Most Interesting Things To See & Do In Popayan Colombia

Thinking About Visiting Popayan, Colombia, But Wondering If There Is Really Anything That Interesting To See Or Do Here?

When I was living in the Coffee Region of Colombia, Popayan wasn’t too far of a destination for me to visit so I combined it with one of my trips down to the archeological region of San Agustin and found a few interesting things to see and do here.

🇨🇴 Most Interesting Things To Do In Popayan, Colombia

Staying near the city center is usually the safest place.

There’s not an endless amount of things to do in Popayan, Colombia, but it can still be worth visiting if you’re already in the area and want to see/experience some of the things listed below.

➡️ in terms of guided tours, there aren’t too many options for Popayan, but you can find a few limited options here

1. Wander The White Walled City

Just wandering the streets of Popayan, Colombia is one of the best things to do here.

Popayan is known as the white city (la ciudad blanca) because of all the super white buildings surrounding the main part of the city, and although they’re pretty bright when the sun shines, it is a beautiful sight to see.

Popayan is usually pretty safe, but be careful where you wander and try to stick close to the main city center to be extra safe (I also suggest getting a hotel in this area too).

2. See Historical Sites In The City

This city is almost 500 years old so there is a lot of history here.

The city of Popayan is almost 500 years old so there is a good amount of history here and a few places you can check this out include:

the Torre del Reloj
the Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of the Assumption
the Casa del poeta soldado
the National Museum Guillermo Valencia
the Guillermo Valencia Theater
El Morro de Tulcán
El Pueblito Patojo.

You can also see the city from above at either the historical site of El Morro de Tulcán or the popular hiking spot Cerro las Tres Cruces.

3. Experience A Religious Celebration

Popayan is one of the most religious cities in Colombia and one of the best things you can do here is witness some of their celebrations.

Semana Santa is a religious holiday in Colombia (also known as Easter week) and Popayan is very big on its celebrations of this holiday and any other religious holidays throughout the year.

I visited Popayan on a random weekend and ended up getting to watch a religious celebration with lots of people and a few parades. It was a cool surprise and I’m glad I got to experience a little of Popayan’s religious history.

4. Get Out Into Nature

Although there's not too many things to do in Popayan, Colombia, there is some beautiful nature surrounding it.

Colombia is full of beautiful natural areas and Popayan has an interesting one not too far away (about 2 hours) at Puracé National Natural Park.

So you don’t have to figure out how to get there on your own, there is a tour available from Popayan that will take you out to this national park on a day tour that lasts about 11-12 hours.

5. Visit Ancient Archeological Sites

These ancient stone statues are a wonderful site to see for history lovers.

San Agustin is a big ancient historical site in Colombia about 5-ish hours from Popayan (and I recommend it if you love history like me), but from Popayan, you can also visit another archeological site, Tierradentro Archeological Park, and there is even a tour for it as well.

🔁 Sum Up: Popayan, Colombia Things To Do

Popayan isn’t a place I would say is worth going way out of your way for, because it does take a bit of extra time and effort to reach, there’s not a ton of things to do here, and Colombia is just so full of great places to visit, but I still enjoyed my time here so if you’re nearby or have plenty of time to really explore Colombia, then I’d say Popayan is definitely worth checking out on a short trip.