If you have the time and an adventurous spirit, check out some of Colombia’s wildest stretches of coastline, from the rocky Pacific to the Darien to the dry tropical forests of Córdoba. Try this itinerary in September or October when the whales are frolicking in the Pacific, the waters are calm in the Caribbean, and the tourists have gone back to work and school.
This week-long itinerary takes you to lesser known points along the Caribbean coast. Be prepared to take several modes of transportation to get around. If you don’t have a full week to spend here, prioritize a visit to Capurganá or Reserva Natural Viento Solar.
The Darien Gap jungle meets the Caribbean Sea near Capurganá. Photo © Rafal Cichawa/123rf.
From Medellín, take the hour-long flight to the Darien Gap community of Capurganá. On the Caribbean side of the isthmus, a horse-drawn taxi will take you to your jungle lodge. Stay at friendly Cabañas Darius or at the honeymoon-worthy Bahía Lodge.
Walk through the jungle, over the mountain, to the sleepy community of Sapzurro, paying no attention to the cacophony of annoyed howler monkeys. Continue on to Panama if you’d like: It’s just a 20-minute hike away, on the other side of a steep and muddy hill. At La Miel on the Panama side of the border, take a dip in the calm waters.
Spend the day diving or snorkeling around the reefs off the coastline of Capurganá. Enjoy dinner on the beach at Donde Josefina.
If you have more time, contact Posada del Gecko to arrange a side trip to Panama’s San Blas islands, where you can visit a Guna indigenous village.
A small wharf in the Caribbean Sea near Sapzurro and Capurganá in Colombia. Photo © Jesse Kraft/123rf.
Take a boat to the port of Turbo (or fly to Montería) and hop on a bus to Reserva Natural Viento Solar. It’s a long day of interesting traveling from the Darien, usually involving several modes of transportation. Expect to be on the road and sea for about eight hours.
This nature reserve is in tropical dry forest on the Córdoba coast. Take a relaxing walk on the beach in the afternoon.
Walk through the forest surrounding Reserva Natural Viento Solar and look for impossibly cute osos perezosos (sloths). Snooze in a hammock, then kayak in the calm waters before the sun goes down. Spend your last night at the reserve in an open-air thatched roof hut, lulled to sleep by the gentle breeze and rolling waves in the distance.
Make your way to the beach community of Tolú, with a detour to San Antero. Have a spectacular meal at Pesecar, with an even more spectacular view of Bahía de Cispatá and the mangroves beyond.
Take a mangrove cruise and visit the Asocaiman turtle and alligator nature refuge run by local fishers. Continue onwards to Tolú, where you can take an evening bici-taxi (pedicab) tour of this charming fishing town.
If you have more time, set sail to the Islas de San Bernardo and spend a night or two at a rustic or extremely swank hotel—your choice! If you’re there during the week, you might have your own private island. Otherwise, catch a flight at the Aeropuerto Golfo de Morrosquillo back to Medellín.
Excerpted from the First Edition of Moon Colombia.
