TIME VISITED: November 2017 BUSY? NO
WEATHER: Mid 70s 🌤 REASON FOR VISIT: El Peñol
WHERE TO STAY: Galeria Guatape Hostel EXPENSIVE?: $
GETTING THERE
You can get your bus from Medellin to Guatape very easily at Terminal Del Norte at either counter 9 or 14. It only costs 12,500 COP ($4 USD) and the buses leave every 30 minutes. The bus will even drop you off just 100 meters from your hostel if you stay at the same one that we did!
A lot of people head to Guatape for a day trip from Medellin but we wanted to relax a bit in this little town we heard such great things about so we went for two nights. We heard most people head to Guatape after partying in Medellin to nurse their hangover but we did quite the opposite, we weren’t in the partying mood in Medellin but once we arrived in Guatape that all changed.
When we arrived at our Galeria Guatape Hostel were greeted with this beautiful view of El Penol (the rock we would be walking up the next morning-the main attraction in Guatape)
Our room wasn’t ready for a few hours so we decided to take a taxi in to town- my eyes lit up when Lotti saw a sign inside the hostel and then informed me we’d be taking a Tuk Tuk in to town! I have heard so many things about them and seen pictures but never been in one myself. For 8000-10,000 COP or about $2 USD the Tuk Tuk picked us at the hostel and drove us the 10 minutes in to town.
Since this is a practical blog I must tell you there are some colorful Tuk Tuks like this in Guatape, but 90% of them look like this. 
We walked around the small town of Guatape and were welcomed with colorful doors and buildings- I love Colombia for this reason but Guatape took it to a whole new level, pretty much every building was colorful! What is unique about the buildings in Guatape is they each have their own unique “zócalos”(the different base boards) you can see some example in the next few pictures.
There is a main square in Guatape but we were told that the food and shops are overpriced, so unless you need free Wi-fi I would just walk through it to see it and then venture through some side streets to find some local eats! After walking around for about 30 minutes we stumbled across this small square, if you get lucky you might get to witness a Colombian music video in the making, it was quite entertaining.
After walking around the town for about an hour we built up an appetite and decided to try the restaurant called “Donde Sam” or “Kushbu by Sam” (name change recently) we had read amazing reviews and Indian food sounded incredible. When we ordered we saw they also had Sangria and we thought why not, when I ordered it our servers asked grande?! And once again we thought why not! She gave me 😳 and 👍 at the same time. They brought out a potato soup on the house and then our veggie Paneer dish and garlic naan. This turned out to be Lotti’s favorite Indian food EVER and my second. How does this happen in Colombia, I don’t know but we were so in love.
So this Sangria…. turns out four people typically split the pitcher and it has seven different kinds of alcohol in it- that explained her face when we ordered it and we soon started to feel all seven. When we left the owner even said to come back tomorrow and he would pay for our drinks. As you can imagine our Tuk Tuk ride back to the hostel was even more enjoyable. When we arrived to our hostel the clouds had cleared and the view was even more beautiful. I thought when I took this that maybe it was just the sangria but looking at them now it really was just more beautiful. 
WHERE TO STAY
You definitely book this for the view and a laid back lifestyle. The accommodation itself is extremely basic and overall has a hippie vibe. Everyone is chill, in no rush and I wouldn’t say it was the cleanest hostel I have ever stayed in, but still the view and people running it would make me come back. But keep this in mind if you are looking for a higher-end hostel. Another bonus was for $3 you could rent a kayak right off the dock for an hour, mine as well kayak through a giant chain of lakes with your best friend when your drunk right? Once again awesome option, but don’t expect the the nicest kayak in the world.
Don’t mind my purple sangria lips and teeth. 
Probably the best picture we took all day….
The stages of drunk kayaking…
Well after that exhausting day of doing pretty much nothing we went to bed super early, we needed to wake up early to walk to El Peñol and then walk the 740 steps to the top!
EL PENOL
Tip for this…the first entrance starts at 8 AM we thought we were clever and got there at 7 and would be the first ones up….instead we waited an hour and watched all the shops and restaurants open up, and we still were the only ones up there for at least an hour. This area tends to get busy around 10 AM. You’ll read this a lot but for Colombian standards the entrance is a bit steep (18,000 COP) still only $6 USD so you absolutely have to do it, the view is amazing. Also most mornings in Colombia during rainy season start sunny and then the clouds start to move in in the afternoon. Guatape kind of did it’s own thing and went back and forth between blue skies and clouds all day so I couldn’t tell you the best time to go up.
The 740 step journey is a bit tough but well maintained and the steps are marked about every 25 steps so you know how much further you have to go. Like I said, so worth it!
Even the way down has some cool peekaboo views.
Steps down are a bit steep so careful with your knees and take your time!
WHERE TO EAT BREAKFAST AFTER
There are restaurants and shops at the bottom but they are extremely over-priced so we took a Tuk Tuk from the starting point down to the town of Guatape. We used the free Wi-fi in the town square and here we read about a little place called Guatacrep-a little Crêpery with French owners and great breakfast! Not only were the crepes good but they had an awesome breakfast special- one savory crepe, one sweet crepe and a fresh juice for 12,000 COP just $4USD. We loved their vegetarian crepe and our server was awesome.
We went back and relaxed at the hostel for a bit and then I had to get my Thanksgiving feast on after! The weather was great to lay out at our hostel so we did that for a bit and then we headed back in to Donde Sam for an Indian feast. We spoke with the owner even longer this time around and got to hear more about his story. We found out Sam is originally from India but has lived all over the world to learn different styles of cooking- he can speak 9 languages! He is also closing this location come April because he is building a new hotel/restaurant just down the street. If you are ever in Guatape this place seems amazing and it will be done in a few months so absolutely check it out! ( I will update the info here once he sends me his new website)
We pretty much relaxed and ate in Guatape, but there are some awesome hikes to waterfalls as well so definitely ask your hostel if you are interested in them! We will definitely miss waking up to this but so excited to head north to the jungle and beaches, next stop Minca!
Favorite activity or restaurant in Guatape? Comment below!
Interested in traveling to Colombia, check out my other blog posts HERE!
