Guatapé

Colombia's most colorful town, where the base of every house is decorated with bright relief panels called zócalos. Take a boat trip on the lake to see the reservoir.

Guatapé is a lakeside town about 3 km from the Piedra del Peñol, with a population of roughly 6,000. It is famous for its zócalos, colorful relief panels that decorate the lower part of house facades. They originally served to protect walls from livestock and mud splashes, but they evolved into a decorative art form. Their designs often depict the owner's occupation, family stories, animals, religious themes, or local scenery, such as cows, coffee trees, boats, and musicians. Each one is different. Together with bright doors and windows, they make the whole town feel like an open-air art gallery. For a good walking route, start at the central square with its church (built in a neo-classical style), then wander along the colorful stairways, the Calle del Recuerdo (Street of Memories), and the Plazoleta de los Zócalos (Zócalos Square). Photograph the vivid staircases and walls. The lakeside promenade has food stalls, boat ticket booths, and zip lines. Lake boat tours (about 1 to 2 hours) pass the submerged remains of the old Peñol town, where only a cross remains above the water, as well as lakeside estates of the wealthy and the ruins of Pablo Escobar's lakeside villa, La Manuela, which rivals destroyed in 1993. In town, you can eat Antioquian bandeja paisa and lake trout. Guatapé has many guesthouses and lakeside cabins, so you can stay a night and watch the sunset from the rock. Getting there: take a bus from Medellín's Terminal del Norte directly to town, about 2 hours. From the rock, a mototaxi takes about 10 minutes.

Guatapé

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