2 hEl Peñón de Guatapéalso known as La Piedra del PeñolSome views you look for and others you earn step by step. Here it takes 740 steps to meet Guatapé from above.
Town of Zócalos and Colour
Plan your trip
Town of Zócalos and Colour
Plan your trip
Guatapé · Antioquia · Colombia
Zócalos that tell stories
Sixty-five square kilometres of water among mountains, a town painted by hand and a rock two hundred and twenty metres tall. Guatapé can't be done in a day — and here we show you why.
The town, the reservoir and El Peñón, before you arrive.
What to see
Thirteen places that tell part of Guatapé's history, landscapes and identity. Some are a quick stop; others, an experience to enjoy without watching the clock.
2 h
45 min
40 min
1 h
35 min
40 min
30 min
50 min
2 h← Swipe to see more →
The water
Water, mountains and islands form a landscape that changes when you travel it from the reservoir. That's 65 square kilometres to sail, paddle and enjoy all kinds of activities on the water.
The early hours of the day have a special charm: the water tends to be calmer, there's less traffic and the landscape can be enjoyed at an unhurried pace.
At the malecón you'll find different ways to tour the reservoir by the hour, with an operator.
From 1 h
1 h 30
1 h 30
Half day2 h
1 h 30
1 h 30
30 min← Swipe to see all eight →
Every adventure has its own pace. Rental time depends on the activity and the operator, so confirm times when you book.
After the water, the landscape goes on. There are country roads to ride by quad bike, trails that lead to waterfalls and helicopter flights to see the reservoir from the sky.
Plan your trip
Choose the experiences you want to live and find out how much time you need to enjoy them without rushing. Guatapé has a lot to discover, and every experience deserves its time.
What's on
There are times when the town transforms: the main square fills with music, the streets take on a different rhythm and the atmosphere feels different. If your dates coincide with one of these celebrations, stay and experience Guatapé when the town comes alive.
9 official celebrations. 7 months when the town transforms and 5 months that are ideal for enjoying it at a calmer pace.
March 29 to April 5
A live re-enactment of the Passion through the streets of the town. After the October festival, it is the celebration that draws the most visitors.
July 10–19
The feast of Guatapé's patron saint, with a pilgrimage of faith across the reservoir.
July 24–26
Flower arrangements, blossoms and the painted zócalos take the stage. The celebration that gives the town its identity its name.
September 26 to October 4
The municipality's biggest festival: art, tradition and culture, with the zócalos, tourism and the reservoir in a single week.
October 9–12
The third edition of the municipal book fair, with author events and reading activities.
October 21–25
Guatapé's film festival: screenings and conversations around the stories that reach the screen.
Novemberdate to be confirmed
The Christmas lights are switched on and Christmas is welcomed in.
December 23
The town's Christmas sancochos — the traditional stew — on 23 December: flavours that bring us together.
December 31
On 31 December, the carnival with which Guatapé sees out the year: joy, colour and tradition.
Official calendar of the Alcaldía de Guatapé.
A live re-enactment of the Passion through the streets of the town. After the October festival, it is the celebration that draws the most visitors.
Streets of the town · until apr 5 · Free entry
The feast of Guatapé's patron saint, with a pilgrimage of faith across the reservoir.
Iglesia de Nuestra Señora del Carmen and the reservoir · Free entry
Flower arrangements, blossoms and the painted zócalos take the stage. The celebration that gives the town its identity its name.
Guatapé · Free entry
The municipality's biggest festival: art, tradition and culture, with the zócalos, tourism and the reservoir in a single week.
Guatapé · until oct 4 · Free entry
The third edition of the municipal book fair, with author events and reading activities.
Guatapé · Free entry
Guatapé's film festival: screenings and conversations around the stories that reach the screen.
Guatapé · Free entry
The Christmas lights are switched on and Christmas is welcomed in.
Guatapé · date to be confirmed · Free entry
The town's Christmas sancochos — the traditional stew — on 23 December: flavours that bring us together.
Guatapé · Free entry
On 31 December, the carnival with which Guatapé sees out the year: joy, colour and tradition.
Guatapé · Free entry
There's nothing of that type in the calendar.
Where to stay
Guatapé doesn't have just one type of accommodation: it has options for every way of travelling. You can wake up in a colourful house in the centre, experience a floating house or enjoy a spacious country estate to share with your family.
There are options for every style and budget, always with something in common: Guatapé's landscape as part of the experience.
Tell us how you travel and find the place to stay that suits you.
Wake up in the heart of Guatapé, a few steps from the square and its colourful streets. Everything is close: a coffee in the morning, a walk after breakfast and the town waiting for you as you step outside.
Stay in the heart of Guatapé, meet other travellers and let the plan unfold as you go. Choose between shared or private rooms and enjoy a stay for those who want to be close to everything, travel light and experience the town at their own pace.
Wake up facing the reservoir and let the landscape set the pace. Rest, food and wellbeing in one place.
Sleep surrounded by trees and wake up with nature. An experience to disconnect without giving up comfort.
Here the reservoir is literally under your feet. Wake up on the water and let the landscape be the first thing you see. A different way to rest and experience Guatapé.
Wake up to birdsong, green mountains and fresh country air. Ideal for sharing and staying a few days.
A cabin to pause and connect with the landscape. Wood, nature and the nearby reservoir set the scene for a quiet night, whether as a couple, with friends or with family.
There's no accommodation of that type in this selection.
History
Before the reservoir, there were roads, houses and places full of stories here. Today the water covers part of that land, but its memory remains.
Discover in eight moments how Guatapé changed.
Long before the reservoir, this valley was dry and indigenous communities lived among its mountains. The territory was known as San Antonio de Remolinos de El Peñol, a name that already referred to the rock.
Among the traces of those communities are clay pieces found across several rural villages. They are remnants of a past that still holds stories waiting to be found.
The valley is dryUntil 1940 Guatapé was a town of farmers, cattle raisers, muleteers and miners. Of all those trades two endured: muleteering and farming.
The zócalos were born around then, and not as decoration: on the frieze of each façade the family painted what it lived on. A loaded mule meant a muleteer's house; a cow, cattle raisers; a loom, weavers. The whole town was a directory painted at knee height.
The valley is dryIn 1954, when the valley was still dry, a group of neighbours decided to reach the top of El Peñón. With no stairs and no path, they worked for several days with planks and improvised supports, edging up the rock.
That first ascent opened the way to one of Guatapé's most emblematic experiences.
The valley is dryWork on the Peñol–Guatapé hydroelectric project begins to change life in the municipality. Workers arrive from all over and the economy starts to revolve around the construction.
With it comes news that will change the landscape for ever: the Nare river is to be dammed. The town did not yet know how much of its land would end up under water.
The dam beginsThe reservoir begins to cover the valleys. Old El Peñol disappears beneath the water and its inhabitants are moved to a new town, built so they could start again. Guatapé also loses part of its land, and a new landscape appears: 65 square kilometres of water.
It was not only a change of scenery. For many families it meant leaving behind their houses, the school, the church and the places where they had lived for generations.
Old El Peñol goes underWhen El Peñón began to draw visitors, a group of locals set out to write the name of Guatapé on the rock in enormous white letters. They managed the G and part of the U before El Peñol intervened.
El Peñón sits on the boundary between the two municipalities, and the initiative sparked a dispute over who it belonged to. The word was left unfinished and, in time, became an image that is now part of the landscape.
The water is now the landscapeWhat had been a loss becomes the image of eastern Antioquia. The arms of the reservoir, the peninsulas and the islands draw a landscape that simply did not exist forty years earlier.
El Peñón de Guatapé, once a rock in the middle of pasture, is now surrounded by water on every side. The photograph that defines Guatapé today is of a place younger than many of its residents.
The landscape we see today is bornGuatapé is one of the most visited places in Antioquia. The zócalos that once recorded trades now tell the story of the water too, and on the newer façades you find boats, fish and the outline of El Peñón.
And the municipality is setting itself a different goal from the one it has had until now: to stop being a day trip from Medellín and become a place where people stay.
Sixty-five km² of waterThe milestones of 1714, 1954, 1960, the flooding and the letters come from the Mayor's Office; those of 1940 and today, from the local team's «About Guatapé». The nineties milestone is pending confirmation by the Casa de la Cultura.
Reviews
A place to discover, enjoy and stay
More than a destination for a few hours, Guatapé is a territory that invites you to stay, to take it slowly and to live something new.
Where every corner has a story
Some destinations are visited. Others are lived. Guatapé belongs to the second kind.
A town straight out of a García Márquez novel
A town in the mountains with a piece of sea at its heart.
Guides
Itineraries put together by people who live in Guatapé, with real times and no rushing.
The minimum plan so you don't leave in a hurry: El Peñón early, the town at a slow pace and an afternoon on the water.
Read the guide →
With time for the countryside: the coffee tour, the Vuelta al Anillo loop and a morning with no plans.
Read the guide →Wakesurf, wakeboard, jet ski, pontoon and kayak: what each one is, how long it lasts and which suits you if you've never tried it.
Read the guide →740 steps, what time to go, how much the entry costs and what to bring.
Read the guide →
From paisa snacks to restaurants on the water. With prices and opening hours.
Read the guide →
Each frieze tells something: a trade, an animal, a family story. Learn to read them.
Read the guide →Notice from the Alcaldía
The Alcaldía de Guatapé is running a campaign to bring the register of establishments, operators and tourism service providers up to date. The directory will be published here once it is finished.
Do you run a business in Guatapé? Register it using the official form: registration is free and is handled by the Alcaldía together with the Mesa de Empresarios.
Mesa de Empresarios · Calle 31 # 30 – 08, Parque Principal · Tourist Information Point, inside the Town Hall.
Emergencies
One number. From any phone, with no credit.
Information Point
Parque Principal, inside the Town Hall, diagonally across from the Iglesia de Nuestra Señora del Carmen
Monday to Friday: 08:00–18:00
Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays: 12:00–18:00
Getting here
About 80 km from Medellín, about 2 hours by road.