A little local bus (Sotrasanvicente) leaving from the North Terminal of Medellin, will get you to Guatape in around 2 hours, and get back to Medellin in 1 and half hour, if travelling back later or with the last bus (leaves Guatape at 7pm, don’t miss it).

The ride is slower on the way to Guatape not just for the traffic but also for the incredible number of street vendors (fruit, cheese bread, chips, sodas, sweets, candies, etc) that jump on and off the bus as soon as they can..walk through the bus isle and try to sell you their goods.

The reason I went to Guatape was to go climb the 740 steps of El Penol, this huge rock that is apparently a few million years old and overlooks a series of lakes and little islands.

A sign before the entrance states it’s the most beautiful view of the world, I think it’s a really good view, yes. The steps will leave you breathless, but the view is worth it.

The bus from Medellin can stop you close enough, if you tell the driver you are going to the “rock’, La Piedra. What’s left for you to do from here is walking up a hill, buy the ticket to the rock ( a steep 18,000 COP) and start on the steps…one at a time…