Guatape and El Penon

The Piedra Del Penol, A 200 M Granite Monolith Climbed By About 700 Steps, Rises Over A Reservoir Flooded In The 1970s. The Nearby Town Of Guatape Is Known For The Colourful Carved Zocalos On Its Houses. · Guatape, Antioquia

Guatape is a small lake town about two hours east of Medellin by road, set beside a large reservoir that was flooded in the 1970s for hydroelectric power. It is known for the zocalos, the bright painted bas-relief panels along the lower walls of its houses, which show family trades, animals, flowers and local stories. A few kilometres away, El Penon, or Piedra del Penol, is a granite monolith about 200 metres high, climbed by a stairway of roughly 740 steps built into a crack in the rock. At the top, a viewing platform looks over islands, peninsulas and blue-green water, and it is one of the best-known views in Antioquia. It is also busy, touristy and very full on Sundays and holidays, with queues for the stairs, souvenir stalls and boat touts. Go early, take the lake trip, and treat it as one long day from Medellin or an easy overnight. Sunscreen matters, rain often arrives in the afternoon, and the town is at its best once the tour buses have left in the late afternoon and the lake turns calm.

Lake town and a 200 m granite monolith above the Guatape reservoir, about 80 km east of Medellin, Guatape, Antioquia, Colombia

El Penon opens in the morning and closes in the late afternoon, with a paid entry at the foot; go as it opens to beat the queues and the heat. The town of Guatape and its streets are open all day and free to walk, with shops, cafes and restaurants open into the evening, longer on weekends. Boat trips run through the day, and the last return from the lake is in the afternoon. Buses from Medellin start early; confirm hours and fees locally.

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