Getaways from Medellín
One to three hours from Medellín there are towns with colorful balconies, crystal-clear rivers and mountains to hike. If you have a free day, get out of the city: it’s what we do when we want to rest. Here are the getaways we recommend most, from the closest to the farthest.
1Tours$$$$$All dayGuatapé and the Piedra del Peñol
A day trip from Medellín: climb the 740 steps of the Piedra del Peñol and walk around Guatapé, the town of colorful zócalos.
2Nature$$$$$All daySanta Fe de Antioquia
Hot-weather colonial town one to two hours from Medellín: cobblestone streets, white churches and the Puente de Occidente over the Cauca River.
3Must-seeFree0 to 2 hoursPuente de Occidente
A 291-meter suspension bridge over the Cauca River, finished in 1895 by José María Villa, 10 minutes by mototaxi from the center of Santa Fe de Antioquia.
4Nature$$$$$All dayJardín (Antioquia)
Coffee town in southwestern Antioquia, 3 to 4 hours from Medellín: houses with colorful balconies, a neo-Gothic basilica, the garrucha and hikes to waterfalls.
5ActivitiesAll dayJericó (Antioquia)
Heritage town in southwestern Antioquia, home of Madre Laura and the carriel: colorful houses, churches, museums and lookouts over the coffee mountains.
6Nature$$$$$All dayCueva del Esplendor
A waterfall that pours through a hole in a cave's ceiling, in the La Linda vereda of Jardín. You can only get there on foot with a local guide, through farms and forest.
7NatureAll dayReserva Natural Cañón del Río Claro
Marble canyon with a clear-water river in the Magdalena Medio: gentle rafting, an oilbird cave and swimming holes, about 3 hours from Medellín.
8Nature$$$$$All dayParque Arví
A 1,761-hectare forest reserve in northeastern Medellín, with more than 50 km of trails. You go up by Metrocable; bring a warm layer.
9NatureOver 4 hoursParque Ecológico Piedras Blancas
Forest and lake park in Santa Elena, next to Arví: rowboats, trails, a butterfly house and an insect museum. Run by Comfenalco.
10Tours$$$$$2 to 4 hoursSilletero Flower Farms in Santa Elena
Flower farms in Santa Elena where silletero families show their gardens, how they build a silleta and the history of the parade.
11Tours$$$$$2 to 4 hoursParagliding in San Félix
Tandem paragliding flight over the northern Aburrá Valley, with a pilot, from the mountains of San Félix in Bello.
