Colombia is a fascinating country full of wonders, but choosing exactly where to go is not an easy task. This article reveals the best places to visit in Colombia – the top 7 travel destinations in Columbia that should be on your bucket list.
Are you interested in visiting somewhere epic but is still relatively unknown to international travelers?
If this sounds like something you would like, then you definitely need to consider visiting Colombia, a truly gorgeous and exciting South American country.
Often overlooked for more well-known destinations in South America like Peru, Patagonia, or Brazil, there are so many beautiful places to visit in Colombia that deserve a place on your bucket list.
So, let me introduce you to Colombia! This country is situated northwest of the continent, bordering the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and serving as the gateway from Central America. It’s shaped by the Andes Mountains and filled with lush, green rainforests and vibrant cities.
There are cultural experiences, adventurous activities, incredible hikes, exciting architecture, and unique cuisine to sample as you explore this rich land.
With so many incredible things to do, it may be tricky to choose the best locations for your itinerary. However, fear not, as this post features the most beautiful places to see in Colombia that should be on your bucket list.
Let’s dive into it, shall we?
Best Places To Visit In Colombia
Pack your bags and get ready – here are the best places to visit in Colombia!
Cartagena
Cartagena is the Caribbean jewel of Colombia. It sits right on the northern coast of South America and has a colorful, vibrant Old Town that is basically an Instagram dream!
This city is full of green, pink, orange, tan, red, blue, and purple buildings. There are flowering plants and bougainvillea draped over doorways and above windows throughout the city.
Wandering through the city, admiring the beautiful streets, and stumbling upon a new and interesting plaza is one of the best things to do in Cartagena. Beautiful historical churches are tucked away next to some of the city’s 22 plazas and adorable little spots around every corner.
Just outside the walled city is the neighborhood of Getsmani. Here, the colorful streets and flowers are accented by street art galore and a more hipster, trendy vibe.
Besides exploring the city, there are several exciting attractions in Cartagena.
You can visit the Palace of the Inquisition or the Gold Museum. Outside the walled city, head up to the Convent of Santa Cruz de la Popa for a look at a convent with a beautiful interior courtyard and impressive 360 views over the entire city.
Or visit the San Felipe Fortress, which has strong fortifications, cannons, and tunnels that you can explore.
Cartagena is a walled city, and you should take the opportunity to walk along the walls and get views out to the sea. The wall is particularly charming at sunset!
Spending 3 days in Cartagena is an excellent amount of time to see and enjoy what the city has to offer!
Salento
Salento is a small, colorful village nestled into the rolling hills of the Colombian countryside in a region known as the Coffee Triangle. Indeed, there are coffee farms (known as fincas) all around Salento, and so it follows that one of the best things to do during your stay in Salento is go on a tour of the coffee farms.
On these tours, you learn and get to participate in the process of growing, harvesting, and processing coffee berries into coffee beans (plus, try a cup of freshly brewed local coffee at the end!)
One unique aspect of visiting Salento is how you get around. While the city is very walkable, many attractions are in the surrounding countryside.
To get there, the vast majority of people get around by hopping into a willy jeep, Salento’s form of public transportation. These open-air jeeps will have some people standing on the back of the jeep, holding onto the roof as the jeep bounces down dirt roads outside of town.
Back in town, you’ll notice that, in contrast to Cartagena, where an entire building would be painted blue or pink, in Salento, the buildings are primarily white. Instead, all the doors, windows, balconies, and even an exterior chair railing are painted bright, happy, contrasting colors. The effect is so charming!
Our Lady of Carmen is the main church in Salento and is definitely worth visiting to see the ornate capitals on the columns and the beautiful wooden ceiling.
Calle Real is the most colorful of the streets in Salento, and this is where you can shop for handicrafts and souvenirs.
For more shopping and a much calmer and more peaceful environment, head down to the La Aldea del Artesano Artisan Workshop on the outskirts of town.
There are two main viewpoints to enjoy as well – one overlooks the rooftops of Salento and is very pretty, but the other faces the countryside and is stunning!
You’re sure to enjoy your time here with its mix of charming town and beautiful and vibrant nature.
Cocora Valley
Near Salento is an otherworldly countryside with the tallest palm trees in the world! Visitors to the Cocora Valley come to do the 8-mile/12 km loop trail that takes you past the whimsical palms and up and through the rainforested mountains.
The Cocora Valley hike starts by walking through Palm Grove, where you pass by the massive wax palms growing starkly out of grassy hills that grow up to 200 feet tall! These palms are skinny and towering and dot the hills and valleys in the Palm Grove area.
The rest of the hike is an adventurous trail through the rainforest, where you cross the Quindio River several times on rickety bridges, visit a hummingbird house, navigate some muddy parts of the trail, pass by a hidden waterfall, and finally come back out to the grassy hillsides by the trailhead.
Fans of Encanto will be interested to know that the film is “set” in the Cocora Valley! The writers and filmmakers of Encanto actually traveled around Colombia, looking for inspiration for the film. When they visited the Cocora Valley, they just knew it was the right spot to set the film – this is truly one of the most magical places to visit in Colombia!
Medellin
This place to visit in Colombia is a favorite stop among many travelers who love the chill hangout nature of the El Poblado neighborhood and the hustle and bustle of downtown. Medellin sits in the valley of some fairly large mountains – the landscape outside the city is pretty impressive as the city sprawls out and up the mountainside.
One popular activity in Medellin is paragliding in the mountains outside the city. It’s incredible as you soar over the hills, waterfalls, avocado orchards, and the city!
The main, can’t-miss activity in Medellin is to go on a Comuna 13 tour. The neighborhood of Comuna 13 used to be one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in the entire world, up until only 10-15 years ago. The area was entirely controlled by drug lords and guerillas, and many people died in all the conflicts.
Today, Comuna 13 has undergone a transformation, becoming a very safe part of the city and seeing revitalization through artwork. Beautiful and meaningful street art covers the walls in Comuna 13, and you can take tours through the neighborhood with locals to learn firsthand about the history and growth of the city.
Another Medellin location you should visit is the Museum of Antioquia, which prominently features the works of the artist Fernando Botero. Botero is a highly regarded Colombian painter and sculptor with a distinctive style. His works all feature very large subjects, and his sculptures are done in a shiny bronze finish. You see mostly his paintings at the museum, but in the square outside the museum are 23 massive sculptures of Botero for everyone to walk around and enjoy.
The Rafael Uribe Uribe Palace of Culture is a place that should not be missed when visiting Medellin.
Considered a National Monument of Colombia, this beautiful Gothic revival-style building is open to the public and houses the Institute of Culture and Heritage of Antioquia.
The El Poblado neighborhood is a popular and trendy area for expats, backpackers, and regular travelers alike. The nightlife in this area is top-notch, and travelers report a really chill and friendly (albeit more saturated with English speakers) vibe here.
Bogota
Bogota, the capital city of Colombia, is the 3rd highest capital city in the world, at 8600 feet in elevation. It’s a sprawling city with both historic districts and trendy neighborhoods alike.
The historic district is La Candelaria. This is both the center of Bogota and where the national seats of government are located.
You’ll walk down cobblestoned lanes in La Candelaria with colorful, colonial-era buildings. There are beautiful old churches all over La Candelaria.
My personal favorite church was Santuario Nuestra Senora del Carmen, affectionately known as the “Candy Cane Church”, thanks to its alternating lines of red and white bricks on the interior and exterior of the church.
Located in the heart of the city’s historical area, Plaza Bolivar is the main square of Bogotá. It hosts an 1846 statue of Simón Bolívar, the first public monument in the city.
In Bogota, you’ll find some world-class museums, such as the Botero Museum, which showcases many of the works of Botero (and is free to the public!), and the Gold Museum – a massive building that holds thousands and thousands of gold artifacts, or the Emerald Museum – a small but fascinating museum that explains emerald mining and refining in Colombia.
Did you know that Colombia exports the highest quality emeralds in the world? I didn’t either until I visited Bogota!
Bogota is also known for its street art – a protected form of expression in the city. You’ll find interesting and beautiful graffiti on many buildings throughout Candelaria and other neighborhoods, and street art tours are a popular thing to do in Bogota.
An attraction you must visit in Bogota is Monserrate, where you can take a cable car to the top of a mountain overlooking the city, with amazing views at sunset!
When you’re done with the historic La Candelaria, you can head north to Zona Rosa, a trendy and hip area with the city’s best restaurants, bars, and nightclubs.
Head even further north in Bogota to the neighborhood of Usaquen. Usaquen used to be its own separate town before being absorbed into greater Bogota, but it still retains a lot of its old charm and quaintness. Stop in for the Sunday morning flea and artisan market!
Most visitors choose to stay in Bogota for anywhere from one to three days, but there is definitely enough to see and do to keep you busy for several days after that!
Zipaquira Salt Cathedral
The Zipaquira Salt Cathedral is one of Colombia’s most unique places to visit!
Part of this salt mine was carved into a cathedral in the 1950s. It’s still a functioning, underground salt mine where the miners actually carved out an entire cathedral. It was then expanded and refurbished in the early 1990s.
Today, it is a wonder of engineering and religious expression.
When you visit Zipaquira, you’ll find a quiet town with a pretty main plaza and delicious food offerings. But head up the hill to the salt mine, and you will find a truly unique experience. You’ll descend 200 feet underground as you walk through this massive, carved-out space.
The first part of the cathedral includes stops at 14 different chapels representing 14 moments in the final day of Jesus’s life. Each chapel features a large stone/salt cross, often with a large cavernous room behind it.
The chapels are all slightly different, symbolically corresponding to the different moments in Jesus’s life that are being depicted.
After the chapels, you come to the main portion of the cathedral. There is a large worship chapel, a nave and choir area, and an altar room. These rooms are many stories tall and have large carvings and depictions.
Smaller areas have chandeliers, relics, and a nativity. And everything you see is carved from rock salt!
In addition to being a tourist attraction, this is a functioning mine and a functioning church – services are held every Sunday, and there was even a service happening when we visited mid-week.
The workers who carved this were just regular men who were personally invested in the project and worked on it on their own time and dime after their shifts had ended in the mine. It was awe-inspiring, and you don’t want to miss it.
Guatapé
Guatape is well-known for its natural landmark just outside town – La Piedra del Peñol. This rock is a massive monolithic rock with a rounded top and sheer sides.
For 20,000 COP (about $4), you can walk up 765 stairs to the top of the rock, which gives spectacular views over the neighboring reservoir, the Embalse del Penol.
This reservoir is noteworthy for its shape – there are dozens and dozens of little inlets and craggy coastlines, plus tiny little islands in the middle. It’s a unique view, for sure!
After you’ve completed your trek to the top of Piedra del Penol, head into Guatape and explore what may be the most colorful town in Colombia.
This city is painted in the most vibrant colors, with each building or house painted in many different shades and patterns. The bottoms of the buildings are painted and decorated with “zocalos,” which are panels (almost like a chair railing) composed of interesting designs and pictures.
Some zocalos are just purely decorative designs, while others advertise the business (e.g., food for a restaurant), but we also saw several zocalos that were quite long and told a story.
Parroquia Nuestra Señora Del Carmen Guatapé Church on the Parque Principal of Guatapé fits really well with the theme of the rest of the town with its contrasting colors. The inside of the church is also breathtaking and definitely worth checking out.
In Guatape, after exploring the town (it’s not big – in just a few hours you can see everything), go up to the Mirador Alto de la Virgen for a great view of the Piedra del Penol and be sure to walk along the waterfront. You can rent kayaks to take out on the reservoir or go on a larger catamaran or cruise boat that will cruise you around the inlets of the reservoir.
This is definitely a great place to visit in Colombia. Most people visit as a day trip from Medellin, but I wouldn’t have minded spending a couple of days in Guatapé.
Conclusion
There you have it – seven of the best places to visit in Colombia. Colombia provides such variety in the types of places you can see and visit: gorgeous rolling hills and sleepy coffee countryside of Salento, a bustling and busy metropolis like Medellin, an old colonial city like Bogota, the most colorful pueblo in the country in Guatape (and its rock!), the charm and beauty of Cartagena, the wonder of Zipaquira, and finally the awe-inspiring and unbelievable wax palms of the Cocora Valley.
Colombia is a wonderful place to visit, so add this beautiful yet lesser-known destination to your bucket list now!
About The Author Of “7 Best Places To Visit In Colombia Every Traveler Will Love”
Stephanie is the author of the travel blog The Unknown Enthusiast, which focuses on exciting, adventure-filled travel on a budget.
I hope you enjoyed reading about the best places to visit in Columbia. I think Stephanie did a great job documenting her travels to the most beautiful places in Colombia and sharing her Colombia travel tips.
Before you go, you may also want to check out these seven best off-the-beaten-path places to see in Colombia.
Thank you for stopping by!
Magda
xoxo
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