Lonely Planet: Roads Less Travelled Colombia itinerary

Nov 4, 2009 12:47:43 AM

Dominic Bonuccelli
Lonely Planet Author

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Having weathered years of civil strife and daunting press, Colombia has only recently reappeared on the traveler’s radar. Portions of the Amazon and the south remain dangerous, but large swaths of the interior and Caribbean coast are once again ripe for exploration, now that the main roads are generally secure.

Medellín’s darkest days are past, and Escobar’s former stomping ground is awakening from its cocaine coma, thanks partly to cash infusions from the federal and foreign governments. Experience the city’s artistic and cultural rebirth, not just downtown but in the hillside barrios formerly thick with cartel assassins. While you’re here, try your hand at tejo, the national sport. This heady mix of lawn-bowling, beer and explosives is a typically combustible Colombian pastime.

Colombian welcome

Head east from Antioquia past Bucaramanga and into the Cordillera Oriental, where the Andes rise dramatically and the roads wind over precipitous switchback passes through time-capsule pueblos of panchos and fedoras. Conquer the lofty peaks of El Cocuy National Park, home to fragile ecosystems of frailejones (tall, daisy-like plants), thermal pools and morraines clinging below some of South America’s largest and most threatened glaciers. Wind west through yet more lazy pueblos to Barichara, a tranquil oasis of white-washed colonial architecture and giant fried ants (hormigas culonas). Trek on to San Gil, adventure capital of Santander, and challenge your friends to torrentismo, a rapid rappel down 80-meter waterfall Juan Curi.

Braving the waterfall of Juan Curi

Now ride north, past Bucaramanga once more, to the historic llanos (plains) that are home to the cowboy culture of Valledupar. Book an agriturismo, help milk the cows, rope the herd, breathe in the big sky; or head into any of the surrounding towns for a barside Vallenato jam. Listening to this frenetic fusion of accordion, drum and guacharaca (scratching stick), you’ll be convinced its manic rhythms are fueled by pure coca. Forge on to the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta and enter Pueblo Bello, border town of the Arhuac, one of the most traditional and distinctive of Colombia’s 83 indigenous tribes. The Arhuac live in a constant struggle to maintain their culture against colonial, Colombian, leftist, and paramilitary aggressions.

The incredible floating village of Buena Vista

Follow the scent of salt water north, encountering the humid Caribbean at Santa Marta, where South American hero Simón Bolívar met his maker. Proceed east to the magnificent Parque Nacional Tayrona, festooned with artistic rock formations and idyllic cabanas by the sea. Hire a boat to sail you west through the inland waterway of Ciénaga to the stilt villages of Buena Vista and Nueva Venecia, one-of-a-kind fishing pueblos erected on poles above the undulating waters.

Colombian vaquero, or cowboy

End your journey with a bang in the industrial port town of Barranquilla during Carnaval, when this usually gritty burg explodes in a five-day bender, a fertile fiesta of Spanish, African and indigenous celebration second in size only to Rio’s. It’s the perfect storm of color, culture and cacophony. And a fitting dessert to this Bacchanalian feast? Why, a detox dip in nearby Totumu, of course, where you’ll coat yourself in miraculous, invigorating sludge from a volcanic crater oozing with mud.

Dominic Bonuccelli travelled to Colombia on assignment for Lonely Planet. You can follow his adventures on Lonely Planet: Roads Less Travelled, screening internationally on National Geographic.

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Comments

22 November 2009 4:37AM patico Report this comment
And Dominique,
I am a colombian and my mom is BELGIAN she has lived for 38 years in Colombia without ever getting knidnapped as is the case for all of her belgian friends. I think is a dumb cliché to say that Colombis is Kidnapping country !!! What is the proportion of travellers that have been kidnapped ? I am sure its quite low, of course if you decide to make a camping trip into FARCS territory you will definitively be at risk but I doubt most tourist eer travelle to this zones so I no not think your odds of being kidnapped are even 50% 50 %. Rather 5 % you added an extra 0...
25 November 2009 11:23AM vivekw Report this comment
patico,
Not sure what you're referring to. Domenic doesn't refer to Colombia as "kidnapping country" anywhere!
26 November 2009 10:08AM vanchopin Report this comment
the video says "descending one of its most inteprid photojournalists right into the heart of kidnap country".
very clever- it can be interpreted as meaning the whole country is kidnap country, or just an area.
"this is absolute hell"??? (looks like he is referring to traffic)
AND read the lp description:
"ignores the little voice in the back of his head" (maybe the one by his mom to be honest?), "braves army roadblocks, kidnap warnings and gunslinging cowboys" (at a rodeo show?)
boy, if it isn´t indiana jones himself!
pathetic. it does indeed show that lp authors get dirty. get their soul dirty! (and sorry, no amount of mud will clean this bs).
this is nothing but propaganda, a very well edited video (zoom in on the soldier´s weapon)with a clear message following the standard media pattern- exploit fear and reinforce stereotypes to sell (let mr. bonuccelli "descend" into any of his native tuscon´s bad neighborhoods, and asking someone what are the chances of getting shot).
26 November 2009 10:10AM vanchopin Report this comment
shame on you lp! is this how you show your "commitment to independent travel, trustworthy advice and editorial independence"?
as for mr. bonuccelli, as a photographer you do have a special responsibility, not just with your subjects, but with yourself (you write "I was really surprised by: How safe I felt in Colombia, and how few foreign travellers I saw there." (see his post at http://natgeotv.com.au/programmes/lonely-planet-roads-less-travelled/travel-tips).
the trailer should be re-done and the text revised. it is offensive and unfair. and that the vast majority of lp readers (i hope!) are smart enough to know propaganda when they see it does not make it ok to post this kind of crap. do not insult your audience and the countries you "send" your writers to!
27 November 2009 7:24AM pablo7691 Report this comment
another nail in lonely planets reputation... but at least it keeps the tourists away .
3 December 2009 7:51AM wiegandrichard Report this comment
Good comment "vanchopin" about Tucson's bad areas. I'm going to Colombia December 4th. I'm retired and hope to find a place to live permanently. I've never been to Colombia before. But I'm not afraid at all. I've traveled a bit though and my attitude/advice is DO NOT BE STUPID, mind your manners, learn Spanish, don't flash money/jewelry, don't get stupid drunk, listen to advice from hotel/restraunt,local business people. I'm an American,and sadly my opinion is that the United States of America is (can be) one of the most dangerous countries to visit. It would be interesting to see a US State department warning(s) about; New York, Los Angeles, Detroit, Miami, etc....