Tour Highlights
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Experience the Ciclovia in Bogota
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One night in the hot springs of the Volcano Nevado del Ruiz
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The challenge of climbing the Alto de letras.
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Explore the Páramos on your bike - a unique ecosystem of the Colombian mountains
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Visit and coffee experience in one of the areas that produces some of the best coffee in the world
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Visit 7 towns that are part of the 17 heritage towns of Colombia (pueblos patrimoniales de Colombia)
Overview
In Colombia, we have a really cool word that is Salpicon, which has several meanings, but the most frequent for us in Colombia is that of a refreshing drink made from different types of tropical fruits, the truth is that it is a rainbow of fruits. We believe this word is is the perfect description for this tour since this tour is a rainbow, a rainbow of landscapes, nature, and people. You will never have the feeling that one day is the same as the previous one, every day will have a surprise and that is that this is one of the great qualities that Colombia has and that is that despite not having the marked 4 seasons of the northern countries or the southern countries, the landscape changes radically if you move meters up or meters down in the mountains, in other words, the landscape, nature, and culture change completely if you go up or down a few meters to the high mountain ranges, but it is also that the Andes in Colombia is not a single mountain chain, but just to the extreme south of Colombia, the mountain range of Andes is divided into three mountain ranges that run through Colombia from South to North, creating a great variety of ecosystems and cultural regions, Tropical forests, deserts, Andean Altiplano, Paramos, cloud forests, dry forests...
This little description of Colombia gives us an idea that a tour like this will give us in terms of experiences. On the first days we will travel to more than 2,600 meters above sea level, part of the Cundiboyacense Altiplano(highlands), perhaps the region in which cycling in Colombia plays the most important role, here the love for this sport, the height at which people live and the type of terrain mix to be the most important factory of cyclists in Colombia. On day number 7 we will descend from the altiplano until we reach the Magdalena river, the next day we will face the challenging Alto de Letras, after overcoming the queen stage, we will ride through the coffee zone of Colombia, a green region, full of mountains and with a truly spectacular climate, visiting beautiful towns such as Aguadas and Jardin (for us the most beautiful town in Colombia). We will spend the last days in Medellin, a city that everyone falls in love with.
Itinerary
DAYS 1-2:Bogota
On your arrival day, we will come to pick you up at the airport and drop you off at the hotel where we will spend the next two nights. As not all of you will arrive at the same time we will meet in the evening for a first dinner together where we can get to know each other and we will tell you more about the upcoming adventure.
Bogota is a vibrant city with plenty of museums, restaurants, artisanal markets and much more. Have you heard of the Ciclovia? More than 100km are closed for cars and reserved for cyclists, runners, and walkers. It takes place every Sunday and what better way to explore a new city.
DAY 3:Bogotá-Paipa
Today our immersion into the Colombian Beetle Cycling begins. We’ll start our stage in the mountains north of Bogota where we will already face our first challenging climbs going up to 3000 meters above sea level. We will pass some small mountain villages of the regions Boyaca and Cundinamarca, which allows us to get closer and closer to the culture of the "Escarabajo Colombiano".
Meals: Breakfast
Cycling data: Distance 109 km,67.7 miles-Climbing:2400 meters,7872 feet
DAY 4:Paipa-Laguna de Tota
On this day we will visit colorful towns in the Boyaca region, such as Iza and Firabitova, a region full of quiet roads with very little traffic, ideal for enjoying the scenery. At this stage, we will have a climb in which various legends of the Colombian cycling train, as It is the ascent to Lago de Tota, a large lagoon located at 3000 meters above sea level.
Meals: Breakfast
Cycling data: Distance 78 km,48.4 miles-Climbing:1700 meters,5576 feet
DAY 5:Iza-Paipa
During this stage, we will visit our first heritage town of the Mongui tour, a town with great historical importance for Colombia, in addition to being the entrance to the largest Paramo in the world. Ecosystems only exist in six countries in the world , and Colombia has 50% of them.
Meals:Breakfast
Cycling data: Distance 60 km,37 miles-Climbing:1400 meters,4592 feet
DAY 6:Paipa-Villa de Leyva
This day we ride the same road home to the champion of the Giro d'Italia, Vuelta España and several times podium of the Tour de France, the Colombian legend Nairo Quintana. We pass in front of the house where he was born and we can take a short rest. This stage ends in the second heritage town of our tour Villa de Leyva.
Meals: Breakfas
Cycling data: Distance 90 km,56 miles-Climbing:1600 meters,5248 feet
DAY 7:Villa de Leyva-Guaduas
This day we start our first real descent of the Andes, 4900 meters down. But to be able to enjoy this descent and reach warm lands, we must first make a mountain pass (You are in Colombia, and we almost always have climbs)
Meals: Breakfast
Cycling data: Distance:132 km,82 miles -Climbing:2700 meters,8856 feet
DAY 8:Mariquita-Alto de letras
You can watch a lot of videos, read a lot about this climb, and analyze the numbers of different people in the Strava segment or segments of this stage, to prepare yourself. But, in addition to the physical challenge, it is a great mental challenge, each person is different and has some weak points, the cold, the humidity, the heat, the height, the climbs, and in Letters you experience all these conditions in 80 km
Meals: Breakfast
Cycling data: Distance:80 km,49 miles-Climbing:3940 meters,12923 feet
DAY 9:Manizales-Salamina
After our queen stage, we will have reached the coffee zone located in the central mountain range of Colombia, this stage will be a little shorter, giving us time to stop for a second and enjoy the incredible landscapes, however, it is not flat we will have several climbs during the day.
Meals: Breakfast
Cycling data: Distance 53 km,33miles-Climbing:1430 meters,4690 feet
DAY 10:Salamina rest day
Our fourth heritage town on the tour, but our first coffee town, a town located between mountains of green coffee and other tropical crops. This day we will do a coffee tour in an authentic coffee farm where we can learn about the entire process of one of the best coffees in the world, Colombian coffee.
Meals: Breakfast
Activity: Coffee tour
DAY 11:Salamina-La pintada
Riding between mountains of coffee we begin our second descent of the Andes, a long technical descent that will end at the bottom of the Cauca river valley, the second most important river in Colombia.
Meals: Breakfast
Cycling data: Distance 92 km,57 miles-Climbing:1900 meters,6232 feet
DAY 12:La Pintada-Jardin
Riding in the direction of the most beautiful town in Colombia, a small town full of colorful houses, with incredible food and surrounded by an unimaginable landscape, truly a Garden
Meals: Breakfast
Cycling data: Distance 58 km,36 miles- Climbing:1570 meters,5149 feet
DAY 13:Jardin-Medellin
Our final stage towards the fascinating city of eternal spring Medellin, of course, and since we are in Colombia we still have a fianal climb.
Long live cycling
Meals: Breakfast
Cycling data: Distance 80 km,49 miles-Climbing: 1310 meters,4296 feet
DAY 14:Medellin rest day
A day of rest to explore the city of eternal spring, cycling ended but this day we still have some adventures. In the last 20 years, Medellín transformed into a worldwide reference regarding urban transformation, being awarded as „City of the Year“ in 2013 for its innovations.
Meals: Breakfast
Cycling data: City tour
DAY 15:Medellin tour end
Today our tour ends. Colombia is one of the most colourful countries in the world. We hope you enjoyed our Salpicon cycling tour. The transport to the airport will be arranged for you, we wish you a nice trip back home.
Meals: Breakfast
Arrival + Departure Details
ARRIVE
Airport City: Bogota, Colombia
Pick-Up Location: Aeropuerto el Dorado, Bogota
DEPART
Airport City: Medellin, Colombia
Drop-Off Location: Aeropuerto Internacional José María Córdova de Rionegro
Inclusions + Information
Accommodations
All accommodation will be in hotels or guest houses. We choose accommodation on the basis of comfort rather than luxury. Our prices are based on sharing a twin room; single rooms are available at extra cost.
Meals
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Daily breakfast
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Snacks and local fruit on riding days
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Dinner on our last night
Support
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Expert bilingual guide with extensive cycling experience and local knowledge
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Support vehicle that follows the day’s route, distributes refreshments, and offers lifts
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Bike maintenance to ensure optimal performance
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Pick up and drop off at the airport.
Activities
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Coffee farm experience
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Ecological hike in the Andes mountains
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Tour in the commune 13 of Medellin place of a great social transformation
Not Included
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Airfare
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Travel insurance
Dates & Prices
We design tours according to the needs of our clients, we also adapt to your availability of time. If you or your friends or family are interested in doing this tour, send us an email and we will get to work on the great adventure that is touring Colombia by Bicycle.
Optional Extras
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Own Room From: $530
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Bike Hire from: $300