13 Day Colombian Culture And Nature – Over 50 Shared Tour

Experience the cultural richness, the vibrant creativity, and the friendliness of Medellín. The city has reinvented itself after a turbulent past into a stunning and enjoyable community. Sprawling green parks, chic neighborhoods, fun-filled nightlife, and interesting museums. Antioquia, the area surrounding Medellín awaits you with spectacular landscapes in such a way that you feel the urge to visit the mountains of the beautiful Andes of Colombia. Outstanding pueblos such as Guatapé are highlights in a truly remarkable country.

As part of a National Natural Park, the Rosario Islands are integral to one of the most important areas of natural beauty in Colombia. The islands are surrounded by waters well preserved and protected, so you can enjoy their wonders as nature intended. The islands provide a wonderful contrast to the heat and pace of Cartagena. The cool breezes, beautiful natural habitat, and laid-back attitude here make it the perfect getaway.

Arrive at any time and be collected from the airport and taken to your accommodation.

Depending on your arrival time we can provide you with another tour or with suggestions of places to see and where to go. 

Your driver will be waiting for you outside of the terminal holding a sign with your name.

Welcome dinner in Medellin

Day 2: Fruit Tasting, Comuna 13, and City Tour

You'll start your day with a cable car ride over the hundreds of houses in Comuna 13. Many of these houses and settlements belong to many displaced people from rural areas. Due to a complicated internal conflict between the FARC, Colombian Military, Paramilitaries, and Drug Traffickers, over 7 million people have been displaced in Colombia.

Next, you get to venture inside Comuna 13, something that would certainly have been unimaginable 15 years ago due to the violence and lack of security. Not only is this location the most significant street art district in Medellin, but it is also additionally where the very first open-air electrical escalators in the world were mounted. You’ll ride these escalators and get the chance to learn the meanings behind much of the graffiti.

Following this unbelievable tour of the graffiti, you’ll be off to enjoy a fruit tasting of some of the most amazing tropical fruits at Plaza la America. This place has almost every fruit you can imagine and many we guarantee you’ve never seen before!

Continuing your journey, you’ll be visiting Parques del Río. The place that connects East and West Medellin through the Medellin River. Located in the center of the city, it's well known for its infrastructure, vegetation, and wonderful resting areas. Here you’ll find a unique sculpture from the swiss artist Ugo Rondinone named Colores de la montaña, the only one made for public areas in Latin America.

Following this, you’ll continue your journey and visit a location full of surprises. Where not only will you find the Medellin Civic Center, administrative buildings like the Medellín City Hall, and the Park of Lights, along with some of the most important heritage buildings in Medellin's history. Not only this but you'll also see the Eternal Flame, a monument to freedom of speech, the biggest vertical garden in Medellín, the giant Monumento a la Raza by Rodrigo Arenas Betancourt, and other interesting sculptures and places.

Carrying on to your next stop of Parque San Antonio, you’ll find 4 of Botero's sculptures. The most important ones are The Hurt Bird and the Peace Bird. One of the sculptures was destroyed after a terrorist attack in 1995, and the other one, an exact replica of the first one brought to Medellin in 2000.

Next, it’s off for a stop at Botero Plaza, an iconic place additionally referred to as Sculptures Park. This urban space displays 23 sculptures of the renowned son of Medellin and Master Sculptor Fernando Botero.

After wandering through and marveling at this al fresco gallery, you’ll move onto the Cultural Palace, a beautiful neo-Gothic style building, and a visit to the very first church built in Medellin during the colonial period; the Candelaria in 1776, along with the second oldest church la Iglesia de la Veracruz, built-in 1803.

The last stop on today’s tour will be the Parque Memorial Inflexion.

You'll enjoy a beautiful scenic drive to an outstanding coffee farm in Antioquia, where you will experience a full tour and an explanation of how the whole process of growing the perfect coffee bean occurs. You’ll come to understand the process of planting, handpicking the ripest beans, de-pulping, washing, sorting into classifications, drying, roasting, and finally making the perfect brew.

Carrying on with your tour, you'll be stopping at a replica of Old Peñol's town plaza. The original town was actually sunk and is now at the bottom of the manmade Peñol-Guatape reservoir. The only piece still visible is the spiral from the church tower. 

Next on today's adventure will be La Piedra (The Rock or better known as Guatape Rock). This is simply a wonderful and huge stone standing tall and overlooking Lake Guatape far below. Once here you'll have the opportunity to climb the 740 steps up to the very top, with breathtaking views every step of the way.

Following this, you will make a stop in Guatape town (The City of Zocalos) where you’ll walk the streets of this beautiful town and learn what is the Zocalo tradition and why it started. You’ll also get to visit the Plaza (main square), Remembrance Street, the boardwalk (Malecón) the church, maybe enjoy a tuk-tuk ride, and more.

Relax and enjoy your flight over national parks into the heart of the Amazon. You'll be arriving at Leticia around 12 pm, and your transport will be waiting.

NB A Tourist Tax of $35.000 Colombian Pesos will need to be paid before leaving the airport when you are collecting your bags.

Arriving to the Jungle and a Night Hike

You'll be collected from the airport and be taken on a short drive through Leticia to the wharf, where you'll catch a boat up the Amazon River to your Amazon Jungle Ecolodge for the next 3 nights. You'll be arriving in the mid-afternoon after a boat ride of approximately 2 hours, and in time for a bit of relaxation before dinner.

Following dinner when it is nice and dark you'll venture out on a night safari into the jungle, In search of tarantulas, giant insects, mammals, and different Amazonian fauna and flora.

nb. Your itinerary can be varied and adapted to the weather conditions, flight arrival time, and preferences of travelers. 

You'll enjoy a good breakfast followed by a short trip up the Amazon River to discover the "Painted Village" of a Mocagua community. The Murals of Mocagua is an initiative of the Calanoa reserve. "This project is based on the concept that with the promotion of art and traditional culture, supported by projects of sustainable management of the forest and river resources, we can contribute in a significant way to the economic wellbeing of a community, to the strengthening of cultural and ethnic identity and to environmental conservation. It is art for conservation, and experience of public and communal art, painting the facades of the houses with relevant motives to the families indigenous clans."

After heading back to the eco-lodge for a delicious fresh lunch you'll start a hike across Calanoa Reserve to the Matamata creek, enjoying the thick jungle that you pass through. Located on the very edge of the Amacayacu National Park you'll discover a canoe waiting for you to paddle back down the Amazon River to the Eco-lodge (if the water level allows it. The dryer season is July-Sept). During the high-water season, the Amazon River rises up to 11m (36ft). So you'll enjoy an incredible experience navigating the jungle canopy. 

To finish your day you'll enjoy some time sitting on the dock back at the Eco-lodge, and trying your hand at a spot of fishing for some of the mighty Piranhas!

nb. Your itinerary can be varied and adapted to the weather conditions and preferences of travelers.

You'll enjoy a good breakfast followed by another boat cruise. This time visit the Milciades Gardens, where you'll meet a Cocama medicine man (Shaman). You'll walk through the lush vegetation of this garden, guided by this wise man, with a vast knowledge of both the traditional way of cultivating the forest and the many healing powers of plants within. You'll learn which plants can be used to cure many illnesses and secrets passed down for generations.

Following another fabulous and fresh lunch, you'll take the boat across to the other side of the Amazon River and into the territory of Peru. From here you'll enjoy a wonderful and peaceful time spotting camera-shy pink and grey dolphins, that are unique to the Amazon region. You'll stay out on the waters to enjoy a beautiful explosion of color on the river as the sun begins to go down.

In the evening you'll receive a home visit from a local Shaman and build a deep connection with your jungle surroundings. This traditional medicine healer will perform a smoke bath blessing with incense made with Amazonian resins. The traditional doctor sings and blesses travelers in this personal ritual.

nb. Your itinerary can be varied and adapted to the weather conditions and preferences of travelers.

Rising before most birds have left their nests, (and before you've had any breakfast) you'll be out and about at 6 am for some amazing Bird Watching. Walking a short distance from the eco-lodge you'll enjoy the morning rituals of many of our feathered friends in the skies and in the trees. On return to the eco-lodge, you'll enjoy another fresh breakfast before your next adventure. 

nb. Your itinerary can be varied and adapted to the weather conditions and preferences of travelers. 

Flight back to Reality, Leticia to Bogotá

Following a relaxing breakfast, you'll be taken by boat back to Leticia and a quick tour of this small town on the border with Brazil and Peru before being transferred to Leticia airport and your flight back to Bogotá.

Day 8: Monserrate, La Candelaria and The Bogotá Gold Museum

You’ll be collected from your accommodation in Bogotá and taken on a guided excursion, where you’ll encounter the most important historical locations within La Candelaria. Just some of the stops on your tour through Bogotás oldest neighborhood will be Bolivar Plaza, Casa Nariño (The Presidents House), Palace of Justice, Catedral Primada de Colombia, Iglesia de San Francisco, Colón Theater, Iglesia de Nuestra Señora del Carmen, Séptima (carrera 7), and the Chorro de Quevedo Plaza.

During your time in La Candelaria, you'll be enjoying a few hours strolling through El Museo del Oro (Gold Museum) of Bogotá. This grand 3-story museum displays a selection of pre-Columbian gold, other metal alloys, and a mix of pottery, stone, shell, wood, and textile objects/textiles. 

Once you have visited this amazing museum and seen the many beautiful sites La Candelaria has to offer, it will be time for you to ascend to the great height of 10,341 ft (3152m) and the summit of Monserrate; almost 2,000 ft higher than Bogotá. As well as learning the historical importance of this mountain to the indigenous Musica, you’ll also enjoy time wandering through the artisan markets, visit a beautiful 17th-century monastery and enjoy some of the most spectacular panoramic views of the capital city of this great nation.

Enjoy the day exploring by yourselves or ask us for another tour.

Maybe a chocolate and/or coffee tasting tour?

Maybe a bird-watching experience?

Maybe a bike tour?

More Graffiti?

Enjoy a flight to Cartagena arriving in the early afternoon. 

Your transport will be waiting to collect you and take you directly to your hotel, to check-in and enjoy a bit of "me time".

Our bilingual guide explains the history behind every important site you visit. You'll discover panoramic views of the city from Cerro de La Popa; a convent built in 1606, and the highest peak overlooking Cartagena. Explore inside the historic Castle San Felipe, learning the paths and methods of defending this heritage-listed structure from pirates and invaders around the world. 

Enjoy an in-depth private tour of the Jewel of Colombia, the magical UNESCO heritage-listed city of Cartagena de Indias Colombia. Including the must-see stops, plazas, restaurants, cafes, and bars within the walled city, along with one of the oldest and most bohemian neighborhoods in Cartagena; Getsemani.

Your tour will include the Clock Tower monument, the original entrance of the fortified city, and your starting point for the tour through the historic center of Cartagena de Indias. Your tour will also include unmissable locations such as Bolivar Park, the Plaza Saint Pedro Claver, the Plaza de Los Jagüeyes, San Diego, and of course the colorful streets of Gertsemani.

Day 12: Rosario Islands - Relax in a Tropical Paradise.

Enjoy a wonderful ocean cruise on a speedboat to the Rosario Islands; arriving at a beautiful picturesque beach for a typical Caribbean lunch, crystal clear waters, water-sports, white sands, and palm trees. 

You'll be assigned your personal beach space which will be exclusive for yourself and members of your group. 

You'll receive full beach service, a fantastic typical lunch; use of deckchairs and umbrellas; a cocktail on arrival, and English-speaking hosts. 

You will have the full day to relax and enjoy your space along with kayaking, and the ability to hire gear for snorkeling or paddleboarding.

This will be one of the highlights of your Caribbean adventure!

Travelers need to be at the wharf at 7:30 am for the 8:00 am departure from Cartagena. 

Resort towels are available to use for $5,000 pesos. 

Farewell dinner in Cartagena

Around 7 pm you’ll be meeting with your new friends for a final group dinner to share photos and laughs before saying your goodbyes tomorrow.

Day 13: Today it is Farewell to Cartagena & Colombia - or extend your stay!

Hablamos pronto, safe travels home, and visit again soon!

We’ll have transport waiting to take you to the airport at your desired time.

Not ready to leave yet?

Click here to find some inspiration and additional tours you can enjoy before departing this region. Remember to ask your travel consultant for your group members' discount before making any reservations!

• 9x night hotels as listed or similar
• 3x nights superior Amazon eco-lodge
• 12x breakfast, 2x lunch, 5x dinner
• Welcome dinner
• Farewell dinner
• All airport transfers
• All domestic flights
• Private excursions
• Permanent English-speaking tour leader.
• All entrance fees
• 24 hr support group

• International and domestic flights
• Travel Insurance
• Meals and Services not mentioned within the plan.

BnB Colombia Tours