommend to know everything about the history of this district, the symbolism of graffiti, the current situation ...
Here are the coordinates of our guide Ludovic BERTEL : His whatsapp: +57 3113296127 - agency email: info@lechappee-colombie.fr Website: https://www.lechappee-colombie.fr/
But the visit of Medellin is not reduced to the discovery of Commune 13.
We also visited the center on the same day:
COLOMBIAN STAY preparation for departure January 8, 2020
hello, I'm looking to visit Medellin with a guide… in French, Ludovic is maybe our man? I took his coordinates.
We are 3 adults, sometimes the length of the journeys and the prices of the buses make me prefer the choice for a taxi…. example: Garden / Salento 6h. by bus / 30 € approx. against 70/85 € by taxi in 4 hours. always approximately. are taxis reliable? do travelers only talk about bus transport, rarely taxis? Why ? I just discovered your site, I'm going to dive into it, thank you, see you soon Nadine
Hello Nadine,
Of course, bus trips are much cheaper. However, traveling by bus involves more constraints, more time and less freedom. For example, leaving very early in the morning to avoid traffic jams and too intense traffic saves time to enjoy the visits… The taxis we took were all reliable and serious.
Regarding the prices, I cannot tell you precisely because we paid a fixed price for all the transport and guides of our trip to the agency Colombia Infinita: Pierre VERGER: (57) 3208125670
On the other hand, if you want to contact them directly, here are their contact details:
BOGOTA GUIDE: AMPARO CHAPARRO (+573108709477)
GUIDE / DRIVER SALENTO: VIVIANA COCA (+ 57 3007687001)
GUIDE / DRIVER: MEDELLIN / GUATAPÉ: LUDOVIC BERTEL (+ 57 3113296127)
Driver for the BOGOTA-VILLAVIEJA (31/07) and VILLAVIEJA-ARMENIA (02/08) journeys: CARLOS RUBIANO (+ 57 3158390610)
SALENTO - MEDELLIN DRIVER: ANDRES RAMOS (+ 57 312242121 XNUMX XNUMX)
Hasta luego!