Backpacking Colombia: 14 best places to visit
The most rewarding stops for backpackers in Colombia, ranked and mapped — and real routes through them, written by travellers who went.
Read Colombia stories1
Cartagena
Bolivar
Walled Caribbean old town.
- 2
Medellin
Antioquia
Reinvented city of eternal spring.
3
Bogota
Bogota
High Andean capital.
4
Tayrona National Park
Magdalena
Jungle meets Caribbean beach.
5
Salento
Quindio
Coffee zone and wax palms.
6
Guatape
Antioquia
Colourful town and El Penol rock.
7
Ciudad Perdida
Magdalena
The Lost City jungle trek.
8
San Andres
San Andres and Providencia
Sea-of-seven-colours island.
9
Cali
Valle del Cauca
The world's salsa capital.
10
Villa de Leyva
Boyaca
Vast colonial cobbled plaza.
11
Palomino
La Guajira
River-tubing beach village.
12
San Gil
Santander
Adventure-sports capital.
13
Barichara
Santander
Prettiest colonial stone town.
- 14
Tatacoa Desert
Huila
Red-and-grey badlands, stars.
Backpacking routes through Colombia
Real trips through Colombia, drawn on maps by the people who took them.
Caribbean Colombia: Cartagena, Minca, Tayrona and the Hammocks of Palomino
Colombia's Caribbean coast route from Cartagena to Palomino via Minca and Tayrona National Park — jungle hostels, park entry costs, buses and best months.
Coffee, Wax Palms and Cable Cars: Bogotá to Medellín Through the Eje Cafetero
Backpacking Colombia's Andes: Bogotá to Salento and the Cocora Valley, coffee farm stays, then Medellín and Guatapé — night buses, costs and timing.
Been backpacking in Colombia?
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