While staying in Medellin, I wanted to take a day trip to Guatapé – a colorful town east of Medellin. Here’s a guide on our day trip to Guatapé and El Peñol, as well as helpful tips:
How to get to Guatapé from Medellin
There are a few options to get to Guatapé. The most economical way would be to take a bus.
The bus departs from Terminal del Norte in Medellin. You can get to the terminal via taxi/Uber or Metro. If going by Metro, get off at Caribe Station and you’ll be able to walk to Terminal del Norte. Once you’ve arrived, head to counter #9 or 14 on the lower level to buy your ticket. Tickets cost COP 15,000 one way. You can’t buy a round trip ticket while in Medellin. You’ll have to wait until you’re in Guatapé to buy your return ticket. I’d advise buying your return ticket as soon as you arrive in Guatapé. Buses depart from Medellin every 20-30 minutes starting at 6am.
The bus ride takes 1.5-2 hours. This’ll depend on traffic and how many stops the bus takes in between, picking and dropping off folks. The buses reminded me of a smaller version of the ADO buses in Mexico.
The first stop is the base of El Peñol, located next to a gas station. I’d suggest getting off at this stop first, hike El Peñol, then make your way to Guatapé.
El Peñol
Once you get off the bus, you’ll have a small hike up to the main area. This is where you’ll see shops, restaurants and the ticket counter to hike El Peñol. Tickets are COP 18,000. The hike up El Peñol isn’t terrible, but you’ll most likely sweat and run out of breath. Or maybe that was just me? We basically took a break every 100 steps (there are close to 740 in total). The hike up takes no more than 20 minutes.
The El Peñol steps must have been built with me in mind. Anyone who knows me knows I’m terrified of heights. Shockingly, I wasn’t nervous hiking because the walls were high enough to block my view. At the top, you’ll see a couple of stores and vendors selling food, drinks and souvenirs. Making your way down is even better than going up. Your view is basically obstructed from the walls the entire time you’re going down. Coming from someone whose fear of heights can be paralyzing, this wasn’t a bad hike at all.
Once you’ve made it back down El Peñol, you’ll see a bunch of tuk-tuks waiting to take folks to the town center of Guatapé. The 10-minute tuk-tuk ride into town costs COP 2,500 per person. I shared a tuk-tuk with a woman who was solo traveling from Canada.
Guatapé
The tuk-tuk will most likely drop you off in front of the bus ticket counter. I bought our tickets back to Medellin right on the spot so I didn’t have to worry. You can see all the times the buses return to Medellin at the counter.
After grabbing my return tickets, I explored the area. Guatapé is so beautiful, it actually reminded me of Valladolid in Mexico. It’s a small town with colorful buildings and a church in the center square. The people were so friendly and everything seemed to move slowly, which I loved.
For lunch, I ate at Restaurante Bar Kennedy, which was so good and cheap! I ordered tilapia frita (fried tilapia), which came with fries and a salad. Also got a limonada de coco, a traditional Colombian drink, (essentially a coconut and “lime”ade smoothie) which was LIFE! My meal was less than COP 15,000, so I basically spent less than $10 USD 😲.
After eating and strolling around the town, I got on the bus to head back to Medellin.
Guatapé + El Peñol day trip tips
- Head to Guatapé during the weekday and early in the morning. I got on the 7:30am bus to Guatapé on a Monday, and arrived at El Peñol around 9:30am. Most of the folks on the bus looked like they were heading to work, or maybe school? So only a couple of us got off the bus at El Peñol. It was empty around the ticket counter area, and at the top of El Peñol. When we got to Guatapé, it was also very quiet in town.
- Avoid eating or buying anything around El Peñol. The prices here are going to be much higher than waiting until you go into town.
- Bring water. Going back to the point above, prices are higher once you’re at El Peñol. This includes water, so bring your own for your day trip.
- Wear comfortable, breezy clothing. I was told that El Peñol is chillier than Medellin, even the weather forecast said cooler temperatures. I feel like this is all a lie 😅 I was pretty much sweating majority of the trip. Probably because I was wearing long pants that were form-fitting. The sun was also out when we went, so it intensified the heat when hiking.
- Your bus ticket to, and from, Medellin will have a seat number. Make sure to sit at that assigned seat number.
- There aren’t any electrical plus on the bus, so make sure to bring a portable charger.
- Don’t be shocked to see people standing on the bus. Also, local artists do get on the bus to perform a song and ask for any tips. Much like NYC subway performers.
