Hiking in Colombia

Colombia packs an unusual amount of landscape into short distances. In a single region you can walk through cloud forest, cross a páramo —a high-altitude moorland that exists almost nowhere else on earth— and finish the day in a warm valley full of coffee farms. Add waterfalls, a desert, wax palm valleys and Pacific rainforest, and you have most of what is on this page.

Two things surprise most visitors. The first is altitude: many trails start above 2,000 metres, so a walk that looks easy on paper can feel much harder. The second is that seasons here are wet and dry, not summer and winter; the same trail can be a pleasant walk or a mudbath depending on the month.

Every guide below is written from having walked the trail: how to get to the start, what you pay at the entrance, how long it actually takes, and whether you need a guide. The routes range from a two-hour waterfall walk to multi-day treks.

Why we insist on local guides who speak English. Trail signage in Colombia is limited and many trailheads are on private land or inside protected areas. With a guide who speaks your language you can ask, instead of guessing your way through directions, permits and weather.