What to see around Medellin? El Penol and Guatape - D10

If you are wondering: What to see around Medellin ? Here is our 10th day in Colombia with classic tours ofEL PENOL and GUADAPE.

Itinerary Medellin El Penol Guatape

How to get from Medellin to Guatape?

• • The bus will take you at least 2 hours to get to Guatape (see link below for timetables) but the price of the trip is very interesting (- 10 €). Here is their website: http://www.terminalesmedellin.com/destino/guatape/
  • The taxi is also a good way to get there faster but it is still a bit expensive (40 € one way): tax-individual.com.co   http://taxis.com.co/
  • For my part, it is with Ludovic a French driver guide that we have makes the trip and visits of both sites.

What to see around Medellin - El Penol and its lakes

Departure from our guest house towards theEast of Medellin to go to the rock El Penol et discover the most incredible water reserve in the region.

This is the water retention Penol-Guatape. A dam was built at the end of the 70s with a deliberate flooding of over 6 hectares including the old village of Peak forcing peasants to abandon their lands.

But, with the rock of Peak which allows these artificial lakes to be overlooked, the site has become very touristy and the peasants have thus had the opportunity to convert themselves into traders.

After climbing the 675 steps, the rock El Penol offers a breathtaking view at 220 meters above sea level on the lakes, Guatape and its surroundings. Entry at 18 COP.

What to see around Medellin - Guatape

This charming little colorful village is renowned for its drawings and frescoes adorning the lower facades of the houses. These bas reliefs are called sockets. Their origin dates back to 1919. A lady who used to decorate the interior of the church had the idea of ​​decorating the bottom of her house and launched "fashion" throughout the village ...

So each sockets tells something about the house, the inhabitants, their profession, their passion, their particularity… some are simply decorative (geometric shapes, flowers, llama…) and others advertising… 

So it's very entertaining to visit Guatape because the houses all tell us a story, a past, a memory. In this village, our imagination is constantly called upon!

What to eat in Guatape?

We absolutely wanted to taste the specialty of the department ofAntioquia : The Bandeja Paisa.

It is a typical dish of peasant origin composed of rice, red beans, banana, minced meat, egg, sausage, salad, avocado. So all there is more light !!!

Where to eat in Guatape?

We looked for a quiet place (a rare thing in Colombia), in the shade with good prices.

Bingo! We found on the main square the restaurant TIKI TAKA (wow the pun…) which we really appreciated.

Continue the journey with us by discovering our day in Medellin:

What to see in Medellin? La Comuna 13