El Peñón de Guatapé, Guatapé, Antioquia, Colombia

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Info. El Peñón de Guatapé, Guatapé, Antioquia, Colombia

The 200-metre-tall El Peñón de Guatapé (The Rock of Guatapé) is an inselberg, which is an isolated rock hill that rises abruptly from relatively flat surroundings. The rock is found in north-west Colombia and was once worshipped by the indigenous Tahamí people, former inhabitants of this region. The rock was first officially climbed in 1954, when a small group of friends scaled it by wedging a series of boards into a vertical crack. It took them five days to reach the top.

Today, the rock is easier to climb as a zigzagging staircase has been built into the same crack the climbers used in 1954. Each of the 740 stairs is numbered, so you can be reminded with each step just how many more remain before you arrive at the viewing platform at the top. There you can buy drinks, snacks and gifts while enjoying the view of the surrounding lakes and small islands.