How To Move Through Colombia: A Guide

Colombia, as we know, is a place of extreme diversity, both natural and cultural. There's everything from humid rainforests in the Amazonas region to scorching deserts in La Guajira to sunny beaches in Cartagena and Barranquilla. Colombia has every single biome you can think of.

Once, I traveled to the Tatacoa desert in the Huila department, ten hours away from Medellín. We drove near a small town called Aipe, which the Magdalena River cuts right through. To cross it to continue our journey, we drove to a small car boat, which carried our car across the Magdalena River, from one shore to the other.

When we went to Bahía Solano, we traveled on plane to reach the airport, then by car, then finally by boat to reach our hotel, more than an hour ride. It was frightening to think we were an hour away by boat from, what we deemed, human 'civilization' and 'contact', but it also brought forth a sense of renewal and disconnection.

It's interesting to see how various means of transportation play out across the country. Whether it's crossing the Magdalena River or riding between towns, each region has its specific transportation mode.

Here in the Andean region, it's typical to move in chivas, an open-air bus/truck hybrid typically used for rural transportation, though now it's mostly used for partying.

And so, we are beginning to see new alternatives, such as the jeeps in Jardín. This is a gorgeous and quaint initiative, run by don Guillermo. He runs his jeep company in Jardín, consisting of several jeeps, and he transports you to wherever you wish to go.

Don Guillermo's jeep company simplifies transport within Jardín. The town itself is pretty easy to move on foot, but once our sight broadens to more activities, once the outskirts of Jardín are included, transportation becomes a tad more perilous and complicated.

Transportation on jeeps, however, makes getting to the outskirts of Jardín an easy job, providing the visitor with a broader experience of the town.

Initiatives such as this are what allow tourism to bloom in a sustainable matter. Not only is it supporting local entrepeneurs, but it's also allowing the visitor to visit a broader scope of the town, heightening their experience and allowing maximum visibility of the wonder that Jardín truly is.