Medellín, Colombia: Jan – Feb 2026

In mid January we flew from Montevideo, Uruguay to Medellín, Columbia where we stayed for one month. Medellín’s nickname is ” The City of Eternal Spring”, due to its constant year-round Spring season temperatures and weather conditions. Prior to our arrival, we did a thorough analysis of the security situation in Colombia due to its proximity to neighboring Venezuela and due to recent US State Department warnings about drugging and kidnapping. Since we did not go near the border and we are not inclined to go out drinking in night clubs late at night, we thus avoided the vast majority of the risk. We visited several famous neighborhoods, ate terrific food, toured an enormous fruit market, rode cable cars and the finest light rail system in South America, and then took a day trip an hour east of town to climb the incredible Rock of Guatapé. Additionally we took care of several scheduled medical appointments and we unfortunately both added common colds to the mix. The Colombian people are very friendly and welcoming – and our Spanish continues to improve.

This was our first time flying on LATAM airlines and it was a good experience. We had a stopover in Lima, Peru, where we encountered this super cute display somewhere in the airport terminal.
The city of Medellin is located in a valley bowl high up in the Andes Mountains of Colombia (see blue dot on the map). It’s elevation is comparable to Denver, Colorado, at about 5,000 ft (1500 m). The valley is a very lush jungle due to being in the tropics, but the high elevation keeps the temperature moderate year round between 65 and 75 degrees F (19 -24 C). It is the second largest city (after the capital city of Bogota) and has a population of about 3 million people.
Our Air BnB was a 2BD 2BA condominium in the El Poblado neighborhood. The location was superb and the size of the apartment was quite large. Because we were on the 4th floor we had a natural breeze through the many windows that kept the apartment at about 74 degrees the whole time. The windows did not have screens but we did not encounter any mosquitos. Medellín sits in a valley so there isn’t much opportunity for standing water to exist.
In the “El Poblado” neighborhood where we were staying, we found a rooftop restaurant that had great views of the city. We had 2 really delicious pizzas, 2 drinks and a latte for $49. We found that price to be pretty consistent for most of our dining out meals.
We visited the Museum of Pablo Escobar, who was Colombia’s notorious drug lord for decades until he died in 1993. He was a Colombian drug lord, narcoterrorist, and politician who was the founder and leader of the Medellín Cartel. Dubbed the “King of Cocaine”, Escobar was one of the wealthiest conventional criminals in history, having amassed an estimated net worth of US$30 billion by his death at age 44, while his drug cartel monopolized the cocaine trade into the US in the 1980s and early 1990s. We were a little bit disappointed to learn during the tour that the museum is owned by a member of the family and not by the government, as we had assumed.
We took a 3-hour guided tour of the largest fruit market in Medellín (“Plaza Minorista José María Villa”). Our guide was a fabulous young English-speaking Colombian woman named Diana. We tried several fruits that we had never even heard of before. The particular fruit in this picture is a “caimito” and it was pretty mild (tasted like custard mixed with apple) compared to some of the fruits we tried. Our tour group was only six people so it was also fun to interact with the two other Americans and the two Canadians. After the tour, we purchased some of the fruits and brought them back to the apartment.
This photo encapsulates the architecture and the greenery that we saw in El Poblado and surrounding neighborhoods. Medellín has slum neighborhoods too, like any other major city, but this is a good capture of what we mostly saw. Interestingly, there isn’t a layer of black tropical slime on the buildings like you would expect in a tropical climate. This is likely due to the high altitude and the resulting more moderate temperatures. We really enjoyed the lush greenery throughout the city.
We took a full day group tour around the city of Medellín, which started in the neighborhood of “Comuna 13”. The neighborhood is associated with street art performances, gorgeous outdoor wall murals, bright colors, tours, and an energetic environment that showcases its resilience. Comuna 13 was not always a vibrant community, it has faced violence and insecurity with regards to drug trafficking, paramilitaries, and controversial military operations. It is now a major tourist attraction and a keystone of community tourism in Medellín and has benefitted from investment in infrastructure and social programs. Our tour guide grew up in this neighborhood and took our group to her Mom’s popsicle stand where we had a delicious mango and passion fruit popsicle.
Break dancing is just one of the highly developed forms of art we saw in Comuna 13 – this club was very talented (this picture is a video if you click on it – turn your sound on).
During the guided city tour of Medellin, we stopped by a local artist co-op. Adam and I are still debating if this is a photograph of the precise moment of a dramatic wipe-out, or if it is a balanced bicycle break dancer.
After leaving Comuna 13 we took a cable car ride. The city sits in a Valley so taking any one of its six cable cars gives you a great panoramic view.
Following the cable car ride, we took the Metro to downtown. Medellín’s Metro is considered exceptionally nice due to a deep-rooted “Cultura Metro” program that fosters intense civic pride, cleanliness, and mutual respect among users, resulting in an almost graffiti-free, safe, and efficient system. Integrated with cable cars, trams, and buses, it serves as a crucial, well-maintained, and affordable public transport network.
The Palacio Nacional Mall is an impressive historical building located in the heart of Medellín. It was built in the 1920s when the city of Medellín needed new facilities to accommodate public, political, and educational offices. A renowned Belgian architect, Agustín Goovaerts, designed the building. Today it houses a shopping mall.
Inside the Palacio National Mall in Central Medellín, the top three floors are all art galleries absolutely overflowing with incredible art. This is an oil on canvas and it is rather large.
In downtown Medellín, sits Plaza Botero, which contains 23 outdoor sculptures by the native Colombian artist Fernando Botero. Our guide explained to us that Botero wanted art to be more accessible and interactive to the common person, so these statues can be touched and climbed upon at will.
On the edge of Plaza Botero, amongst the Botero statues, sits the Palacio de la Cultura Rafaél Uribe. It is a Colombian public building that was formerly the Palace of the Governor of the local province (Antioquia). The design of the building is Flemish Gothic Revival. Susan thought it had kind of an art deco vibe.
One of the reasons we chose to come to Medellín was for it’s “medical tourism”. Healthcare in Columbia is ranked very high globally. Besides taking care of our annual checkups, we received some travel related vaccines, at about 10-15% of the cost of what the same vaccine (same manufacturer) cost in the USA. As an example, this is the “Rabies-preventative” vaccine and it cost $42 per dose in Colombia, versus $350 per dose back in Denver. Since it takes 3 doses per person, we saved over $1,800 by getting it in Medellín. Other medical work we had done while in Medellín was very affordable too.
The Rock of Guatapé (El Peñón de Guatapé) is a massive and stunning 200-meter-high (656 ft) granite monolith located about 90 minutes east of Medellín, Colombia. In the background of this picture you can see the staircase to climb it – 740 steps built into a natural crack of the monolith. At the top there is a 360-degree panoramic view of the surrounding, man-made Guatapé-Peñol reservoir, and some food and drink vendors.
Climbing the 740 steps to the top of the Rock of Guatapé was worth it – check out this view! The Guatapé-Peñol reservoir is a vast, scenic, man-made lake created in the 1970s for hydroelectric power, which produces 30% of the country’s electricity.
The charming town of Guatapé sits at the waters edge of the Guatapé-Peñol reservoir. Prior to the reservoir being created in the 1970’s it was way up in the hills far from any water and was mostly home to sheep herding families. Filling the reservoir took away their grazing lands so the town was converted to a tourism destination. The church behind us in the picture sits on the edge of the town square, and was built in 1865.
On the way back to Medellin from Guatapé, we stopped for lunch at this restaurant called “El Llanerito”. We had a large traditional meal of Colombian food and it was delicious. Our next post will be for Maui, Hawaii.

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14 Comments

  1. Great update! I knew I recognized those Botero statues; his works “Man” and “Woman” are featured at DCPA. Glad y’all are recovering from colds- we caught a few bugs up here and the cough is never ending. Love the pics and look forward to your next post.

    • That’s kinda neat that Botero was featured in Denver. We still have some residual cough too – as does everybody in Medellin I think – LOL! Great to hear from you and thanks for staying in touch.

  3. Being a map and geography geek, I loved that you included a map of where Medellin is. Great pictures – so interesting!

  4. Wow! These are amazing pictures. That rock! I have never seen it before. And what a feat to climb to the top! Thanks for all the pictures and sharing your adventures–to places I will most likely never go. It is great to “travel” along with you.

    • The Rock of Guatape really is one of those places that you can hardly believe exists when you see it – and we had such a great weather day there. Nice to hear from you Kristen and thanks for following our blog

  5. Medellin looks beautiful! If you are headed to Maui, then maybe Denver will finally get some serious snow! (Isn’t that what has happened in previous years? 😂) Enjoy and stay healthy!

    • Haha yes… snow in Denver did somehow seem linked to our Maui timing. I hope it worked. :). Good to hear from you and thanks for following our blog.

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