Colourful colonial architecture, Cartegena
Colombia 6 – 18 February 2018
Tour available
This journey explores the best of this fascinating country, travelling from Andean peaks to tropical Caribbean coastlines. Visit the mountain capital of Bogotá with its excellent Gold Museum, continue through fertile valleys and delightful coffee country and explore vibrant Medellín, Colombia’s second most important city. End in the colonial port of Cartagena, one of South America’s most beautiful towns.
Tour Itinerary (Draft)
Day 1 Fly overnight from London Heathrow to Bogotá.
Day 2 Early morning arrival in Bogotá and transfer to Four Points by Sheraton hotel for two nights. Lunch at Las Margaritas restaurant, located in Chapinero neighbourhood, where you’ll try one of the most typical lunches of Bogotá, Ajiaco soup, and get to know how to prepare the traditional snack called empanadas. Then, a tour around one of the gourmet area of the city, Usaquén, that used to be a small village far away from Bogotá where you could get by train, and today it is an iconic spot of restaurants still conserving its original architecture and structure of a main square of a village that it was. Rest of day at leisure after a long flight! (B,L)
Day 3 City tour includes the historical centre (La Candelaria) and the Botero and Gold museums. Visit the historic downtown of Bogotá with its magnificent churches, the government palace and the “Plaza Bolivar.” You cannot miss visiting the famous and unique gold museum “Museo del Oro” as well as the museum of Botero where you can marvel at the many great works of this famous Colombian artist. Later we take a cable car up to the top of Monserrate, where you can enjoy a breath-taking view of the bustling metropolis of Bogotá. To end the day, dinner will be taken at Andres D.C restaurant, one of the most famous places where you can enjoy great food as well as the Colombian rumba! (B,D)
Day 4 Drive via Zipaquira and the Salt Cathedral to Villa de Leyva for overnight at Posada de San Antonio. Walking tour with visit to the Fossil Museum. We head to the beautiful colonial town Villa de Leyva which is about 4 hours from Bogotá. During the journey we stop at Zipaquirá, the former centre of salt production of the Muisca Indians. Here we will find one of Latin America’s wonders: a gigantic cathedral built inside a salt mine – the Salt Cathedral of Zipaquira.In the afternoon we visit the charming colonial town of Villa De Leyva and include its interesting fossil museum (B,D)
Day 5 Return to Bogota. Flight to Pereira for two nights at a traditional Hacienda We journey back to Bogota pausing at the Convento del Santo Ecce Homo founded by the Dominican fathers in 1620 San Jose. In the afternoon we take a short flight to Pereira our base for the next two nights to explore Colombia’s coffee region and unique landscapes of the Cocora Valley (B,D)
Day 6 Visit Cocora Valley and Salento Located in the central Andean mountains, the Cocora Valley is the ideal location to view the wax palm tree; Colombia’s national tree that grows to a height of 70 m. Hopefully we will see the hummingbird and perhaps the endangered yellow-eared parrot. We continue to Salento, with its colourful houses dating back to colonial times before returning to our haciendsa for dinner. (B,D)
Day 7 Visit a coffee producing farm and enjoy a tasting. Drive to Medellín This morning we visit a local coffee farm to learn about the growing and production of high quaility coffee beans. Later we travel by road to Medellín (journey time approximately 5 hours), stopping at the scenic lookout for views over the Cauca river. Two nights at the 3-star Hotel Poblado Alejandria. (B,D)
Day 8 Drive to Guatapé and explore the Peñol Rock We explore the surrounding areas of Medellin today including Guatapé; a charming little village consisting of colourful
houses with all kinds of decoration consisting of flowers, animals or characters inspired from the Spanish colonial times. La Piedra del Peñol is a huge monolith of 220 meters with fabulous view over Guatapé and the surroundings. Later we take a short cruise on the nearby reservoir created for a hydro-electric dam. (B,D)
Day 9 Tour of Medellín. Fly to Cartagena We have a full-day city tour, including the curved sculptures by local artist Fernando Botero and the gigantic outdoor escalators. We take a cable car to the Arvi Park Reserve for a nature walk and learn about the cultural and social transformation projects of the city in the district of Santo Domingo. Later we fly to Cartegena for three nights at the 3-star Hotel Don Pedro de Heredia. (B,D)
Day 10 Walking tour of Cartagena’s colonial district. Today we can enjoy strolling through charming, romantic alleys and admire impressive colonial buildings as well as the city wall and the castle of San Felipe de Barajas, which was built during Spanish colonial times. Cartagena de Indias is an impressive city that holds the secrets of its history in its walls, its buildings and its narrow cobblestone streets. During our tour we will visit the church and the monastery of San Pedro Claver, the Inquisition Palace, the GoldMuseum of Zenú, the cathedral, the church of Santo Domingo, and the barricade of Santo Domingo, Santiago and San Francisco Javier as well as other famous places. (B,D)
Day 11 Morning tour of Cartegena. Afternoon at leisure During our city tour this morning we will visit two monuments which are of great historical value outside the old city. San Felipe de Barajas is a fortress built in order to defend the city. The monastery and the church of La Candelaria on the hill de La Popa are outstanding examples of religious and colonial architecture. From here we will enjoy an amazing view. In the afternoon we can explore the exquisite streets and squares of this charming colonial city on your own. In the evening, the farewell dinner will take place at one of the most traditional restaurants of the city by the bay.(B,D)
Day 12/13 Fly to Bogotá for connecting flight to UK. (B)We transfer to the airport for a flight to Bogotá and connecting flight to London, arriving the following day. (B)
