Luxury Colombian Highlights

Today, we will head out on a half-day visit to Bogota's historical centre, also known as La Candelaria. This historical suburb is of great significance to the country ́ due to its cultural heritage and its stunning Spanish colonial architecture. The city’s main Plaza is the Plaza de Bolivar, where Simon Bolivar's statue is found.  The plaza was originally used for civil and military purposes The Cathedral found on the eastern side of the plaza, is constructed on the same spot where the first-ever church was built in 1539. The Capilla del Sagrario is located just beside the Cathedral and is a great example of religious architecture. It houses valuable pieces of colonial religious art by Gregorio Vasquez de Arce y Ceballos. 

The Capitol, built between 1847 and 1926, shows both renaissance and neoclassical influences with intricately carved stonework and tall columns. The Capitol's central area, known as the Elliptic Hall, is where congress meets and is the actual chamber for the Senate. Around the Plaza de Bolivar are buildings such as the Palacio de Justicia, the Mayor of Bogotá’s offices called the Edificio Liévano, the oldest school in the county called San Bartolome and the Casa de Los Comuneros. We will continue with the Botero Museum, a colonial house exhibiting some of Fernando Botero ́s works of art and in addition, pieces from his own personal collection that includes works by Picasso, Renoir, Dalí Matisse, Monet and Giacometti.  We will then head to the Gold Museum which has a permanent exhibition of some 32,000 pieces of gold, 20,000 stones, ceramics and textiles, belonging to the Quimbaya, Calima, Tayrona, Sinu, Muisca, Tolima, Tumaco and Magdalena civilisations of Colombia. 

Transfer to the airport and flight to Pereira. Arrival, transfer and hotel check-in. 

Half-day visiting the coffee plantations along the steep hills typical of this area. On a secondary pathway view the green carpet of coffee plants that spread out as far as the horizon interrupted only by fincas and heliconia flowers. Here we will travel to the Hacienda San Alberto one of the traditional coffee estates, near the town of Buenavista Quindío. We will enjoy an introductory talk about coffee, its preparation, toasting, the characteristics of quality and the properties that allows for such a variety of coffees in the world. We will continue through the plantations, appreciating the coffee pickers' work and understanding the famous characteristics of Colombian coffee. This land of volcanic terrain along the Central Andean Mountain Range has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Today, we will head out on a visit to the Cocora valley, located in the central mountains of the department of Quindío. This valley forms part of the Parque Nacional de Los Nevados and is ideal for marvelling at the “Quindian wax palm”, the national tree of Colombia. This tree can reach a massive 60 metres high and is the home of a number of bird species, such as the hummingbird and the endangered palm parrot.

We can get to the valley either by hiking or on horseback and we will head into the cloud forest to witness its incredible biodiversity of flora and fauna. On our way back to the hotel, we will make a stop off to visit the tallest wax palm in the world.  We will learn why the indigenous people of the region, worshipped this tree. In the afternoon, we will head to the traditional town of Salento to enjoy a city tour, visiting the Plaza de Bolívar with its colourful balconies, the Calle Real, the handicrafts shops and the Cocora mirador. We will then head to Filandia for the evening, a traditional Colombian town of colonial buildings, the Plaza de Bolivar and a number of coffee shops. This is the perfect place to absorb the traditional atmosphere and perhaps some local spirits before returning to the hotel in Pereira for the evening.

After breakfast, on our way to the city of Medellin, we will visit Finca Romelia, just outside of La Cabaña, to observe their wonderful collection of orchids. The owners, José and Maria, have dedicated their lives to agriculture, collection and the preservation of orchids and other native plant species, for their conservation and preservation. There are more than 6,000 orchids and 832 different plant varieties, as well as a variety of carnivorous plants, bonsais and many different species of wild birds attracted by these plants.

We will walk around the Finca to see the cultivation of avocados and citrus plants and enjoy the native forests of this beautiful part of the coffee region. We will then visit the orchid nursery and farmhouse, where the cultivation process is explained in full. We will also learn more about the Finca’s contribution to preservation projects in the area. We will have a chance to try some of these farm - produced delicacies before we continue on our way to Medellín.

After breakfast, enjoy a half-day tour to visit those places that best represent the social transformation that has taken place in Medellín. The tour will show the symbolic areas of Medellín from the 1980s, when the city was one of the most dangerous in the world, up to today many projects that fostered the city’s change.  

Enjoy an exciting tour through the history and present of Medellin and learn more about the transformation of this fascinating metropolis. 20 years ago, Medellin was one of the most dangerous cities in the world. Back in the early 90s, when the hunt for Pablo Escobar took place, the head of Medellin's drug cartel was at its peak. Thus, the reign of “El Patrón” came to an end. Until the turn of the millennium, the struggles about Escobar's successor continued, but since 2002 Medellin began to change. Intelligent local politicians started to invest heavily in infrastructure and public education. Today the “City of Eternal Spring” is one of the most innovative metropolises in the world. 

Visit the barrio San Javier, which used to be one of the most unsafe suburbs of Medellín Located some 7km from the city centre, it is a clear example of the social transformation that has taken place in the last few years. Arrive here by the metro cable car that joins the northeast area with the city centre, which has been life, changing to many of the inhabitants of Medellín.  Learn more about the city’s transformation after the death of Pablo Escobar and also get to know the innovative transport system in the poorer neighborhoods at firsthand. Explore Medellin’s newest invention: the electric stairways of the district Comuna 13, discover stories about its past by visiting the most important places marked by historical events and see some graffiti that symbolizes a form of expression of the community. Here it is possible to have a beautiful view over the city from the balconies of San Javier.   

Then, go on to La Plazoleta located in the city centre, in an area that fell into decline in the 1980s and today houses 23 sculptures of Fernando Botero, donated by this famous local artist in the year 2000. Since that time, the city has undergone a social and cultural transformation around these works placed in a public space. Back to the hotel. Free afternoon. Overnight stay.

After breakfast, we will leave Medellín, heading towards the town of Guatapé, to visit the enormous rock of Piedra El Peñol. We will pass through the incredible scenery of Antioquia along the way to Guatapé The town has a reservoir created by the Colombian government for a hydro-electric dam. In the middle of the reservoir is where we can find the massive Peñol Rock, thought to be a meteorite due to its size.  There is an optional walk up the 654 steps to view the entire Guatapé region. We will then visit the picturesque village of Guatapé where all of the houses are painted in pastel hues, contrasting with the green valley.  After lunch, we can tour the Guatapé reservoir by boat.

After breakfast, we will head to the Medellin airport for our flight to Cartagena. On arrival, we will be taken to our hotel for the evening.

Today, we will head out on a tour of the city, and appreciating its fabulous views from the Monasterio and Iglesia de La Popa. Constructed in 1606. this church and monastery are located above the city, offering a panoramic view of the city, the coast and port, one of the most important in the Caribbean. We will then head to the San Felipe Fortress, erected in honour of the poet, Don Luis Carlos López, from the city. It was built on San Lázaro hill to defend the city from pirate attacks back in colonial times. Walk around the fortress and learn how the castle was constructed, the engineering feats, the tunnels, underground galleries and passageways. We will then visit the Ciudad Vieja (old city) with the Convent and Church of San Pedro, which was built in the middle of the 27th century We will end the tour with a visit to the handicrafts zone of the Bovedas, a collection of archways built into the city wall of Cartagena and that were used until the end of the 1700s to house weapons and then later as a prison in the 19th century.

Today is a free day to enjoy the sights of Cartagena.

Today is the final day of our Luxury Colombian Highlights tour. We will take you to the hotel for your onward flight home or to your next exciting destination.