Colombia’s Top 5 Tourist Attractions

photo from Flickr by: phoosh

South America has long been a firm favourite with backpackers on a shoestring budget, but Colombia was often an overlooked hidden gem, avoided due to fears for personal safety, but with so very much to offer.

In recent years safety has improved vastly and the cost of living is still very low, making it the ideal place to help a limited budget stretch that little bit further.

Whatever you’re after, Colombia has something to offer; from Caribbean beaches with white sand and crystal clear turquoise water (perfect for scuba diving), to modern metropolitan cities with fine dining, retail giants and chic coffee shops, and even a large share of the Amazon Rainforest, you could literally spend months exploring this amazing country.

To help you make the most of your time in Colombia should you decide to add it to your itinerary, here are my top 5 recommended places to visit:

Cartagena

The perfect tourist destination, combining all of the advantages of a modern city with the beautiful old walled city and with stunning beaches on tap, you’ll easily fall in love with Cartagena.

The historic centre of Cartagena is well worth a visit (especially at night when it’s lit up) and is labelled as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Ciudad Perdida

If you fancy yourself as an Indiana Jones style adventurer, then why not take a trip to the Lost City (Ciudad Perdida).  It’ll take you a 5-6 day trek to get there and it’s definitely not for the fainthearted, but what awaits you is definitely worth the effort!

During the 20km trek you’ll come across indigenous villages, cross rivers and see some spectacular sights, culminating in arriving at the truly awe-inspiring Lost City.

Medellin

Referred to by many as the city of eternal spring (due to its year round warm temperatures which rarely drop below 15°C) and also labelled as one of the most beautiful cities in South America, there’s certainly plenty to see and do there.

As with Cartagena, you’ll find a modern bustling city with all of the conveniences you’d expect, whilst also retaining its unique heritage and beauty.

The city became famous in the 1980′s when the exploits of drug baron, Pablo Escobar appeared in world news, but this has long since been forgotten and safety has really improved in recent years.

Amazon Rainforest

The Amazon Rainforest covers approximately 1 billion acres and encompasses areas in Colombia, Brazil, Venezuela, Ecuador and Peru.  Producing around 20% of the World’s oxygen and also containing half the world’s animal, plant and insect species.

No Trip to Colombia should be complete without venturing into this truly awesome place, but do make sure you take a guided tour as it’s easy to get lost.  If you head to Leticia (the capital of the Amazonas region in Colombia), you’ll find a number of jungle lodges to stay in and also a variety of tours and excursions to give you a true taste of the Rainforest in all its spectacular glory.

The driest time of year is between July and August so try to make sure your trip coincides with this period.

Mompox (Mompós)

Another of UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites due to the well preserved colonial architecture to be found there.  Mompox really is the town that time forgot; located on an island in the middle of the Magdalena River and with no bridge across, it’ll take some effort to reach but you’ll find its well worth the effort.

As with most of Colombia, you’ll find that the locals are friendly and always willing to help in any way that they can.

Written by Chris Rowlands of the Money Supermarket team.Providing great articles AND damn good travel insurance!

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Aaron Bradford has written 62 articles. Aaron is the leader, mentor and chief geek of the Happytime team. He put together this crack team of travel writers known by codename “The Firm“. Twitter: @b4ubackpack | Google profile | More articles by Aaron