Are you willing to exercise your calf muscles to get a view that Colombia claims to be the best in the world?
Do you like to walk on cobblestone streets passing by pastel colored houses in a small town?
If you like the idea of doing both in one day, then visiting Guatape from Medellin is a perfect day excursion for you.
Guatape lies about 80 km to the east of Medellin. While there are plenty of things to do in Medellin, this day trip to the small town of Guatape can be a welcome break from your busy city holiday activities in Medellin.
If you have the luxury of time, you can spend a night or two or five in Guatape to enjoy the laidback town. If not, a day trip is also perfectly fine and that is what we did.
So, to help you plan your own trip, in this blog post, we are going to share every detail about visiting Guatape from Medellin on a day trip.
Guatape and El Peñón Rock: A Quick Overview
Highlights of the Day:
✅ Climbing ~700 steps to get to the top of El Peñón Rock
✅ Boat tour on Guatape Reservoir
✅ Exploring the colorful town of Guatape and its wall art
How to Get There:
🚌 Option 1: Uber > Metro > Bus from Terminal Norte del Medellin
🚐 Option 2: Book this guided tour that includes transportation, breakfast, lunch and boat tour.
🚁 Option 3: Book this luxury tour that includes helicopter ride, boat ride and hotel pick and drop in Medellin
Visiting Guatape: Self-Guided vs. Guided Tour
Many tour providers offer organized day tours to Piedra del Peñol and Guatape from Medellin. We chose to visit Guatape on our own and were happy with our choice, but this guided Guatape tour also seems to be great choice.
If you are wondering whether to go for a guided tour of Guatape and El Peñón Rock, or to visit on your own, here are the key differences you need to consider between the two options:
| Guided Guatape Tour | Self-Guided Tour of Guatape |
|---|---|
| Fixed schedule | Flexibility of schedule, subject to bus timings |
| Transportation included | Public transport: Uber > Metro > Bus |
| Breakfast and Lunch included | You pick what and where to eat |
| Boat ride included | We didn’t find time for boat tour |
| Guided tour | Explore on your own |
| Group tour with fellow travelers | You and your travel companion(s) only |
🚐 To skip the hassle of logistics planning, book this highly rated Guatape day tour that includes the services of a guide, transportation, breakfast and lunch.
🚌 For the fun of planning and exploring on your own, go for a DIY day trip to Guatape.
How to Get to Guatape from Medellin
The key component of a DIY Guatape day tour is planning the commute from Medellin. We relied on Medellin’s public transport system for this. You can do the same following these steps.
Step 1: Get to the Bus Terminal, Terminal Norte
- Head to the nearest blue line metro station from your hotel/hostel, on foot or by Uber, depending on where you are staying in Medellin
- Purchase tickets, or use your Civica card, and take the metro to Caribe station in the north of the city.
- After alighting from the metro coach, walk on the pedestrian bridge leading to Terminal Norte bus station. You will arrive on the first floor of the bus station.
Step 2: Inside Terminal Norte
- Take the escalator to reach the ground floor of Terminal Norte bus station. This is where all the ticketing windows are. There are numerous windows for different companies serving bus routes to destinations across Colombia, primarily to the north and the east of Medellin.
- To purchase bus tickets for Guatape, proceed towards either of the two:
- Counter number 14 for bus company Sotrasanvicente & Guatape La Piedra (we used this one)
- Counter number 9 for bus company Sotrapeñol
- Stand in the queue and purchase your ticket to Guatape. You will be given printed tickets with clearly marked boarding gate number, departure time and seat number.
- Board the bus on time and enjoy the 2 hour long ride.
This may sound like a lot of steps to follow amidst an ocean of people in an unknown city. But trust me, there is no need to get overwhelmed. It is fairly easy and safe to navigate through these steps, particularly if you know in advance where to go and for what.
Planning Tip: Before setting foot in the main town of Guatape, make a stop at El Peñón de Guatape.
Inform the bus driver in advance so that you can be notified when it is time to get off the bus for your first stop on your Guatape day tour.
Medellin to Guatape Bus Timings and Ticket Prices
Sotrasanvicente & Guatape La Piedra:
- Ticket price:
- to Guatape: 22000 COP
- Timings: 5:00 am to 8:00 pm
Sotrapeñol:
- Ticket prices:
- to Guatape: 20000 COP
- to Peñol: 16000 COP
- Timings: 5:00 am to 8:00 pm, departing every 30 minutes.
For updated schedule and pricing for bus to Guatape, check this page on the Medellin Bus Terminal website.
🚐 If you do not wish to plan and do all this public transport navigation on your own, book this guided tour.
First stop: El Peñón de Guatape | La Piedra del Peñol
A Little Backstory
A few years ago, a friend of ours sent us a message saying he was inviting us to the housewarming party at his new residence. The message said we would have to take the stairs in order to attend his housewarming party as there were no elevators. His message also included a link for a photo of the party location.
Excited to see the photo of our friend’s new residence, we clicked on the link. A photo appeared as promised on the text message. But it was not of any house or apartment. It was a tall rock with a zigzag flight of stairs attached to it.
Of course, the message from our friend was a prank.
But we were curious to know if this place really existed and if yes, where.
So, years later, after moving to another part of the world, when we learnt about El Peñón de Guatape, we knew we had to visit this unique place.
What is El Peñón de Guatape?
El Peñón de Guatape, for being one of its kind, may be the star attraction of your Guatape day tour. It is a 200 meters high inselberg. This huge rock hill rises abruptly from a plain platform and looks over the Peñol-Guatape reservoir.
There is a staircase built on one side of this rock. You can climb up a flight of 740 stairs to reach the top of this rock.
Fun Fact: The neighboring towns of Guatape and Peñol both claim this rock to be theirs. That is why this monadnock is known by two different names: El Peñón de Guatape, meaning ‘The Rock of Guatape’ and La Piedra del Peñol, meaning ‘The Stone of El Peñol’.
How to Get to El Peñón de Guatape from the Bus Stop?
The Guatape-bound bus from Medellin drops you on the main road off the road leading towards El Peñón de Guatape. As you disembark from the bus, some men will come walking towards you offering either a horse ride or a tuktuk ride till the entrance of the El Peñón.
You need not avail any of this.
By principal, we do not ride animals. So the horse ride was not even an option for us. But we made the mistake of saying yes to a tuktuk driver. It was a complete waste of money. Learn from our mistake.
Say no to the horse rides and the tuktuk rides. Just walk for a few minutes on the road towards the rock. It is a straight road with no chances of getting lost. This is also a good warm up for the exercise ahead.
Tickets Booking
El Peñón de Guatape ticket booking window is at the base of the rock. Although there were a lot of people on the day of our travel, the ticketing line was not very long.
Purchase your tickets for 20000 COP each (roughly 5 USD) and get ready for the hike. Remember to bring water.
Climb ~700 Steps
Begin the climb of ~700 steps. After each flight of stairs, there is a resting platform where you can unwind for a bit and enjoy the views. The higher you ascend, the more bird’s eye view you get of the lake.
The ascent and the descent are designated in two parallel stairways. Hence the paths do not get crowded although El Peñón de Guatape is quite touristy.
The steps are marked with hand painted numbers but we noticed a few skips in the numbering. According to the marked numbers, there were more than 700 steps when we visited. The official website also states 740 stairs.
But our count stopped in the 600s. Wikipedia lists 649. So, when you visit Guatape and climb up El Peñón de Guatapé, count the steps and let us know your number.
Appreciate the Views from the Top
At the summit of the rock, there are three levels of viewing platforms. Move around and enjoy the views from every corner.
On most sides, you will see the large expanse of the Peñol-Guatape lake, with small green islands protruding from the blue waters.
Amidst the crowd of tourists, here you can still find your moment of calm as you keep gazing at the horizon of blue and green.
Just Chill
You have completed the workout. You have rewarded yourself with the views. Now what? Since your legs have worked so much for you, give them some rest and just chill on the top platform of the rock.
Please bear in mind that La Piedra del Peñol is very touristy, popular among international visitors as well as Colombians.
So, the top of the rock is like a mini feria with different vendors selling snacks, beverages and ice-creams.
We got ourselves a couple of Mango Micheladas to quench our thirst. For the unacquainted, Michelada is a beer based spicy cocktail that originated in Mexico. With a slice of raw mango topping each of our cups of Mango Micheladas, we enjoyed the views for a bit more.
Before starting to descend the stairs, we also treated ourselves with choco bar ice-creams.
There are volunteers at the top platform of the rock who ensure that you finish your food or beverage before taking the stairs. This is to keep the long and un-monitored staircase trash free.
What Else?
Souvenir Shop: There is a souvenir shop at the top, at the upper end of the staircase. Pick up some magnets and trinkets if you wish to take home some souvenirs.
Boat Ride: After you come down from the rock, you can also take a boat ride on the Guatape Reservoir. On our self-guided visit, we could not fit the time for this, but if you go for the guided tour, the boat ride is already included.
Second stop: Guatape town
Colorful Town of Guatape
The small town of Guatape lies by the Peñol-Guatape reservoir. Once a town of farming and mining, the development of hydroelectric project has now made it one of the main electricity production centers of Colombia. This development has largely uplifted the socio-economic status of the people of Guatape over a period of time.
⏳ However, the town still looks lost in time with its cobblestone streets, colorful houses and a laid back atmosphere.
All houses and shops have their walls adorned with zocalos. Zocalos are different designs and colors applied on the lower part of the exterior walls of a house. These zocalos on the Guatape houses and shops are said to depict images of culture, commerce or beliefs.
How to Get to Guatape Town from Piedra del Peñol?
After your visit to the El Peñón de Guatape, walk back to the main road and take a tuktuk to the Guatape town. It is a short 10 minutes ride.
What to Do in Guatape?
Ticket Booking
The first thing you need to do in Guatape is to purchase your return bus ticket, if you wish to return to Medellin on the same day. The tuktuk will drop you near the Parque Guatape. Check out the map of the town and plan your course of action.
Explore on Foot
The best thing to do in Guatape is to walk. Explore the town on foot and absorb the lively vibes of this pretty town of pastels.
These are some of the prominent places to check out in the town of Guatape:
Parque Guatape
Parque Guatape is the main plaza of the town. Apart from being the hub of commercial activities like bank, this plaza is also home to the town’s church.
Plazoleta de Los Zócalos
Plazoleta de Los Zócalos is a smaller plaza but looks even more cheerful. A gallery of steps painted in blue, yellow and green characterize this spot. Gatherings of seemingly happy-go-lucky locals seem to blend in with the vivid surroundings.
Eat and Drink
There are plenty of cute restaurants and cafes across the town. Just choose your pick, settle with some delicious dish and chilled beer and watch life go on in this radiant little town.
At the end of our post lunch exploration of the town, we also dropped by a quaint cafe to refill our energies with some chilled beverages.
Luxury Option: Private Tour with Helicopter Ride
If you are celebrating a special occasion, or wish to whisk your partner away on a surprise day from Medellin, consider this private trip to Guatape.
They pick you up from your hotel in Medellin in a private car to go explore the town of Guatape and the rock, El Peñón de Guatapé.
A 6-minute long helicopter ride over the reservoir and a one-hour long sailing in a private boat are part of the tour.
Apart from this, you also get to climb to the top of La Piedra del Peñol and explore the colorful town of Guatape.
At the end of the day, you get dropped backed to your hotel in Medellin.
Check for availability of this Guatape private luxury tour here:
Final Thoughts on Guatape Day Tour from Medellin
We visited Guatape in a day. However, if we had the time, we would definitely consider staying back for a couple of days.
This would have allowed us more time to experience the exuberance of the little town of Guatape and also to partake some other activities like swimming in the lake or visiting some secret waterfalls.
Even then, visiting Guatape from Medellin on a day trip was also quite fulfilling. The whole day felt like a canvas, painted with green and blue in the morning and yellow, pink and orange in the afternoon.
Plan Your Medellin Trip
- Things to Do in Medellin
- Medellin Itinerary
- More than Escobar Tour
- Why Avoid a Pablo Escobar Tour
- Medellin to Jardin
- Things to Do in Jardin
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Being a Latina from Argentina, I must say this article really caught my attention… I love Colombia! There are so many great things to do over there! However, I must admit I’d never heard about this crazy stair hike before, and it looks like something I would definitely love doing! The views from above the Peñón are so beautiful, the reservoir looks unique! And that Michelada, delicious!
Thanks for sharing!
Hola Gabi! Someday we would love to visit Argentina, so many of our bucket list places are in that beautiful country! 🙂 And yes, we loved Colombia too. When it is safe to travel again, we plan to go to Colombia again, to explore the other hidden corners of that amazing country.
This is such a helpful article! I always debate whether to plan an excursion like this on my own or do a preplanned one, but with all of this informationand guidance from your article, I would not feel overwhelmed doing it on my own. Thanks for sharing!
Hi Laurel, glad to know that the article is helpful. Yes, for planning DIY trips, initially it may appear daunting, but we start feeling the fun when we try to plan everything on our own. Not every time do we get everything right at the first go, but that adds to the fun element even more! 😛
I loved Guatape! I’m from Colombia and went a few years ago with my parents (when there wasn’t that much buildings on the reserve nor the bars on the top of the rock) but it has an amazing energy and I’m want to go again but renting a house with some friends to enjoy more this place!
Hi Maria, sounds like you visited Guatape during its more peaceful times. That must have been amazing. I am sure you will enjoy when you visit again with your friends.
This looks so amazing. I have to be honest though, I don’t know if I am up for all of those stairs. I may have to skip that and just take your food and drink recommendations instead 😉
Haha, okay! Yeah, even if you skip the Penol, Guatape is still a cool place to visit, due to its vibrant energy and colorful vibes.
This is such a helpful post! Especially for anyone who has a free day there and needs something to do. Thanks for the idea.