Wednesday 9th November – Bogotá

• Arrival in Bogotá at your own leisure (YPT can also arrange pre-tour accommodation if you want to arrive a day early and not miss anything today)
• Check in to hotel in the trendy but edgy central Candelaria district.
• Ceviche, or raw fish cooked in lime juice is a very South American, and Colombian thing, so we head to a restaurant to try this delicacy. For non-fish lovers there will be other options.
• Beer and explosives go together like peas and carrots, so we finish our first night in Bogotá by playing the local traditional sport of tejo, which is literally throwing iron balls at explosives while drinking beer. Great stuff!

Thursday 10th November – Bogotá Morning

• Breakfast in hotel
• Head to the Military Museum where we even learn about the not commonly known role of Colombia in the Korean War!
• Stop by the Congress and Supreme Court, which was seized by the Marxist guerrillas in 1985

Afternoon

• Lunch in the city
• We visit the Colon Theatre, which is where the peace process between the government and FARC was signed, as well as the Museo Banco De República, the main modern art museum
• Head to the south side of the city, the main working-class area, for a bit of people watching. We head for dinner and then for a Friday night salsa night to remember in the Colombian capital. If you can’t dance don’t worry, rum will be available
• Overnight in Bogotá

Friday 11th November – Sierra Nevada National Park Morning

• We get up early for the under two hours 9am flight from Bogota to Cartagena
• On arrival, we transfer directly to the Sierra Nevada national park, which is home to many of the indigenous peoples of Colombia as well as its most diverse biosphere.

Afternoon

• Lunch in Sierra Nevada
• We will have lots of opportunities to explore the area and see wildlife
• At night we not only camp out in the reserve but also do the whole BBQ and rum thing
• Camping overnight

Saturday 12th November – Sierra Nevada National Park Morning

• We visit one of the local indigenous peoples the Wiwa in an Indian Reserve in the mid-highlands to learn about how they live

Afternoon

• Local lunch with the Wiwa
• We head back to Cartagena, where we check into the hotel before heading out for dinner to a Peruvian restaurant and drinks in Café Havana
• Overnight in Cartagena

Sunday 13th November – Cartagena Morning

• Cartagena is an old colonial city, so we spend the day touring around this historical city
• We check out the old town and the city walls, as well as its 500-year-old coral stone forts from the Spanish era

Afternoon

• Climb La Popa Hill for a great view of the area and visit the 17th century Santa Cruz monastery
• Check out the Spanish Inquisition Palace, where people were tortured and executed for crimes against Catholicism
• Head out for local food and drinks in the Cartagena old town
• Dinner at Interno, a restaurant inside the women’s prison, staffed by prisoners
• Overnight in Cartagena

Monday 14th November – Guatapé Morning

• Take a 10am flight to Medellín, Colombia’s second city
• Medellín was the notorious crime-ridden home of drug lord Pablo Escobar, but since the mid-1990s things have calmed down a lot.

Afternoon

• Head to Finca la Manuela, reachable only by boat. Pablo has many houses, but this is the only one which is largely untouched since the time when he was alive.
• We’ll head to Piedra de Peñol, a striking monolithic rock sticking 220 metres out of the ground. Time permitting, we’ll climb to the top for the spectacular sunset view.
• Overnight in our rustic accommodation in the Colombian countryside.

Tuesday 15th November – Medellín

• Head to Hacienda Nápoles, the biggest of Pablo Escobar’s residences. Now a theme park, we’ll see the animals descended from those which Pablo kept in his private zoo. We’ll be able to ride the water slides, while exploring to find the traces left of Pablo’s time there.
• Head back to Medellín
• Dinner and drinks in the trendy Poblado area

Wednesday 16th November – Medellín Morning

• You can’t go to Medellín without learning about its most infamous resident, so we do the full Pablo Escobar tour. Our local guide was Pablo Escobar’s driver – now gone straight, he’s very open to questions about what it was like working for the world’s most infamous drug lord!
• We then go to explore the many luxurious buildings used to launder his money, as well as check out his bombed-out safe in the Monaco building, which was where the first car bomb in Colombia was detonated
• After visiting Pablo´s prison or the “Cathedral”, get spectacular Medellín views and get ready to visit the cemetery where siblings and cousins of the mafia boss finally rest even near Griselda Blanco or “black widow”, who was once Pablo´s mentor.

Afternoon

• After lunch, we finish off the Pablo tour by visiting the spot where he died. Now a quiet residential neighbourhood, the rooftop location is easily recognised in the photos published of his lifeless body. It’s still uncertain whether he was shot by the police, or whether he killed himself to avoid capture.
• We’ll jump on the metro system and transfer to Medellín’s famous cable car public transport, for a bird’s eye view of local neighbourhood life.
• Head to the famous Museo de Antioquia including the world-famous sculptures by Fernando Botero in the park outside the museum
• Go for dinner and drinks in Medellin
• Overnight in Medellin

Thursday 17th November – Medellín – Bogota Morning

• We get up early for our morning flight to Bogotá, where the tour ends, with YPT being able to arrange ongoing transport or accommodation for those that need it.
• Alternatively join us for a tour extension to Cali, and find out about Escobar’s deadly rivals the Cali Cartel!

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