What to See in Colombia - Top Sights and Attractions

Science museum with a planetarium. The Maloka Museum is an interactive science museum located in Bogotá, Colombia. Visitors interact with a wide variety of exhibits that explore topics in Science and Technology.

The museum has 9 rooms, with different science and technology topics; the Telecommunications Room shows interactive games about Binary System, the Computers' language, How does the cellphone work or what's the communication process.

The next room is The City, it shows different modules where you can see 3D images of Bogotá with glasses, the development and history of the city and see a model of it where you can see all the buildings in it.

The Human is a room where visitors can explore the perfect machine, the human body.

The Universe room is one of the most popular rooms in the museum, where visitors can do experiments, such as knowing a person's weight in the planets of Solar System.

Petroleum, is other room located in the second floor, there one can see the process of exploring and exploiting that treasure, and its different kinds and characteristics.

The Water Room, show you through games the physic and chemical characteristics of that liquid; the others are the Biodiversity and Boys & Girls' room.

The museum has an Activity Zone with math games and activities too.

The museum has a dome theater where documentaries are shown.^[2]

Park in Medellín, Colombia. Nutibara Hill is a rocky hill formation located in the Colombian city of Medellin, in the geographic center of the Aburrá Valley and on the west bank of the Medellín River. It is one of the few ecosystems that is conserved in Medellín and is considered one of the city's seven "guardian" hills. The hill has a sculpture park, the open-air Carlos Vieco Auditorium, and the Pueblito Paisa a reproduction of the traditional Colombian township, amongst other sights. The hill is 80 meters tall and has an area of 333,300 m2. It is named after the indigenous Chief Nutibara.

Initially with the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors, the hill was called "Marcela of the Parra Hill", and then "Cadavides Hill". Finally, it was renamed Nutibara, which continues today.^[7]

Museum in Medellín, Colombia. The San Pedro Cemetery Museum is a cemetery and museum located in Medellín, Colombia. It was constructed in 1842, named a museum in 1998, and declared a National Monument of Colombia in 1999. This place is an integral part of the cultural and architectural heritage of the city. It is administered by the Foundation of San Pedro Cemetery.

Funerary monuments are erected here in memory of prominent figures in the history of Colombia. Although it falls under the category of funerary sculptures and architecture, the space has begun to emerge as a new venue for artistic dissemination. Local and national collections of art are preserved there and, in full moon nights, concerts, shows, storytelling, theater, and dance performances are held.^[10]

Aquarium in Colombia. The Rodadero Sea Aquarium and Museum is a public aquarium and maritime museum located in the Inca Inca Cove off the Rodadero beach in Santa Marta, Colombia. It was opened in 1965 by Captain Francisco Ospina Navia. The aquarium is part of the National Network of Museums of Colombia and part of ACOPAZOA, the Colombian branch of the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums. Accessible mainly by motorboat, the aquarium has 13 pools with direct connection to the Caribbean Sea, and 15 glass aquaria that contain over 805 animals that include sharks, sea turtles, dolphins, sea lions, crustaceans, fishes and seabirds, 98% of which are native to the area.

The Aquarium also contains a museum section that exhibits dissected specimens and nautical equipment, as well as an exhibition that focuses on the pre-columbine culture of the Taironas and their connection to the sea.^[12]

Mesa in Colombia. The Nevado del Ruiz, also known as La Mesa de Herveo is a volcano on the border of the departments of Caldas and Tolima in Colombia, about 129 kilometers west of the capital city Bogotá. It is a stratovolcano composed of many layers of lava alternating with hardened volcanic ash and other pyroclastic rocks. Volcanic activity at Nevado del Ruiz began about two million years ago, since the Early Pleistocene or Late Pliocene, with three major eruptive periods. The current volcanic cone formed during the present eruptive period, which began 150,000 years ago.

The volcano usually generates Vulcanian to Plinian eruptions, which produce swift-moving currents of hot gas and rock called pyroclastic flows. These eruptions often cause massive lahars (mud and debris flows), which pose a threat to human life and the environment. The impact of such an eruption is increased as the hot gas and lava melt the mountain's snowcap, adding large quantities of water to the flow. On November 13, 1985, a small eruption produced an enormous lahar that buried and destroyed the town of Armero in Tolima, causing an estimated 25,000 deaths. This event later became known as the Armero tragedy—the deadliest lahar in recorded history. Similar but less deadly incidents occurred in 1595 and 1845, consisting of a small explosive eruption followed by a large lahar.

The volcano is part of Los Nevados National Natural Park, which also contains several other volcanoes. The summit of Nevado del Ruiz is covered by large glaciers. The volcano continues to pose a threat to the nearby towns and villages, and it is estimated that up to 500,000 people could be at risk from lahars from future eruptions.

Today, the Nevado del Ruiz volcano is constantly monitored by the Volcanic and Seismic Observatory of Manizales.^[14]

The official Laureano Gómez bridge, which was popularly named after its promoter Alberto Pumarejo as Pumarejo bridge, is a bridge in Colombia, built over the Magdalena River to connect the Salamanca Island Road Park and the city of Barranquilla. The bridge was designed by Riccardo Morandi and built by an Italian-Colombian group between 1970 and 1974. The entire bridge is based on piles that go up to 30 meters below the water level and is 1,500 meters long and 12.5 meters wide, with main span of 140 meters, and is built of concrete.

This Pumarejo Bridge, which was controversial since its design stage because of its poor technical characteristics, especially its limited gauge, which prevented the development of river navigation on the Magdalena River, was replaced on December 20th 2019 by the new Alberto Pumarejo bridge. The old bridge will possibly be demolished, at least the central plot, which prevents river navigability.^[15]

Cable-stayed bridge in Colombia. The César Gaviria Trujillo Viaduct is a cable-stayed bridge connecting the neighbouring cities of Pereira and Dosquebradas in Risaralda, Colombia. It is one of the longest cable-stayed bridges in South America and, at the time of its completion in 1997, ranked 20th in the world.

The bridge has a total length of 440 metres, including a central span of 211 metres. There are four traffic lanes and two sidewalks, giving a total width of 26 metres. There are two towers (Concrete material) that have a height of 56 metres above the deck (Steel structure), which in turn has a maximum height of 55 metres above the Otún River.

The bridge was built by a Brazilian and German consortium (Consortium of Andrade Gutierrez and Walter Bau AG), with assistance from French and Portuguese firms. The fabrication of the Steel structure was contracted to Industrias Metalurgicas Van Dam in Venezuela. Construction of the bridge took three years and was completed in 1997, at a cost of US$58 million. Twelve workers died during the construction process.

The bridge has had a significant impact on reducing traffic congestion in the two cities. It reduced the travel time between them by up to 40 minutes, avoiding the need to descend to the bottom of the river valley. It also had an important regional effect, through improved transportation links between Manizales, Armenia and Pereira.

The bridge has become infamous as a site for suicides. From the time of its completion until July 2005, 88 people ended their lives by jumping off the bridge, including people from neighbouring departments who were attracted by the high and accessible structure. Two people have survived the fall, in one case by landing in a stand of guadua growing by the river. In a particularly shocking episode in 2003, a woman threw her 2-year-old daughter off the bridge before jumping to her own death with her 7-month-old daughter. In 2008, the government of Pereira demanded the construction of some kind of barrier along the bridge's edges, and, since the barrier's construction, no one has jumped off the bridge.

The bridge is named after Pereira-born César Gaviria Trujillo, president of Colombia from 1990 to 1994.^[24]

City in Colombia. Dosquebradas is the second largest city and a municipality in the Risaralda Department, Colombia. As of 2019, it had a population of approximately 207,000 inhabitants. The city is connected by the César Gaviria Trujillo Viaduct to Pereira, the capital of the department.

The name of the city literally means "two creeks" (dos quebradas), Santa Teresita and Las Garzas. Dosquebradas is sometimes called the Pink Zone (Zona Rosa) of Pereira because it has many nightclubs and bars, which are filled with young people on the weekends.

It grew up as an industrial center serving Pereira in the 1970s and 1980s. With the construction of El Poblado neighborhood (low-income housing) it experienced a population boom, providing residence to many families that commuted to Pereira for work.^[28]

Lake. Lake Otún is a small lake in the Nevados National Park, in the Risaralda department of Colombia. It located at an altitude of 3,900 m and has an area of 1.5 square kilometres. The lake is of glacial origin and is fed by meltwaters of the Nevado Santa Isabel. Lake Otún is the source of the Otún River, which supplies drinking water to the cities of Pereira and Dosquebradas.

Lake Otún is an important breeding ground for several threatened or endangered bird species, including the Colombian torrent duck (Merganetta armata columbiana), the Colombian ruddy duck (Oxyura jamaicensis andina), the Andean teal (Anas andium) and the Andean snipe (Gallinago jamesoni).

Lake Otún contains a large population of rainbow trout, introduced for recreational fishing and a major attraction for visitors to the lake.^[29]

Stadium in Tunja, Colombia. Estadio La Independencia is a multi-use stadium in the city of Tunja, Colombia. It is currently used mostly for football matches. The stadium has a capacity of 25,000 people, and is 2,800 metres above sea level. Boyacá Chicó and Patriotas play their home games at this stadium.

Since Boyaca Chicó's title of the 2008 Categoría Primera A Apertura in June 2008, and automatic qualification to 2009 Copa Libertadores, the stadium was due to be expanded, in order to achieve the minimum 20000 seats that CONMEBOL requires to host an international match. The expansion work started in December, being run slower than expected. Despite this, the renovations were completed for the first Chicó match at La Independencia, against Brazil's Gremio.

Since the beginning of 2017, improvements have been made due to the participation of Patriotas F.C. in the 2017 Copa Sudamericana. The stadium has been the main venue for musical and cultural events, including concerts of international singers such as Marc Anthony, Alejandro Fernández, among others.^[30]

Museum in Armenia, Colombia. Quimbaya Museum is a museum located in Armenia, Colombia designed by Colombian architect Rogelio Salmona. It displays a large collection of precolumbian artcrafts, about 390 gold objects, 104 pottery, 22 stone sculptures, carved woods, and other issues, mainly from the precolumbian Quimbaya civilization, Embera and some other amerindian tribes. Some of the most important pieces are the gold Poporos and the zoomorphic vases. Most of the pieces have been preserved for experts from Gold Museum of Bogotá. In its exhibition rooms together with other pottery, stone, shell, wood and textile archaeological objects, these items, made of what to indigenous cultures was a sacred metal, testify to the life and thought of different societies which inhabited what is now known as Colombia before contact was made with Europe.

The Bank of the Republic began in 1939 helping to protect the archaeological patrimony of Colombia. The Gold Museum and the Quimbaya Museum are some of its main achievements.^[31]

The Provincial Viaduct is located in Bucaramanga, northeastern Colombia. It is a cable-stayed bridge that connects the sectors of Calle 45 with Carrera 9a and Ciudadela Real de Minas. Its construction was scheduled to last between 18 and 22 months, but it took 53 months to be delivered on April 9, 2015. The bridge is 550 m long and has 2 concrete pillars 130 m high and its deck is 30 m wide.

The bridge was pre-designed by engineer Alfredo Santander Palacios. The final design for the construction was made by the Spanish company, Carlos Fernández Casado, S.L. Oficina de Proyectos. The bid for its construction was won by the Consorcio Internacional Viaducto Carrera Novena, this consortium was formed by the companies Sig Southwestern International Group S.A. from Colombia and Mexicana de Presfuerzo S.A. de CV (MEXPRESA), from Mexico.

Multi-purpose stadium in Pasto, Colombia. Estadio Departamental Libertad is a multi-purpose stadium in Pasto, Colombia. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home stadium of Deportivo Pasto. The stadium holds 20,000 people and was built in 1955.

In 2007 Pasto qualified for the Copa Libertadores, so the stadium was expanded to fit CONMEBOL requirements. The north stand was expanded, which completed the bowl of the stadium and made every side two tiers since before the renovation the north side was semi-open and had only one tier.

In 2019, the seating rows were painted, the lighting was upgraded, the changing rooms were renovated, and a large TV screen was installed. The renovations finished in December 2019. Around $20 million COL were used.^[34]

Museum in Ibagué, Colombia. The Museo de Arte del Tolima is an art museum located in Ibagué, capital of the Tolima Department of Colombia. It features pieces of Colombian art and contemporary Latin American art. The museum was founded by the artists Dario Ortiz, Julio Cesar Cuitiva, Margareth Bonilla Morales, and others and opened its doors to the public in December 2003. It offers a significant permanent collection as well as educational program and cultural programs to its visitors.

Works of the permanent collection include Epifanio Garay, Ricardo Acevedo Bernal, Jesús Rafael Soto, Carlos Cruz-Díez, Leonora Carrington, Alejandro Obregón, Fernando Botero, Édgar Negret, Julio Fajardo, Dario Ortiz, José Bedia, Ricardo Borrero Álvarez, José María Espinoza, Armando Villegas, pieces from Colombian and Latin American artists.^[38]