Colombias Diversity

 Day 2 

Bogota City Tour, Monserrat and La Candelaria. We begin the tour with an overview of the city from Monserrate mountain (3150m) and enjoy the spectacular view over Colombia’s huge capital. We explore the district of La Candelaria, Bogota’s well-preserved old town and some stunning churches such as: San Francisco, San Agustín and Tercera Orden. For lunch we suggest a typical Ajiaco Santafereño, an excellent chicken and potato soup from the Andes region that has centuries of tradition.

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 Day 3 

Goldmuseum, Guatavita Lagoon, drive to Villa de Leyva (2 nights). After breakfast you will visit the world famous gold museum, which is home of the largest collection of pre-Columbian treasures. Then we will drive along the high grassland of Bogotá to the lagoon of Guatavita, where the legend of El Dorado is said to have taken place. We walk to a location from which our guests can enjoy an enchanting view over the lagoon and the prairie. Afterwards drive to Villa de Leyva. It takes us through Samaca, and other typical small farming villages in the province of Boyaca. The colonial town of Villa de Leyva is a National Monument complete with white houses, tiled roofs, centuries-old cobblestone streets, and a Plaza Mayor, which served as a resort for the Spanish colonists.

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 Day 4 

Villa de Leyva - Zipaquira Salt Cathedral - Bogotá (1 night). As you enter Villa de Leyva through the cobblestone streets, you can already guess why it is one of the most beautiful colonial villages in South America. In the morning you can experience everything about the history of this place on a walking tour. On the way to Bogotá you will stop at the bridge “Puente Boyacá”. The decisive battle that sealed Colombia's independence took place here on August 7, 1819. The last stop before Bogota is the largest underground cathedral in the world in Zipaquirá.

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 Day 5 

Drive to Neiva - Villavieja (1 night) & sunset Tatacoa desert.Today you take the bus to Neiva, the capital of the Huila province, 1,300 meters below. The road follows the Magdalena River and is one of the most beautiful in the country. You reach the village of Villavieja and move into your hotel. In the late afternoon you will visit the Tatacoa Desert and experience a spectacular color spectacle at sunset and a fantastic starry sky in the evening. Return to Villavieja.

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 Day 6 

Drive to San Agustin (2 nights), visit the archaeological sites. Today you continue along the Magdalena Valley to San Agustin. You will stop at the spectacular Betania Dam and enjoy the spectacular views. San Agustín has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1995 and at the same time one of the most important archaeological sites in South America. In the afternoon, in the 78 hectare archaeological park, you can marvel at the monumental statues carved out of lava stone and tombs. The pre-Columbian culture that ruled this area from 3,300 BC Until approx. 900n. Populated is a great mystery.

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 Day 7 

San Agustin - Alto Idolos, Panela Fabrik & Magdalena Enge. Today you will explore the beautiful landscape around San Agustín, which lies between the Paramos of Macizo Colombiano and the gullies of the Magdalena River. The first step is the spectacular Salto del Mortiño waterfall. After visiting the Alto de los Idolos and Alto de las Piedras archaeological sites, return to the “Estrecho”, the narrowest part of the Magdalena River, and a rural panel factory, where you can learn everything about the production of pressed sugar cane blocks San Agustin.

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 Day 8 

Drive over the Paramo de las Papas to Popayan (2 nights). After breakfast you drive over the Páramo de las Papas to Popayan, the white 'colonial pearl' of the Andes. The journey is particularly scenic and you can admire the magnificent Frailejones, typical for heights above 3000m.

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 Day 9 

City tour Popayan & visit to a coffee finca. Today you explore the university town of Popayan and visit, among other things, the Parque Caldas, the basilica, the bridge Puente de la Custodia and the Torre del Reloj. In the afternoon, when you visit a coffee finca, you will learn everything about the process “from seeds to espresso”.

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 Day 10 

Drive to Silvia - Indian market & coffee triangle (2 nights. Today you will experience one of the highlights of your Colombia trip. The drive to Silvia, the center of the Guambiano Indians, takes you through an idyllic landscape. Every Tuesday is market day and the otherwise quiet village turns into a colorful bazaar in the mornings. After the market experience, continue northwards along the magnificent Cauca Valley towards the coffee region. The so-called coffee triangle of Colombia has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2012. The majority of the world famous Colombian coffee comes from the slopes of this region.

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 Day 11 

Salento & wax palms in the Cocora Valley. You explore the artist village of Salento, one of the most beautiful and colorful places in Colombia. After a nice tour of the village you drive into the Cocora Valley, famous for its imposing wax palms.This palm tree, the tallest in the world, is up to 60m high and is also Colombia's national tree. After a hike to the Mirador del Valle you can enjoy the beautiful scenery in Salento. You have the opportunity to try one of the best coffees in Colombia at Cafe Jesus Martin. Including: (B / - / -), overnight stay in a double room, private transfers, German-speaking tour guide.

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 Day 12 

Thermal springs Santa Rosa & Manizales (1 night. After breakfast you drive along the "coffee highway" to Santa Rosa de Cabal. You can visit the thermal springs nearby and swim and relax surrounded by magnificent waterfalls. Then you drive up to Manizales, the capital of the province of Caldas. The city is located at the foot of the Nevado del Ruiz volcano (5400m) and has a crazy topography. You live one street away from the plaza, in the traditional Hotel Escorial.

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 Day 13 

Manizales City Tour & Panoramic Drive to Medellin (3 Nights). In the morning you visit the imposing Catedral Basílica and the statue Bolívar Condor in the Plaza Bolívar in Manizales. The subsequent drive to Medellín takes you along the idyllic Cauca Valley and the central Andean chain. In Medellin you live a few hundred meters from the beautiful Lleras Park. In the evening you can discover the variety of Colombian cuisine on your own. The restaurants and bars at Lleras Park are an excellent opportunity.

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 Day 14 

City Tour Medellin & Metrocable adventure. Medellín, the second largest city in the country and capital of the Antioquia province, has around 4 million inhabitants in the metropolitan region. The development of Medellín in recent years has made it the “City of Miracles”. At the beginning of 2013, the metropolis in the Aburrá Valley won the prize for the most innovative city in the world. Today you experience a city adventure and discover the city with the metro and the Metrocable (city transport system with cable cars) and enjoy fascinating views of the valley. You will visit the famous Plaza de Botero, where the sculptures by the maestro Fernando Botero are at home, and the Parque Bolívar.

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 Day 15 

Authentic Guatape Village & El Peñol Seascape. About 60 km east of Medellín is the El Peñol reservoir near Guatapé.The wonderful landscape with many islands and peninsulas can best be marveled after about 680 steps on the 200 meter high Piedra del Peñol. After enjoying the magnificent view, you go to the colorful Paisa village of Guatapé, which is so typical of the region. You can end the evening with a nice drink at Lleras Park in Medellín.

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 Tag 16 

Flight to Santa Marta & Taironaka Nature Reserve (3 nights). Today we take the plane to Santa Marta on the Caribbean coast. The Colombian Caribbean coast is one of the most varied coastal strips in the world. It ranges from the tropical rainforests in the southwest to the Guajira desert in the northeast, with wide lagoon landscapes in between and the highest coastal mountain range in the world, the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, at almost 6000 meters. You drive over the foothills of the Sierra Nevada to the idyllically situated Taironaka nature reserve, where you will spend the next 3 nights.The last kilometers to the reserve are made by motor boat upstream on the Don Diego River.

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 Tag 17 

Tayrona & Cabo San Juan National Park. Today's destination is the nearby Tayrona National Park, one of the most diverse and beautiful in the country. This is where the Sierra Nevada and the Caribbean meet. Huge stones lie scattered on the white beach, behind them are densely overgrown mountains with fog caught in their peaks. You leave the reserve in the early morning and hike through tropical forests in the foothills of the Sierra to one of the most beautiful bays in Colombia, Cabo San Juan del Guía. Return to the reserve in the late afternoon.

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 Tag 18 

Paddle tour to the mouth of the Don Diego River in the Caribbean. Today you can expect a real experience of nature. You get into a paddle boat at sunrise and work your way down the river to the mouth of the Don Diego River in the Caribbean.With a little luck you will see monkeys on the way and behind you the snow-capped mountain peaks of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. When you arrive at the sea, you can take a relaxed swim before a motorboat picks you up and brings you back to the reserve. The rest of the day in the Taironaka Nature Reserve is at your leisure. Whether relaxing in the hammocks, swimming in the crystalline water or discovering old Indian trails and terraces on a hike, you decide.

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 Tag 19 

Drive to Cartagena (2 nights) & City Tour. After breakfast you drive along the coast past the metropolis of Barranquilla to Cartagena de Indias, the so-called 'Pearl of the Caribbean'. In the afternoon you will visit the fortress of San Felipe de Barajas on a city tour, the largest fortress ever built by the Spaniards in America. Then enjoy the great view of Cartagena from the La Popa monastery. This is 150m high and was built in 1607 by the Augustinians. At the end of the day, discover the beautiful colonial streets, plazas and churches of the old town on foot.

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 Tag 20 

Day at leisure. Optional: Rosario Islands Free day in Cartagena. 

Enjoy your day in Cartagena and explore the city by yourself.

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Optional: Travel by speedboat and as part of an international group to the Islas del Rosario archipelago and underwater national park. You make a stop on Isla del Sol and enjoy the day on beautiful Caribbean beaches. Return around 4 p.m.

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 Tag 21 

Return journey via Bogota to Europe. We will bring you to the airport around noon. Flight over Bogota to Europe. The flight to Bogotá takes 1.5 hours. The connecting flights to Europe leave in the late afternoon.