By bike from the
capital of Ecuador to Colombia and to the coastal city of Cartagena to bring
cocoa beans to Europe to promote fair trade: The
extreme sportsman Guido Kunze crossed Colombia on two wheels on "the long way of chocolate" and we got the chance to accompany him through Colombia.
Today we would like to take this opportunity to inform you about bike tours in
Colombia.
What Colombia insiders
have long known may surprise others: The Colombians love cycling, it is the
second most popular sport in the country after football and you can say there
is a proper cycling culture in the country: Whether the professional road race
"Vuelta a Colombia", which is held annually, or
"Ciclopaseos" for recreational or city cyclists, at different levels,
the wheel culture is celebrated. If you only know some of Colombia's many
beautiful little hinterland slopes with wide views over green hilly Andes, can
easily imagine that cycling in Colombia now also begins to inspire more and
more tourists.
Here are 3 of our most beautiful routes for Mountain bikers.
1. A bike ride through the surroundings of Villa de Leyva: Due to the diverse landscape around the colonial town, this tour is very exciting and charming. Within only a few hours you can visit an archeological site ("El Infiernito") form the muisca era, the monastery "Ecce Homo" as well as a fossil older than 150 Million years and a wineyard.
2. A
bike ride from the eastern Andes to the Magdalena
Valley to Honda: From
about 3.000m. It goes behind the village "Chiquinquirá" to the city
of Honda. The Tour always offers spectacular views of
the valley of the most important river in Colombia - the powerful Rio Magdalena.
In just 2 days you can explore many different landscape types of
Colombia: Subparamo (special vegetation, which are
located from altitudes of approximately 2700 m. n. m. up to 4000 ), cloud forest and tropical forest. Once in Honda you can
visit the beautiful old town of Honda.
3. A tour at the foot of the highest coastal mountains in the world: The Sierra Nevada de
Santa Marta: First it goes to Minca, which is about 650 m. Altitude
is a bit fresher than directly on the coast. The bikes are already ready, and
it goes to the coffee house La Victoria, while we cope about 300 meters. The
nature is characterized by the tropical rainforest of the region and hosts a
variety of exotic bird species. Many of them are endemic.
After visiting the coffee house, continue to the nature reserve El Dorado, that at 1,900 m. high is. The next day consists of a
long descent down to the coast and ends at Tayrona Park, which has beautiful
beaches.
