This Beautiful Colombian Village Is One of the World’s Most Colorful Spots (And the Surrounding Countryside is Just as Spectacular)
After spending time in the hectic and bustling metropolis of Medellin, Guatapé was a literal breath of fresh air. We anticipated having a nice day in Guatapé, but we ended up loving the little town so much more than we even expected – it was a highlight of our trip to Colombia.
While the town is small and tucked away in the countryside of the Antioquia department of Colombia, Guatapé is well known in Colombia for its large monolithic rock and its colorful buildings.
Those two attractions lived up to the hype, and there are even more fun and interesting things to see and do here. I would say it’s well worth the time and effort to make a day trip (or longer!) out to this pretty little pueblo.
These are some of the most fascinating and beautiful things to see and do in Guatapé.
12 Amazing Things to Do in Guatapé
1. Visit El Piedra del Peñol
The main attraction in Guatapé is actually a natural wonder just outside of town: La Piedra del Peñol, a massive, monolithic rock. This rock is actually the second-largest monolith in South America.
Interestingly, this rock has a lot of names that it is known by: La Piedra del Peñol, just El Peñol or El Peñon, and even sometimes just La Piedra.
Visitors to La Piedra can climb the 675 narrow steps to the top of the rock. I won’t lie, you are definitely going to feel those 675 steps! The steps are really narrow and it can be tricky to pass people. Thankfully, there is a separate staircase for going down, so you’re only dealing with one-way traffic. It’s long but doable, and the reward at the top makes it all worth it!
Unfortunately, this attraction is not handicap-acccessible. The stairs are the only way to access the top.
At the top, there are several viewing spots, souvenir booths, food stands, and bathrooms. The views over the lake are really spectacular, with all the little inlets and curvy coastline and the shape of the lake.
Note the little black tower at the far end of the viewing platform (in the picture below). Inside the tower is a souvenir shop, but you can climb stairs to the roof of the tower for what are honestly the best views over the lake.
- Hours: 8am-6pm. It got busy around 9, and got significantly busier at 10am.
- Cost: 20,000 COP (about 5 USD) – cash only!
2. Explore the Colorful Town of Guatapé
Guatapé is SO. DANG. COLORFUL. We visited a lot of colorful towns and spots in Colombia (like Salento or Cartagena) and honestly, Guatapé takes the cake.
Seriously, when we first walked into Guatapé and saw the veritable explosion of colors, my jaw about hit the ground. Every building was painted in a variety of different hues, with the doors, windows, even the roofs painted in contrasting colors.
But what makes the rainbow buildings of Guatapé particularly unique are the zocalos – the panels on the walls (almost like a “chair rail moulding”) that features different designs and shapes. Sometimes these zocalos were purely ornamental, but sometimes the decorations referred to the type of business inside, or even told a story!
There are some specific attractions and features in the town that you can visit (these are highlighted in the following sections), but a great part of visiting Guatapé is just wandering around the town and seeing what you discover!
3. Parque Principal de Guatapé
The Parque Principal of Guatapé is the main square in the village.
Like the rest of Colombia, often the “parques,” are more of a square than a greenspace, and this holds true for Guatapé. Still, it’s a nice village square, with a fountain in the middle, lots of pretty buildings around it, and bordered by restaurants, cafes, and the village church (next!)
4. Parroquia Nuestra Señora Del Carmen Guatapé Church
This church stands prominently on the Parque Principal of Guatapé. I love how the architecture and striking, contrasting colors really seemed to fit with the theme of the rest of the town!
Also, the inside was really breathtaking. The tiled, mosaic floors in particular were so beautiful and interesting! The intricate tiled floors were a feature of churches that was really unique in Colombia – I haven’t seen floors like that in churches anywhere else.
Other beautiful and interesting features include the wooden ceiling and the ornate, golden alterpiece in front!
5. Plazoleta de Los Zócalos + Umbrella Street
Plazoleta de los Zocalos is a vibrant, chill square in Guatapé. There are a variety of cafes, and takeaway snack shops surrounding the square.
Leading up to the square is Calle del Recuerdo, an umbrella street that is great for a photo-op. You can access this street off of Calle 31.
If you head up the stairs between Plazoleta de los Zocalos and Calle 29, you’ll see some really great examples of Zocalos that tell a story!
6. Callejon Julia Pastusa
This passageway is towards the back of the town and because it’s a pedestrian-only alley, it doesn’t actually show up on Google maps. You shouldn’t miss it though! It has some really happy rainbow stairs and a really interesting zocalos.
If you are standing in front of the church in the main square, you’ll be on Carrera 30. Follow Carrera 30 south and it’ll take you right to the alleyway.
7. Walk Along the Waterfront
As the town sits right on the water, walking the sidewalk along the waterfront is for sure on the beautiful things to do in Guatapé. This particular section in the picture above is the very eastern section of town – it’s a little more quiet and a little more beautiful here with the grass and the palms.
The western section of the waterfront is also very lovely, it’s just busier and more commercial.
8. Take a Picture by the Guatapé Sign
On the northern side of the waterfront walkway, you can find this colorful Guatapé sign, designed for a great photo-op. Yeah, it’ s a little touristy and cheesy, but we saw signs like these all over Colombia, and I can’t deny the background is extremely fun.
9. Viewpoint behind the city
For a great viewpoint of the La Piedra del Peñon rock from the town of Guatapé, head up and behind the town for about 5 minutes until you reach the Mirador Alto de la Virgen. This gated-in mirador (viewpoint) has a shrine and statue for Mary, but also these really great views over the reservoir to the monolith.
It seems that this viewpoint is fairly unknown, as when we went by the town was bustling but the viewpoint only had one other (local) family there.
10. Take a Boat Tour on the Reservoir
As you walk down the waterfront, you’ll see lots of catamaran and cruise ships docked and ready to take passengers out. If you want to do a cruise, I would just walk along until you find one at the right time and the right price for you! Uusally these boat cruises are about 1-2 hours long.
Generally, these boats will take you out on the water, exploring all the little inlets on the reservoir. You may pass by Pablo Escobar’s home (the drug lord who had a vacation home in Guatapé) and, depending on the expedition, you may get to explore islands or even take a dip in the water.
And you will get to see the Piedra del Peñol from the water!
11. Go Kayaking on the Reservoir
Another fun option is to go kayaking on the reservoir! There are several places renting kayaks on the lakefront – just walk down until you find some kayaks out. We rented one double kayak for 20,000 COP (4 USD) for an hour. We didn’t haggle on this price – you probably could haggle and get it for less.
With just an hour, we were able to go out just a little bit on the lake (it really was just a taste). There are a lot of speedboat and cruisers on the lake, so you’ll need to navigate around those waves. It was a calm wind day, so the waves were never very large for us.
If you want to really explore more of the inlets and find islands, you would need several hours to half a day. (Or you could go on a boat cruise).
12. Eat Some Delicious Food
We ate some really delicious food in Guatapé. Here are our recommendations:
Restaurante Dona Pastora
Located between the Parque Principal and the Umbrella Street, this restaurant was little and cozy and had a yummy and inexpensive menu. The almuerzo del dia (the lunch of the day) was a great value, at $3. Get the jugo con leche! (literally “juice with milk” and tastes like a light and fresh milkshake)
Food Trucks by Parque Principal
Along the south side of the Parque Principal is a line up of food stands selling a variety of hot foods to go. We bought this plate of hot potatoes and chorizo, which was absolutely fantastic and my favorite chorizo of the entire trip.
Cinnamon Rolls from Zocarolls
I wouldn’t have thought Colombia would have amazing cinnamon rolls, but Zocarolls knows what they are doing!
This little takeout spot on Plazoleta de Los Zócalos sells the most delicious cinnamon rolls, with several different toppings that you can get. We got ours with softserve vanilla and arequipe – fantastic.
Read More: 34 Traditional Colombian Foods to Eat on Your Trip to Colombia
The Wrap Up
100% without reservation, you need to visit Guatapé during your trip to Colombia. Guatapé is absolutely worth visiting, whether you visit from Medellin for a day trip, or stay overnight for a longer trip.
The El Peñol rock is super cool, the views over the lake are gorgeous, and the city of Guatapé is absolutely breathtaking in its color and vibrancy.
