Is Guatape Colombia Worth Visiting? (A Former Residents Opinion)

Traveling To Colombia And Wondering If The Town With The Famous Rock, Guatape, Is Worth Visiting?

When I was living in Colombia and teaching English, I didn’t have to work the week of Semana Santa (Easter) so I went up to explore Medellin, and although I only did the day trip over to Guatape, I felt like it was definitely worth visiting for a short time to see its most famous sights.

✅ Is Guatape, Colombia Worth Visiting?

The famous rock is the main reason people come here.

Although there’s plenty to see and do within the city of Medellin, everyone usually has visiting Guatape on their itineraries because of its massive climbable rock, colorful lake, and small Colombian town (more details on these below).

I did think Guatape was worth checking out on at least a day trip, but since I lived in Colombia I have a little bit of a different perspective on which places I think are the best to visit, however, if you only plan to visit Medellin, I think you should definitely add Guatape to your trip so you can see a little more of Colombia other than just the big cities.

➡️ With so many day trip tour options from Medellin to Guatape, I think it’s definitely worth adding to your itinerary since it’s so easy and convenient to visit this way

A Few Interesting Things To Do In Guatape

Climbing the rock is the main reason Guatape, Colombia is worth visiting.

The number one thing to do in Guatape is definitely climb the 740 steps to the top of the rock (called El Peñón de Guatapé or Piedra del Peñol) to see the 360 degree views of Guatape and the surrounding lake.

It’s not the easiest climb to make, but it’s not too bad if you have a good general fitness level.

There isn't much else to do here so I think a day trip is plenty of time.

Small towns in Colombia are usually cute and quaint, so many travelers make visiting at least one a priority on their trip to this South American country.

Medellin has a replica of a small town at Pueblito Paisa, but towns like Guatape are the real thing, so its fun to walk around the main town center or colorful places like the Plazoleta de Los Zócalos pictured above.

Although it's not the main reason for visiting Guatape, Colombia, you can go out in a boat on the lake to explore a little more.

Since the lake is the other main attraction in Guatape, getting out on it is one of the most popular things to do here.

You can hop on a boat on your own for pretty cheap to see some highlights around the lake or most guided day trip tours to Guatape from Medellin include a boat ride on the tour.

Although you can see most of the sights from the boat, there are even some tours that let you get out and explore some sights like the Pablo Escobar ruins pictured below.

You can tour some ruins here or just see them from a boat.

❌ Why Guatape Might Not Be Worth Visiting

Guatape, Colombia might not be worth visiting since the rock is really the only thing to do here.

Although it’s a popular place to go to from Medellin, Guatape might not seem worth visiting to some because it’s not the simplest place to get to (there are no flights directly to Guatape), there’s only about a days worth of stuff to do here, the lake is manmade so it’s not really natural beauty, and there’s just so many other beautiful places to visit in Colombia.

Since a lot of people want to see more than just the big cities when they visit Colombia, a frequently asked question is which small towns should they visit, particularly Guatape or Salento?

Although I thought both were cool, the clear winner in my opinion is Salento because of its natural beauty, adventurous hike, and cute small Colombian town.

😴 Should You Do A Guatape Day Trip Or Stay Overnight?

I think a day trip is plenty of time to see everything here.

I thought there was enough to do in Guatape for the day, but it didn’t seem necessary to me to stay overnight here, however, plenty of people like to spend a few nights, especially if they’re only visiting a few places in Colombia and they really want to experience a smaller Colombian town.

Hotels In Guatape, Colombia

If you do decide to stay overnight in Guatape, it’s a pretty small town so there aren’t too many hotels to choose from, but here are a few of the highest rated options:

Hotel La Madriguera Guatapé (3 star hotel)

Finca-Hotel Montecarlo Guatape (farm home with 5 beds and 5 baths)

Hotel Chromatic (3 star hotel)

Lake View (hostel)

🔁 Sum Up: Is Guatape, Colombia Worth Visiting?

Although there are lots of amazing places to visit in Colombia, I think Guatape is definitely worth visiting on at least a day trip (especially if you only plan to visit a big city like Medellin) because of its unique manmade lake, cute small town, and huge climbable rock.