Colombia Part 16 - Ziplining, hiking, blow jumping and jet skiing at the lagunas of Guatapé (Photos + Videos)

After spending a while in the "big city of Medellin" Kathi and I decided that it was time for some adventure and fun activities!! - So we left the city and took the bus to Guatapé.

Direct buses from Medellín leave from the Terminal del Norte passing through El Peñol and the entrance to La Piedra on the way to Guatapé. Many people visit it on a day trip because its only two hours away from Medellin, but I would recommend to go with time.

The buses leave every hour starting at 6am and the average fare is between 12 000 (La Piedra) and 13 000 COP (Guatapé). The last bus from Medellín to Guatapé leaves at 7:00pm. The last bus from Guatapé to Medellín leaves at 6:30pm (7:45pm on Sundays and Holiday Mondays).

On our way to the city we already passed "la roca", which is like the trade mark of the area and also the most visited site. (more about that later)

Guatapé is a little colonial town at the Antioquia Department of Colombia. It only has about 5000 inhabitants and was recently discovered for tourism.

It is located in the outskirts of Medellín. This quaint town is the gathering place for "Las Vegas", or the small farms of the area. It is also a growing area of recreation for citizens of Medellín, and aims to be a tourist destination for foreign travellers. -> Not a long time ago resorts, several restaurants,and hostals opened along the lake.

Each building has tiles along the facade's lower walls in bright colors and dimensioned images. Many of the tiles are tied to the products sold by the shops, or the beliefs of the residents. Others are cultural images of the farming heritage of the community.

Getting to the city center we walked around and stopped at the Plaza Mayor to get some food and enjoy the view of the colonial buildings and the Church of Lady Carmen), before we got to the hostel to chill out a bit.

Here we learned a bit about the history of the city:

Before Iberian conquistadors reached the area in the 16th century, this territory was inhabited by indigenous ethnic groups, some controlled by a cacique named Guatape.

In his honor, the town was named after him. It comes from the Quechua language, related to "stones and water". Another name that the town had had in the past is "La Ceja de Guatapé".

In 1714, the indigenous people under Guatapé of this region were grouped into a shelter known as "San Antonio de Remolinos Peñol". Traces of their existence come from clay urns found in the town of Alto Verde, and several archaeological sites not yet studied in the villages of La Peña, La Piedra, El Roble and El Rosario.

Guatapé was founded 4 October 1811, by the Spaniard Don Francisco Giraldo y Jimenez. It was declared a municipality in September 1867.

Empresas Públicas de Medellín built a large hydroelectric complex here in the 1970s. This megaproject produced large impacts on social, economic, political, environmental and cultural development in the locality. With the construction of this dam, Guatapé became one of the most important electric production centers in the country.

We arrived at the hostel to hang out a bit on our first day so we sould be totally ready for the activities on Saturday.

As we already had heard, on weekends, the waterfront malecón (boardwalk) fills up with local vendors selling beautiful Paisa art, food, and souvenirs. Many locals also offer a lot of activities during that time.

We started with the Ziplining over the lake. For that we had to put on a swimming vest and a helmet before Fernando was putting us in the seat, ready to get up the hill and zipline back.

On the way up it was pretty windy and seemed way more far and high as from downstairs.

Getting to the top we had an awesome view over the lake and even could see "la piedra".

One by one we where going back down reaching a speed of 80 km/h in a distance of ca. 680 meters. At the end of the line Fernando put the break and I gently rolled into the cushions :)

The second activity on that day was the blow jump!

So Kathi went on top of a big ballon, that was floating on the water and lied down there waiting for me to jump on the other side of it from 10 meters high, so she would fly and land in the water.

In theory that sounds pretty simple. Normally they also have somebody to jump, so you just have to climb the ballon and fly :D

Unfortunately the jumping guy was sick that day, so I had to jump to make her fly... the trick was to fall on my back so I wouldn´t hurt myself.

When I went up I had to admit that I was a bit scared haha and Kathi didn´t give me a lot of confidence neighter as she was pretty scared too :D

So the first video just shows how we try to do it but can´t.

Anyways, here is the proof that in the end I did jump... but she didn´t fly really high, because I wasn´t heavy enough :D

After that it was my turn to fly :D - Epic fail!!

Of course we also cruised a bit with the Jet Skis through the lagoons, which was a lot of fun because there were several boats passing by producing waves, on which we could jump on ;)

In the afternoon we decided to take a TucTuc to get to "la piedra" and climb the stairs and have the perfect view at the sunset.

The "Peñol Rock" (La piedra del Peñol) that borders the lake is a rock formation, that formed along the Antioquia Rock Base (batolito de antioquia), 70 million years ago. With 2/3 of its height below ground, the exposed vertical face is over 200 meters high and visible from throughout the surrounding countryside.

It is almost a must to visit this enormous rock that towers over the surrounding area. The official name of it is El Peñol de Guatapé, but it is more commonly referred to as La Piedra (The Stone).

Over 650 stairs have been built into the side of this enormous geological marvel, allowing safe access to the top, where a viewpoint offers spectacular views of the lake and surrounding areas, as well as souvenirs and snacks. Entrance fee to the La Piedra is 18000 COP.

Of course we also went up the stairs and got happy but exhausted to the top!

This site was not really crowded, so we could enjoy the beautiful view over the lagoon for some time.

The sunset was ok, but unfortunately we just saw half of it as later it started to rain and we had to go down quickly.

For me Guatapé is definitely worth a visit eventhough it is small and still hardly developed for tourism. The nature is very unique and the activities are fun! (and cheap!)

I was really sad that we had to leave already after two days because there where so many activities left that I would have loved to try out like: Scenic boat tours, Kayaking, Fishing, Trips to hidden waterfalls and swimming holes, Mountain and Road Biking, Horseback Riding and Rock Climbing.

As always I hope you have enjoyed my blog and I am grateful for every Upvote, Resteem and Comment as you are supporting my travels with it!

Cheers,
Liz

Colombia Part 1: Bogota D.C. - A city full of history and culture!

Colombia Part 2: Guatavita Lagoon, The Muisca Civilisation and The Legend of "El Dorado"

Colombia Part 3 - The Salt Cathedral of Zipaquirá (Fotos + Video)

Colombia Part 4 - Adventure time at the Natural Pools of Guejar River in the Jungle (Photos + Videos)

Colombia Part 5 - Flying to Macarena National Park being a Copilot

Colombia Part 6 - The Rainbow River at Macarena National Park

Colombia Part 7 - Riding Motor Bike and Chilling in the Pools of the Tatacoa Desert

Colombia Part 8 - Enjoying civilization in Cali!

Colombia Part 9 - Living with the president of the orchids club,helping her out at the green house

Colombia Part 10 - Hiking and Feeding Hummingbirds in the middle of the impressive Flora of Montanitas

Colombia Part 11 - Visiting the typical colonial city of Salento

Colombia Part 12 - Learning how to make coffee at a real coffee farm in Salento

Colombia Part 13 - Horseback riding to a waterfall and hiking at Cocora Valley

Colombia Part 14 - Swimming at the hot springs of Santa Rosa de Cabal

Colombia Part 15 - Doing an adventurous Graffiti Tour through the Favelas of Medellin at Commune 13