Guatapé & El Peñón

This is a day trip available from Medellín

About

Guatapé is a small and colourful town in Antioquia, about 90kms from Medellín. It is a trading post for the small farms in the area and increasingly a popular destination for tourism. It is particularly noted for its bright and elaborate decorations that adorn its houses. The decorations currently celebrate the bicentenary of the Republic of Colombia.

El Peñón de Guatapé, often mistakenly called El Peñol is a giant monolith reaching a peak of 2135m above sea level. The rock was formed some 70 million years ago. In one of the rock breaks, a stairway of 740 steps has been built to reach the rock’s peak. Once at the peak the visitor is afforded spectacular views across the former valley. The valley was flooded to form a hydro-electric dam and the result is a half natural, half man-made site that has the appearance of islets in a lake with a 500km shoreline.

Tour outline

Our tour includes pick-up from your accommodation in Medellín and private transport to the town of Guatapé via the villages of Las Palmas, Fizebad and Llano Grande. Your guide will take you on a walking tour of Guatapé including the Malecón alongside the Embalse de Guatapé reservoir, Memory Lane, and the Home of the Horseman. You will visit the famous rock known as El Peñón and have the chance to climb the 740 steps.

We say

• Guatapé & El Peñón is one of the must-see tours from Medellín
• A unique site for the geographer within, Colombia depends heavily on hydro-electric generation and this is a great chance to see it in action and to witness for yourself the fascinating landscapes created by this activity.