Magical Colombia

 Day 2 

Bogota City Tour, Monserrate, Gold Museum 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 visit the world famous Gold Museum which is home to the largest pre-Columbian collection, Plaza Bolivar, and some stunning churches such as: San Francisco, San Agustín and Tercera Orden.

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 Day 3 

Bogotá, Lagoon Guatavita, Country Market, Villa de Leyva (2 nights). 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. The drive to Villa de Leyva 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 Walking Tour, Optional: hike to Paso del Angel. In the morning we learn about the history and tradition of Villa de Leyva on a walking tour. We visit the residence of Antonio Nariño, precursor for the independence movement. In the afternoon our guests can continue to explore this pearl of the colonial period on their own to enjoy the ambience.

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Optional:

Hiking tour to the waterfall El Hayal and afterwards hike in the area of the Paso del Angel through the impressive mountain and surrounding hills. Visit of the Dominican monastery Ecce Homo founded in 1620.

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 Day 5 

Drive to San Gil, Parque Gallineral and Barichara (2 nights). Our tour leaves Villa de Leyva northward in direction of Barichara. Today we visit the Natural Park Gallineral in San Gil, which is between the confluence of the Rio Fonce and Curití stream. Guests can leisurely walk passing the Chimingano trees covered with a silver beard, the orchids, the heliconias, and many colored birds. We arrive to Barichara in the afternoon. Enjoy the great sunset at the Mirador de los Andes.

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 Day 6 

Barichara Walking Tour und Camino Real nach Guarne. Today we discover Barichara, which for many Colombians is considered to be the most beautiful village in the country. After a walk through the beautiful natural stone paved streets of the village we can enjoy the spectacular views from the canyon of the Rio Suarez and the Andes at the Mirador de Los Andes. In the afternoon we walk along the Camino Real, an old Spanish road that follows sections from indigenous trade routes to Guane; an ancient village where the daily life is very similar to what it was like 100 years ago.

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 Day 7 

National Park Chicamocha - Girón -Barrancabermeja (1 night). The first destination of the day is the National Park Chicamocha. In the longest cable car in South America we cross the impressive Chicamocha Canyon, one of the deepest canyons worldwide. Once on the other side, we continue along a beautiful panoramic road to Girón, a vivid white colonial village near Bucaramanga. In the evening, we reach the Barrancabermeja, a port city in the Magdalena valley.

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 Day 8 

River cruise on the river Magdalena to Mompox (2 nights). The Rio Grande de la Magdalena was an important part of Colombia’s colonial history. The river vein runs alongside the main road for the conquest of the domestic areas by Spain in colonial Colombia in and was used to move of tons of gold to the Caribbean port city of Cartagena and on to Europe. On the trail to El Dorado we get to Mompox; a colonial town in the middle of a floodplain that is surrounded by countless lagoons. Mompox is the home to the best craftsmanship in the field of filigree gold jewelry. We go to the river port of Barrancabermeja, and at 6 a.m. we begin an impressive boat trip to El Banco. From here we take the car until we arrive in Mompox.

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 Day 9 

City Tour and Mompox filigree gold work. Santa Cruz de Mompox has been declared as a national monument and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is a cultural gem in the middle of the Magdalena River Delta. The remote location of the city made it possible to miss the independence uprising; so much of its colonial history has been preserved. Today we tour great colonial mansions, numerous churches and plazas, and experience tradition. We visit a traditional craft shop and have a look at the world famous gold filigree work of Mompox.

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 Day 10 

Drive to Aracataca and Santa Marta (2 nights). Today’s drive to Santa Marta shows our guests why Mompox seems to stand still in time. With a ferry in Colombian style, we’ll leave the island. Our tour will reach Aracataca, birthplace of Nobel Prize winner Gabriel Garcia Marquez and inspiration for his magical realism” in the classic 100 years of solitude”. After visiting his birthplace, now a museum, we proceed to the sea side city of Santa Marta..

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 Day 11 

National Park Tayrona and Cabo San Juan. Today our destination is the Tayrona National Park, one of the richest and most beautiful National parks in the country. This is where the Sierra Nevada and the Caribbean meet. Huge stones lie scattered on white beach, behind are densely-covered mountains whose summits are caught in the mist. We’ll leave Santa Marta in the early morning and walk through tropical forests of the foothills of the Sierra to one of the most beautiful bays of Colombia, Cabo San Juan del Guía. In the late afternoon we leave the park and drive back to the hotel.

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 Day 12 

Sierra Nevada, Minca and Coffee Farm La Victoria. In an SUV our tour drives 600 meters up the mountains to Minca, a charming mountain village laid between the mountain folds of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. Lush and exotic vegetation, tropical coffee, the many waterfalls and birds in the area make Minca a popular destination for nature lovers. After a brief tour of the village, we continue to the waterfall Pozo Azul, where you have time to swim. Then it goes on up to the traditional coffee finca and living museum” La Victoria. There we learn about the role of the red bean” in Colombia.

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 Day 13 

Drive to Cartagena and City Tour (2 nights). After breakfast, we drive along the coast past the city of Barranquilla to Cartagena de Indias, called the Pearl of the Caribbean. In the afternoon during a city tour we’ll visit the Fort San Felipe de Barajas, the largest fortress in the Americas that was ever built by the Spanish. Then we will enjoy the great view from the monastery of La Popa towards Cartagena. It is 150m high and was built in 1607 by the Augustinians monks. At the end of the day we take to the streets to discover the beautiful colonial streets, plazas, and churches of the old town.

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 Day 14 

Free day in Cartagena. Optional: Rosario Islands. Free day to enjoy Cartagena by your own.

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Optional:

With the Speedboat as part of an international group we will go to the archipelago and underwater national park Islas del Rosario. We make a stop on the Isla del Sol and enjoy the day at beautiful Caribbean beaches. Return around 16:00 clock

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 Day 15 

Returning to origin Country with stop in Bogotá D.C. Around noon, we take you to the airport. Flight over to Bogotá to Europe.