I spent three great weeks in Colombia in December/January 06. Here are a few tips for other travellers going that way. It´s a lovely country and well worth the effort.
Travel was very easy, most towns have modern bus stations and lots of competition on routes which kept prices low. There was no mention of hold ups or roads being unsafe, although I did not travel at night, but then I wouldn’t anywhere in Central/South America. I was stopped at a police checkpoint only once. In some places you will see soldiers around, at the sides of the road etc, but I never saw anything that gave me cause for anxiety. The main danger, as it is almost every where in this region is reckless driving.
The guidebooks say that middle class Colombians fly everywhere! I went to places that attracted a lot of Colombian tourists as it was during the festival season, and people from Bogata don’t seem to have a problem driving around their own country. I would say that Colombia is safer for tourists than many of the surrounding countries, as there is a lot of general security in places like bus station and tourists are such a novelty that thieves don’t target them particularly.
One of the great things about Colombia is that people are genuinely friendly and interested to know where you are from, as they see so few visitors. Prices are also very cheap and the quality high, you will enjoy it here.
I flew into Medellin, not a lot to see there but it’s a good gateway. Lots of hostels most of which have opened over the last year to meet demand. They include ‘Black Sheep Hostel’, ‘Case Jerusalem’ and ‘Case Kiwi’. I stayed at Casa Kiwi, which is in a nice area, very safe. There is a great restaurant close by called ‘Crepes and Waffles’, good food and good prices. They have branches in Bogata and Cali.
I then took the bus south to Manizales and stayed at a hostel called ‘Mountain House’. Again in a nice area, near the University. I only stayed one night before heading for Salento.
Salento is a lovely colonial town in the coffee region. The place to stay here is a great hostel called ‘The Plantation House’, (no website) which is run by an English guy called Tim who is mine of information on the area. There is a great trek in the Wax Palm valley of Cocora, very beautiful. I also did a three trek up into the mountains here, staying at a Finca in the High Paramo. I’ve written detailed route notes on this trek, so if anyone wants a copy, drop me a line.
From there I went to Cali, which was over a holiday weekend so not much happening. I’m not a party animal so I can’t comment on the nightlife. One thing to do there, especially if you are heading to South America is to visit the Zoo. They have a great collection of Latin American animals in nice surroundings. I stayed at the ‘La Iguana’ hostel which was in a quiet area, with some good places to eat nearby, including ‘crepes and waffles’.
Next I went to Popayan, a lovely colonial town with a university so a really nice buzz, some great cafes to sit and hang out. There is no hostel as such here but lots of cheap places, I went up market and had a lovely room next to the Central Plaza for $26. I used it as a base to visit the statues at San Agustin. One of the books (Rough Guide) says that the road is difficult and dangerous. This is not true. The trip is a hard six hours because the road is in such bad condition and goes over a mountain range. San Agustin is a very laid back place and worth a few days, although you can see most of the statues in a day if you push it. Lovely countryside all around.
From Popayan, I went south to Ecuador breaking the journey at Pasto, where I stayed at the ‘Koala’ hostel. This trip is stunning scenery all the way, from Popayan to Pasto sit on the right of the bus to see the views, from Pasto to Ipiales (on the border) sit on the left.
Don’t let the out of date scaremongering in the guide books put you off going to Colombia. I would certainly go back.
