Description
Enjoy a memorable tour in a place that was once considered the most dangerous neighborhood of Colombia. Learn about its crude history and the road to recovery that has turned it into a lively neighborhood with beautiful street art and impressive urban innovation.
Your tour starts when our guide picks you up at your hotel to go on a taxi to the closest Metro station and head to San Javier station, the gate to Comuna 13. Boarding the Metrocable, an alternative form of public transportation for local residents, you will get to see San Javier from above. While floating up the hill and enjoying the view, you will learn about how much this project changed locals' lives.
Back at the main station, you’ll hop on a bus that takes you near the famous electric escalators that were built in 2011. They replaced 530 concrete steps and reduced the time for getting up the 384m (1,260ft.) immensely. Thanks to innovative changes like this, the complicated social dynamics gradually turned into a brighter panorama.
At this point, you will meet your local guide; local youth beneficiaries of the educational programs of Comuna Projet NGO. They will guide through the numerous graffiti art displayed at the comuna, you will get to know key aspects of the history and current reality of the community. Through their personal stories, you will connect deeper with the context and get inspired by their resilience and transformation process.
Next, you will visit a small local brewery right at the heart of the Comuna. It is an initiative of a group of local entrepreneurs who want to make visitors stay for a while, hang out, and generate more employment for the local community. Here you will have the chance to try local brews or non-alcoholic options. This brewery is community owned and supported by Comuna Project.
Finally, our bilingual guide will bring you down the electric escalators, then a 10-min bus ride and get you to San Javier subway station, where the tour ends.
Included
- Knowledgeable guide
- Public transportation rides
- Local Guide from Comuna 13
- Home-made popsicle
Not Included
- Private transportation
Important information
We can arrange private transportation from and to your hotel for an additional cost. The local guide doesn’t speak English, our guide will serve as a translator. If you have an academic trip or a larger group, please contact us! There are some interesting additions.
How this tour creates an impact
This Tour is made in collaboration with a Comuna Project. A local non-profit whose mission is to improve the quality of life of the inhabitants of Medellin's Comuna 13 through workshops and free courses. It currently has five open spaces for learning, where they teach: guitar, piano, singing, music production, crafts, drawing, English and office automation, to about 300 people. When booking this tour, we employ beneficiaries of their programs and make an economic contribution for their operations.
This tour is part of our HEART experiences.
Additional information
Things to bring:
- Comfortable shoes and clothes
- Sunscreen
- Rain poncho or umbrella
Cancellation policies(Free cancellation available)
This experience can be cancelled up to 24 hours in advance to receive a full refund
