83 Cool and Unusual Things to Do in Colombia - Atlas Obscura

Unusual Attractions in Colombia

Vista Hermosa, Colombia

Caño Cristales

An explosion of natural color known as "the river that ran away from paradise."

Nariño, Colombia

Las Lajas Sanctuary

A dangling church built over a Colombian gorge.

San Antonio del Tequendama, Colombia

Tequendama Falls Museum

This picturesque mansion has gone from opulent ruin to nature museum.

Guatape, Colombia

Guatapé

The Andean town where every single building is decorated with a brightly colored frieze.

Jardín, Colombia

Cave of Splendor

Enchanting cave with a river crashing through the roof.

Villavieja, Colombia

The Tatacoa Desert

Unparalleled stargazing, one of Colombia's best observatories, and a swimming pool can all be found in the middle of this ancient tropical forest.

Santa Catalina, Colombia

The Volcan de Lodo El Totumo

The caldera of this mini-volcano has been turned into a naturally heated mud bath.

Nemocón, Colombia

Nemocón Salt Mine

Colorful lights and mirror-like brine pools create trippy illusions within the historic mine.

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Cool Places to Eat & Drink in Colombia

Bogotá, Colombia

La Puerta Falsa

This tiny shop has been serving traditional tamales for more than 200 years.

Cartagena, Colombia

KGB Cartagena

In the middle of one of South America's most historic walled cities lies a bar with an enormous collection of Soviet memorabilia.

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Stories About Colombia

Vendor Mónica Adriana Quimbayo has sold herbs and other plants at her stall in Plaza Samper Mendoza since she was 16.

This Bogotá Market Comes Alive Only at Night, Full of Ancient Plant Lore and Astonishing Biodiversity

Farmers and foragers set up at sunset to sell hundreds of species valued in traditional medicine and ritual.

by María Paula Rubiano A.

The Forgotten Female Revolutionaries Behind Latin American Independence

Perhaps fiercest of all was Manuela Sáenz—spy, archivist, prankster, and companion of Simón Bolívar.

Soriano and Beto, one of his two burros, set out into the Magdalena countryside with books for children who live on isolated farmsteads.

Luis Soriano Had a Dream, Two Donkeys, and a Lot of Books

The schoolteacher’s long-running Biblioburro program delivers reading materials to children in Colombia.

by Jordan Salama

November 17, 2021

FARC rebels in their field kitchen during breakfast hours at the 10th Guerrilla Conference, where the peace accord was being ratified by on September 23, 2016.

How to Feed 10,000 Rebel Fighters for 50 Years

Researchers are studying the cooking traditions of the FARC, Colombia's disarmed guerrilla group.

by María Paula Rubiano A.

La Patasola often targets lone men in the wilderness.

La Patasola Is the Vengeful Protector of the Andes

And a scary lesson on humility and respect for the natural world.

by Dan O'Sullivan

October 26, 2020

Colombian glaciologist Jorge L. Ceballos and assistant Andres Cruz Mendoza climb the highest peak of the Santa Isabel glacier.

An Elegy for Colombia's Tropical Glaciers

"We are the place on Earth where glaciers shouldn't be, and they are here.”

by Megan Janetsky

Colombian conservator Clemencia Vernaza peers up at her work in Colombia's Parque Arqueológico Nacional de Tierradentro.

The Effort to Save Colombia's Underground Mountaintop Tombs

Scientists and conservators are finally able to return to what was once an Andean war zone.

by Megan Janetsky

February 24, 2020

You can't easily spot the poop in the soupy green water, but it's definitely down there.

Pablo Escobar’s Hippo Herd Is Treating Colombia's Lakes Like One Big Toilet

They're thriving, pooping, and fouling up the water around the drug lord's former estate.

by Jessica Leigh Hester

February 12, 2020

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