A country · 198 places · 25 regions

Colombia, all of it.

198 curated places across 25 regions — photographed, mapped, and noted with the season each is best in.

Cocora Valley · via Wikimedia Commons

The 4 biggest regions — Cundinamarca Department, Antioquia, Boyacá Department and Bolívar Department — read below as chapters, with 21 more waiting past them.

Chapter I · Cundinamarca Department · 36 places

Cundinamarca Department

Colombia's capital, situated on a high savanna plateau at 2,600 meters, is a city of contrasts between colonial La Candelaria, modernist civic towers, and sprawling residential districts. The Gold Museum houses the world's largest collection of pre-Columbian goldwork, while Monserrate peak provides a cable-car ascent above the urban skyline. The long Ciclovía route closes major avenues to vehicles each Sunday for cyclists and pedestrians.

Bogotá

Cundinamarca Department, Colombia

✦ December to March, June to August · $$

Monserrate

Cundinamarca Department, Colombia

✦ December to March · $

Salt Cathedral of Zipaquirá

Cundinamarca Department, Colombia

✦ Year-round; weekdays avoid crowds · $$

All 36 places in Cundinamarca Department →

via Wikimedia Commons

Chapter II · Antioquia · 23 places

Antioquia

A colorful lakeside town in the Antioquia highlands known for its elaborately decorated building plinths — called zócalos — painted with figural and geometric scenes. The dominant visual landmark is El Peñón de Guatapé, a massive granite inselberg rising 200 meters above the surrounding reservoir landscape. The view from the summit takes in a maze of lake fingers, forested islands, and farmland.

✦ December to February, July to August · $

Meet Guatapé All 23 places in Antioquia →

Chapter III · Boyacá Department · 11 places

Boyacá Department

A colonial town in the Boyacá highlands preserved as a national monument since 1954, Villa de Leyva is centered on one of the largest plazas in South America — a cobblestoned expanse of some 14,000 square meters flanked by whitewashed colonial facades. The surrounding semi-arid landscape of desert canyons and fossil-bearing hillsides contrasts with the town's colonial architecture. A paleontological museum nearby displays a nearly complete kronosaurus skeleton.

Villa de Leyva

Boyacá Department, Colombia

✦ December to March · $

Monguí

Boyacá Department, Colombia

✦ December to March, drier hiking weather · $

Ráquira

Boyacá Department, Colombia

✦ Year-round · $

All 11 places in Boyacá Department →

via Wikimedia Commons

Chapter IV · Bolívar Department · 9 places

Bolívar Department

This massive fortress overlooking Cartagena was built by the Spanish to defend the port against pirates and rival navies. Its tunnels and battlements form one of the largest fortifications in the Americas.

✦ December to April · $

Meet Castillo San Felipe de Barajas All 9 places in Bolívar Department →

Every place in Colombia

198 places, one country.

Cocora Valley

Quindío Department, Colombia

✦ December to February, June to July (dry season) · $

Ciudad Perdida

Magdalena Department, Colombia

✦ December to March (drier season) · $$

Caño Cristales

Meta Department, Colombia

✦ July to November · $$

Taganga

Magdalena Department, Colombia

✦ December to April · $

Tayrona National Natural Park

Magdalena Department, Colombia

✦ December to April · $

Guatapé

Antioquia, Colombia

✦ December to February, July to August · $

El Peñón de Guatapé

Antioquia, Colombia

✦ December to February, July to August · $

Medellín

Antioquia, Colombia

✦ Year-round (spring-like climate) · $$

Salento, Quindío

Quindío Department, Colombia

✦ December to February, June to July · $