Colombia (Lonely Planet, 5th Edition) - Jens Porup [5]
Don’t miss this classic Cali festival Click here. It’s not really a worldwide festival, but you’ll still see some amazing dancers, and there are often free shows at the outdoor Los Cristales amphitheater.
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CONGRESO NACIONAL GASTRONÓMICO
Every year top chefs from different countries are invited to come and cook up a storm in tiny colonial Popayán Click here.
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FESTIVAL INTERNACIONAL DE JAZZ
Many North American bands come for this Medellín festival Click here. There are usually a couple of free concerts.
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FESTIVAL INTERNACIONAL DE TEATRO
Held since 1968, Manizales’ theater festival Click here is the country’s second most important theater festival (after Bogotá’s Festival Iberoamericano de Teatro). It lasts for about a week and features free shows in Plaza de Bolívar.
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OCTOBER
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FESTIVAL DE CINE DE BOGOTÁ
With a 20-year history, the city’s film festival Click here attracts films from all around the world, including a usually strong Latin American selection.
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ROCK AL PARQUE late Oct
Three days of rock/metal/pop/funk/reggae bands rocking out at Parque Simón Bolívar in Bogotá Click here. It’s free, and swarming with fans.
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NOVEMBER
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REINADO NACIONAL DE BELLEZA Nov 11
This event, also known as the Carnaval de Cartagena or Fiestas del 11 de Noviembre, is the city’s most important annual bash. The national beauty pageant celebrates Cartagena’s independence day Click here. Miss Colombia, the beauty queen, is announced on November 11, the high point of the event. The fiesta, which includes street dancing, music and fancy-dress parades, strikes up several days before the pageant and the city goes wild.
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DECEMBER & JANUARY
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ALUMBRADO NAVIDEÑO Dec 7 to Jan 7
Every Christmas, Colombian cities compete to see who can put up the most elaborate lighting display along their respective rivers – Medellín often wins. The Festival of Lights in Villa de Leyva in early December is also a major national event that attracts Colombians from Bogotá and afar.
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FERIA DE CALI Christmas to Jan 7
During Cali’s annual bash Click here, commerce pretty much grinds to a halt and the parties spill into the streets. Food and beer pavilions magically appear, and spontaneous dancing in the streets is not unknown. The Río Cali is illuminated by lights all along the river. The bullfights are also renowned.
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Itineraries
CLASSIC ROUTES
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CARIBBEAN BEACHES (WITH A TWIST)
THE SEE-(ALMOST)-EVERYTHING ROUTE
ROADS LESS TRAVELED
NOOKS & CRANNIES
PACIFIC COAST
TAILORED TRIPS
DIVING COLOMBIA
NATIONAL PARKS & PROTECTED AREAS
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CARIBBEAN BEACHES (WITH A TWIST) Four Weeks / Venezuela to Panama
Colombia has world-class Caribbean beaches, plus a few coastal surprises (ruins, rainforest, mountains). The start and finish points are rather remote here; you may want to use Santa Marta or Cartagena as your base.
Start at Cabo de la Vela, a stunning setting of desert and sea. Enjoy the peace; you won’t find too many other tourists here.
Head southwest to Taganga, just outside Santa Marta. From here, do the sweaty, six-day trek to Ciudad Perdida or walk into Parque Nacional Natural (PNN) Tayrona, lingering on its otherworldly beaches. If all-inclusive resorts are more your thing, check out El Rodadero for some luxury. Then head west to Barranquilla, and its raucous Carnaval.
Head to Cartagena and spend time exploring its glorious backstreets and nearby, the Islas del Rosario.
If you’re not in a hurry, spend a few days visiting Playa Blanca and the Caribbean islands of San Andrés and Providencia.
From Cartagena head southwest, visiting Tolú, then to Turbo and across to Capurganá on the Panamanian