A surprisingly gentle introduction to Colombia: Ipiales, Pasto & Bogotá

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When we first came to South America back in September of last year Colombia was not even on our list of countries to visit. Why would anyone visit a place known for terrorist guerrillas, kidnappings and drug trafficking? But, the more people we met during our travels the more we heard that Colombia is seriously mis-represented by the rest of the world and that it is actually a country worth getting to know. So, it got added to the list...

From Ecuador to Colombia

The first decision we had to make was whether to fly into Colombia or to cross by land. There have been a number of tense moments between Ecuador and Colombia recently so we were feeling wary. However, we spoke to other people who had crossed by land and had not faced difficulties, so we decided to take the bus from Quito to the Ecuadorian border town of Tulcan. We quickly hopped into a taxi to get to the actual border and within 20 minutes we had been stamped out of Ecuador, crossed a bridge and welcomed with open arms to Colombia. Easy!

Because our bus from Quito had been delayed, we arrived in the Colombian border town of Ipiales in the late afternoon and couldn't move on as hoped. This worked out well in the end though as we got to stay in a very good hotel in Ipiales for a very reasonable price, ease ourselves into the Colombian way of life slowly and visit a little-known local attraction the following morning.

Santuario de las Lajas

We woke early on our first full day in Colombia to take the quick trip from Ipiales to the impressive Santuario de las Lajas. In 1754 an image of the Virgin Mary is said to have appeared on the rockface high up the side of this gorge and consequently it became an important place of pilgrimage. In the early 20th century, the Santuario (large Church) was constructed along with a bridge across the gorge. The altar of the church is directly in front of where the image of the virgin is believed to have appeared in the rock.

The inside of the Santuario is not too spectacular, but the outside is stunning and the location unbeatable. Many pilgrims still visit the site today and that was no different on the day we were there. The faithful have also left plaques thanking the virgin for the "miracles" she has performed for them.

Pasto

From Ipiales we moved on to the nice regional city of Pasto. Along the way we were also able to enjoy some fantsatic scenery from the bus window. Pasto is a prosperous city and apparently this comes from the local drug barons using the town for their big money purchases. Whether this is true or not I don't know, but we felt very safe there and enjoyed wandering the attractive streets. We also had an introduction to some great Colombian food, including massive chicken tamales and arepas.

Bogotá

From Pasto we took a flight to Bogotá. We could have taken the bus but decided that time was tight and it might be worth pushing on to see the best parts of Colombia. I was a little hesitant about arriving in Bogotá, as it is a huge city and obviously has a significant share of the problems in Colombia (apparently in the 1990s, it was considered one of the most dangerous cities in the world). But in fact, I needn't have worried. We ended up spending a very enjoyable few days in the city, taking in the sights and busy street life.

Bogotá has an attractive historic centre and this is where we spent most of our time. Our hostel (the Platypus) was located there, as were plenty of good places to eat and drink. In fact we loved one Argentinian place so much that we went there two nights running. It called itself Argentinian but actually made some of the best patacones (Colombian mashed and fried bananas) that we have tasted so far.

As the capital city, Bogotá has a wealth of museums to visit and we ended up seeing a decent selection. A lot of the exhibits we saw were based in a large museum in the old town, which housed the Boltero Collection (he is Colombia's most famous artist, and no, I hadn't heard of him either!); the Municipal art collection; and a temporary collection from the Museo del Oro (Gold Museum) which is currently undergoing restoration. All of this was free and so we enjoyed wandering in and out as we wanted, as well as going to the Juan Valdez coffee shop which did some of the best espressos I have had this trip. And I am very picky about my coffee...!

Bogotá city is already situated at an altitude of 2,640m above sea level, and so walking up the hills can take your breath away. To add to the fun, a teleferico has been installed to take visitors up a hill overlooking town - Cerro Monserrate - to a height of 3,190m. At the top is a church and great views over the whole city.

We also visited the Quinta of Simon Bolivar, his house when in Bogotá. Bolivar was a hugely important figure in the liberation of the countries of northern and western South America and is till seen as a demi-god by many. The house was interesting to visit and the gardens surrounding it were very pleasant to wander through.

Although we were only in Bogotá for a short while we really liked the city, especially just wandering around the old town. I would have liked to have stayed longer in the city but our time left for this trip is quickly diminishing and we need to keep moving on! Time to head north...

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