When we asked our friend, Andres, about his home country of Colombia, he gave us numerous suggestions, but he was insistent about one thing. He told us, “visit Medellín, the jewel amazing.” It turned into a bit of a joke for us; we suppose he meant “the amazing jewel” and just put the adjective after the noun as is often done in Spanish, but with every spectacular view of the city we got last week, we told ourselves, “oh yes, Medellín, the jewel amazing!”
And what an amazing place it was indeed. As Colombia’s third largest city, Medellín is home to millions. It has many of the things that you might expect to find in a big city: high-rises, freeways, airport, museums, and a truly world-class metro system. What makes Medellín so special, however, is its location amongst lush green mountains.
We spent our few days in Medellín seeking out the best spots for taking in views of the city from the surrounding mountains and hills. First up was the Line K Metrocable, a gondola that serves as public transportation for people that live in the hilly barrio of Santo Domingo at the northeastern end of the city. The views are incredible on a clear day and the price can’t be beat. Since the metrocable is integrated with Medellín’s metro system, for less than $1 USD you can go from any metro stop in the city up the gondola to la Biblioteca España.
For only a few dollars more, you can transfer to the Line L gondola, which takes you to the brand new nature preserve called Parque Arví. At first, we thought that the park was just a few hundred meters further up the mountain, but as it reached the top, we saw a massive expanse of green forest in front of us and a gondola line that stretched for kilometers. Riding Line L felt like flying over the wilderness. It really made us miss skiing in the mountains of Colorado and was a very welcomed surprise. What a cool way to connect the bustling city of Medellín with the tranquil nature that surrounds it!
Another fantastic place to see 360˚ views of the jewel amazing is Cerro El Volador. Its location along the main road of Carrera 70 makes it easy to access, and its proximity to the central business area provides especially nice views of the mountains with the cityscape in the foreground. The walk up is steep, but definitely worth it, and the benches at the summit are the perfect place to take a long rest. We found El Volador much more beautiful than the famous Cerro Nutibara where Pueblito Paisa is located, a touristy recreation of an old colonial village.
There are no doubt countless other places to absorb the mountains views of Medellín, and hopefully on our next visit to Colombia we will explore a few more. But for now, we are recommending Cerro El Volador and the Line K Metrocable.
Maravilla! si una joya!
Me alegra que la esten pasando tan bien.
Besitos mama Sofia
I love Medellín. It’s one of my favorite places to escape to from here on the coast (Barranquilla).
This post brought lots of smiles to my face 🙂 🙂 Excited to read more of your posts from amazing Columbia!!