Colombia Civil War & Narcos Tour

Monday 5th May – Bogotá

• Arrival in Bogotá at your own leisure (Pioneer Adventure Travel can also arrange pre-tour accommodation if you want to arrive a day early and not miss anything today)
• Check in to hotel in the trendy but edgy central Candelaria district.
• Ceviche, or raw fish cooked in lime juice is a very South American, and Colombian thing, so we head to a restaurant to try this delicacy. For non-fish lovers there will be other options.
• Beer and explosives go together like peas and carrots, so we finish our first night in Bogotá by playing the local traditional sport of tejo, which is literally throwing iron balls at explosives while drinking beer. Great stuff!

Tuesday 6th May – Bogotá

• Breakfast in the hotel.
• Walking tour of La Candelaria. This is where Símon Bolívar – El Libertador, the original Latin American revolutionary – was almost caught, and where various figures of Colombian history met their fate.
• Head to the Military Museum where we even learn about the not commonly known role of Colombia in the Korean War!
• Bogotá is famous in Colombia and beyond for its fabulous street food, so we take a staggered street food lunch trying almost everything they have on offer, including Mick Jagger’s favourite “oblea”.
• Stop by the Congress and Supreme Court, which was seized by the M19 Marxist guerrillas, allegedly on the orders of Pablo Escobar.
• We visit the Colón Theatre, which played an important part in the peace process between the government and FARC and get a detailed explanation from our local guide about what achievements and failures have followed the peace process.
• Colombia’s capital has now shaken off its image of danger, and is a vibrant place for a night out, so we head to one of the many bars for dinner and drinks.
• Overnight in Bogotá. 

Wednesday 7th May – Sierra Nevada National Park

• We get up early for the 90-minute 9am flight to Santa Marta
• On arrival, we transfer directly to the Tayrona national park, part of the Sierra Nevada range, which is home to many of the indigenous peoples of Colombia as well as its most diverse biosphere.
• Lunch in Sierra Nevada.
• Hiking time! We head out for a hike around the national park, where we can spend some time on a deserted beach, as well as see how the indigenous Wiwa people live.
• Following a full day of hiking and relaxing on the beach, we head to our eco-resort, surrounded by fresh fruit trees, and a swimming pool for us to relax in.
• For dinner our hosts will cook us a traditional Colombian meal to your liking, with the rest of the night spent enjoying our serene surroundings
• Overnight at eco-resort. 

Thursday 8th May – Santa Marta, Cartagena

• We take a relaxed start to the day with breakfast at the resort and time to enjoy the pool before we leave for the next part of the trip.
• We take the scenic drive from Tayrona to Santa Marta city, which takes about an hour, with us stopping for some great views of the bay.
• We visit the gold museum, to learn about how gold has been mined from indigenous times to present.
• For lunch, we head to one of our favourite restaurants in Colombia, Radio Burger, for a full lunch!
• Our last stop before leaving Santa Marta is the Quinta de San Pedro, which was where Simón Bolívar, the liberator of the Americas, died and was originally buried. We also visit the surrounding gardens for a quick look at the huge (but friendly) cat-sized lizards that live there!
• We board our air-conditioned luxury bus for the 4-hour drive from Santa Marta to Cartagena. The journey itself is a fascinating look into contemporary Colombian life, with us passing through the numerous barrios, before hitting the rich parts of the city.
• On arrival in Cartagena we transfer to our hotel situated near the old city
• Cartagena is street food heaven, particularly if you like meat, so we head for street food dinner and drinks in the city.
• Overnight in Cartagena. 

Friday 9th May – Cartagena

Morning

• Cartagena is an old colonial city, so we spend the day touring around this historical city
• We check out the old town and the city walls, as well as its 500-year-old coral stone forts from the Spanish era

Afternoon

• Climb La Popa Hill for a great view of the area and visit the 17th century Santa Cruz monastery
• Check out the Spanish Inquisition Palace, where people were tortured and executed for crimes against Catholicism
• Head out for local food and drinks in the Cartagena old town.
• Watch the sun set across the Caribbean sea from the city walls.
• Overnight in Cartagena

Saturday 10th May – Guatapé

Morning

• Take a 10am flight to Medellín, Colombia’s second city
• Medellín was the notorious crime-ridden home of drug lord Pablo Escobar, but since the mid-1990s things have calmed down a lot.

Afternoon

• Head to Finca la Manuela, reachable only by boat. Pablo had many houses, but this is the only one which is largely untouched since the time when he was alive.
• We’ll head to Piedra de Peñol, a striking monolithic rock sticking 220 metres out of the ground. Time permitting, we’ll climb to the top for the spectacular sunset view.
• Optional helicopter ride to view the Piedra and surrounding landscape.
• Overnight in our rustic accommodation in the Colombian countryside.

Sunday 11th May – Medellín

• Head to Hacienda Nápoles, the biggest of Pablo Escobar’s residences. Now a theme park, we’ll see the animals descended from those which Pablo kept in his private zoo. We’ll be able to ride the water slides, while exploring to find the traces left of Pablo’s time there.
• Head back to Medellín
• Dinner and drinks in the trendy Poblado area

Monday 12th May – Medellín

Morning

• You can’t go to Medellín without learning about its most infamous resident, so we do the full Pablo Escobar tour. Our local guide was Pablo Escobar’s driver – now gone straight, he’s very open to questions about what it was like working for the world’s most infamous drug lord!
• We then go to explore the many luxurious buildings used to launder his money, as well as check out his bombed-out safe in the Monaco building, which was where the first car bomb in Colombia was detonated
• After visiting Pablo’s prison or the “Cathedral”, get spectacular Medellín views and get ready to visit the cemetery where siblings and cousins of the mafia boss finally rest even near Griselda Blanco or “black widow”, who was once Pablo’s mentor.

Afternoon

• After lunch, we finish off the Pablo tour by visiting the spot where he died. Now a quiet residential neighbourhood, the rooftop location is easily recognised in the photos published of his lifeless body. It’s still uncertain whether he was shot by the police, or whether he killed himself to avoid capture.
• We’ll jump on the metro system and transfer to Medellín’s famous cable car public transport, for a bird’s eye view of local neighbourhood life.
• Head to the famous Museo de Antioquia including the world-famous sculptures by Fernando Botero in the park outside the museum
• Go for dinner and drinks in Medellin
• Overnight in Medellin

Tuesday 13th May

Morning

• We get up early for our morning flight to Bogotá, where the tour ends, with Pioneer Adventure Travel being able to arrange ongoing transport or accommodation for those that need it.
• Alternatively join us for a tour extension to Cali, and find out about Escobar’s deadly rivals the Cali Cartel!