Bogotá
This natural-science museum at La Salle University uses the science of taxidermy to preserve and promote Colombia’s rich biodiversity. The three floors of…
Must-see attractions in Colombia
Boyacá, Santander & Norte de Santander
Located about 10km southeast of Cúcuta on the road to the Venezuelan border in the sedate suburb of Villa del Rosario is the Parque de la Gran Colombia…
Manizales
This 53-hectare municipal park offers panoramic views of the city and adventure activities. Popular with locals, free activities include a short guided…
Zona Cafetera
This tourism-oriented coffee farm offers tours that provide insight into life on a finca. Visitors get to throw on traditional clothes, strap on a basket…
Boyacá
Accessible by the nerve-racking Paso de Angel path outside the small town of Santa Sofía, this pretty 80m waterfall empties into a fine pool. The final…
Cartagena
This charming mansion, just outside the walls of Las Bóvedas, was the home of the former president, lawyer and poet Rafael Núñez. He wrote the words of…
Cali
Escape the city for a day and head to the old sugarcane plantations to see how the Colombian elite lived in the 19th century. Hacienda El Paraíso, a…
Villa de Leyva
Antonio Nariño was known as the forefather of Colombia's independence and Casa Museo de Antonio Nariño is the house where he spent the last two months of…
Bogotá
On the northern side of the plaza, this massive, rather styleless edifice serves as the seat of the Supreme Court.
La Guajira Peninsula
This remote-feeling and craggily beautiful crescent-shaped dark-sand beach is bound by 5m-high cliffs where iguanas roam. The beach gets its name from a…
Villa de Leyva
Apparently one of best museums of religious art in the country, the Museo del Carmen is housed in the convent of the same name. The fairly average…
Casa Museo de Antonio Ricaurte
Villa de Leyva
Antonio Ricaurte fought under Bolívar and is remembered for his act of self-sacrifice in the battle of San Mateo (near Caracas in Venezuela) in 1814…
Boyacá
This thematic village was constructed to give visitors a taste of Boyacá's different villages in one place, with each block representing one of seven…
Medellín
Protecting a tract of the forest that once covered the entire Valle de Aburra, this hilly municipal nature reserve is a popular place to exercise away…
Casa Cultural Gustavo Rojas Pinilla
Boyacá
This small but lovely colonial home was the birthplace of Gustavo Rojas Pinilla, who became president of Colombia in a 1953 military coup with promises of…
San Gil
The tree-lined plaza of Parque La Libertad, also called Parque Principal, is San Gil's most visible landmark and the heart of its social life. The…
Iglesia de Santo Toribio de Mogrovejo
Cartagena
Erected between 1666 and 1732, this gorgeous church received a full renovation in 2015. Its ceiling is covered with Mudejar paneling, while its pink-and…
Caribbean Coast
A former Jesuit convent that's now the town hall, this fine building dates from 1600 and has a notable statue of a freed slave with broken chains outside…
Parque Nacional Natural Tayrona
Coming from Cañaveral, it's a pleasant walk 2.5km west along a trail to Arrecifes, where there are budget lodgings and eating facilities. Bear in mind…
Bogotá
A short walk from the bus station in the planned neighborhood of Salitre, Maloka is a kid-oriented interactive center of science and technology. Lots of…
Bogotá
Conceptualized by celebrated Colombian botanist José Celestino Mutis, the 1803 tower is reputedly the first astronomical observatory built on the…
Parque Nacional Natural El Tuparro
Los Llanos
Parque Nacional Natural (PNN) El Tuparro is a 548,000-hectare nature reserve on the Venezuelan border. This biosphere of sandy river beaches and green…
Cartagena
Opened in 1992 on the 500th anniversary of Columbus' arrival in the New World, the Naval Museum occupies a great colonial building, which was once a…
Cali
This large zoo is the best in the country. It has a good collection of species indigenous to Colombia, including chiguiros (capybaras), oso hormigueros …
Cali
Resembling a scaled-down version of Rio's famous monument, this towering Christ statue atop Cerro las Cristales affords panoramic views of Cali. At the…
Providencia
With a great lookout to the sea, this community-run arts space serves as a small educational center, gallery, cafe and hangout. It shows documentaries on…
Manizales
The city's main square has the mandatory statue of Bolívar, by Rodrigo Arenas Betancur, here known as Bolívar-Cóndor since the sculptor endows Colombia's…
Museo de Historía y Antigüedades
Providencia
Housed in a former church on the main road just outside Santa Isabel, this sweet little museum tells the fascinating history of Providencia through…
Around Medellín
Located in an elegant old house on Jardín's plaza, this museum contains a diverse mix of exhibits detailing the history of the town, including pre…
Cali
Constructed in 1747, this small church is set atop a hill, the Colina de San Antonio, west of the old center. It shelters valuable tallas quiteñas, 17th…
Boyacá, Santander & Norte de Santander
The 17th-century Catedral was badly damaged during the earthquake of 1875 and altered in the reconstruction. The five-nave interior (two outer aisles were…
Popayán
Popayán's emblematic landmark, this 240m-long, 11-arch brick bridge was constructed in the mid-19th century to improve access to the center from the poor…
Providencia
Strangely, Santa Isabel doesn't see much tourism, despite its gorgeous location in a picturesque bay attached by a pontoon bridge to the little island of…
Santander
A popular large swimming hole fed by a small slanted waterfall. Surrounded by lush farmland, it gets up to almost 3m deep in places and is ideal for a…
Minca
This fun natural pool and small waterfall is a popular sight for locals and tourists alike, though it can get very full on weekends and during high season…
Guatapé
The oldest and biggest house in Guatapé is still occupied by descendants of the original owners, who sometimes leave their front door open so visitors can…
Caribbean Coast
This solemn stone on the riverbank records the comings and goings of Simón Bolívar during the wars of independence from Spanish rule. Most important was…
La Guajira Peninsula
Wayuu and tourists alike head to El Faro, a small lighthouse at the edge of a rocky promontory, for stiff winds and tangerine sunsets. The view is…
Armenia
If all the concrete is getting too much, stop by this tranquil park located in a valley in the middle of the city. It features both gardens and forested…
Caribbean Coast
This tiny place has the dubious honor of being the world's most densely populated island. Santa Cruz del Islote houses around 1000 people, mostly…
