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Lesser-known Colombia: the off the beaten path destinations in Colombia (2026)

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by Angélica & Samuel | My Trip to Colombia

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Disclaimer: we apologize in advance for any grammatical errors, as our native language is not English (we're a Colombian-French couple), so we hope you'll forgive us and still enjoy the information we share with you! (all based on our own experience)

Taking a step aside and offering you lesser-known destinations, showing you that it’s possible to visit Colombia off the beaten track, that’s the challenge we’re trying to meet with our travel blog on Colombia.

You can visit Cartagena off the beaten track! The same goes for Bogotá or Medellín… you can choose a beach other than Palomino, you can discover the Guajira desert through cultural immersion, you can visit other colorful villages just as beautiful as Salento, etc., etc., etc. It’s all possible.

Of course, our travel blog is here to help you discover the best-known destinations, and there’s no question of telling you not to visit them. But for us, Colombia has many faces, and it would be a shame to remain on the surface. So don’t hesitate to take the plunge! There are plenty of ideas for off-the-beaten-track destinations on our travel blog.

The Andes off the beaten path

discover Colombia in a different way

You don’t have to venture into complicated regions to discover Colombia’s lesser-known places. The country is sufficiently unexplored that it’s easy to get off the beaten track, even in the most touristy destinations!

Bogota off the beaten path

The best City Tour in Bogota to understand the history of Colombia

The best Bogota Graffiti Tour: enjoy Bogota’s street art in English

Visit Distrito Graffiti travel guide: Bogota’s new street art district

Chingaza National Park travel guide: hiking the Siecha Lagoons path

Medellin off the beaten path

Around Medellin Travel Guide : best things to do and see in the area

Visit Jerico travel guide: one of the most beautiful village around Medellin

Visit Moravia Barrio Tour: the sowers of life in Medellin

Rafting in Medellin: an opportunity to discover the forgotten region of eastern Antioquia

Best Medellin City Tours with local english guides

Boyaca and Santander off the beaten path

Visit La Playa de Belen travel guide: an heritage village off the beaten path

Visit Giron travel guide: heritage town near Bucaramanga

Paramo de Oceta travel guide: one of the best hikes in Colombia

Visit Las Gachas and the village of Guadalupe travel guide

Visit Raquira Travel Guide: village and handicrafts from Boyaca

Visit Mongui travel Guide: beautiful heritage village in Boyaca

El Cocuy National Park travel guide: some of the most beautiful treks in Colombia

Local english-speaking agency to visit Santander in Colombia

Cali and surroundings off the beaten path

Visit Silvia travel guide: cultural immersion in the Misak indigenous community

Visit Cali Travel Guide: The best things to do in Cali

The best Cali city tour with a local guide

Around Popayan travel guide: best things to do and see in the area

Visit Popayan travel guide: the best things to do the White City

Around Cali travel guide: best things to do and see in the area

The Caribbean off the beaten track

discover Colombia differently

As in the Andean region, the Caribbean coast is home to many little-visited destinations that are well worth a visit.

Santa Marta off the beaten track

Bunkuany travel guide: the alternative trek to the Lost City

Seydukwa, the cultural experience with indigenous Arhuaca family of Sierra Nevada

Visit Santa Marta travel guide: best things to do in Santa Marta

Visit Nueva Venecia travel guide: the stilt villages of Cienaga Grande

Visit Buritaca travel guide: things to do between sea and river

Cartagena off the beaten track

Visit Rincon del mar travel guide: best things to do and see

Visit Mompox travel guide: Best things to do and see

Visit Bazurto Local Market Tour with a local guide in Cartagena

Uraba and Cordoba off the beaten path

Visit Necocli travel guide: the other face of the Caribbean coast

Visit Lorica travel guide: heritage town on the Caribbean coast

Visit Capurgana & Sapzurro travel guide: best things to do

La Guajira off the beaten path

Flamingos watching at Los Flamencos Wildlife Sanctuary

Visit Punta de los remedios travel guide: farniente en la Guajira

Macuira National Park travel guide: at the edge of the Guajira desert

Colombia’s less-visited regions

Discovering Colombia off the beaten path

Some regions of Colombia are inherently off-the-radar destinations. This makes them perfect destinations for lovers of authentic discoveries!

The Pacific coast

Visit Arusi travel guide: a quiet Pacific village in the Nuqui region

Best local agency to visit the Bahia Solano (El Valle) region

Favorite hotel in Punta Brava (Nuqui – Choco pacific coast)

Best local contact to visit the Nuqui region

Favorite hotel to stay in Arusi, choco pacific coast

Punta Brava travel guide: 3 days in paradise on the pacific coast of Choco

Visit El Valle travel guide: first time in the Pacific coast of Choco (Bahia Solano)

Visit Nuqui travel guide: best things to do on the Pacific coast of Choco

Organize a trip to the Pacific Coast of Choco

Utria National Park travel guide: natural wonder in the Pacific coast of Choco

The llanos region

Wildlife of the colombian Llanos: guide for a Safari in Casanare

Best local guide to live the Casanare wildlife Safari

Best local guide to visit Caño Cristales

Visit Hato Los deseos travel guide: natural reserve in Casanare

Visit Hato Berlin travel guide: Natural reserve in Casanare

Visit Hato Las Gaviotas travel guide: Natural reserve in Casanare

Our experience in Caño Cristales, the rainbow river of Colombia

Visit Caño Cristales travel guide: the most beautiful river in the world

The Amazon region

Favorite hotel in San Jose del Guaviare

Best local agency to visit Leticia and the Amazon

Best english-speaking local guide to visit San Jose del Guaviare

Cerros de Mavecure, the most beautiful landscape in Colombia?

The pink dolphins of Laguna Damas de Nare in the Guaviare River that brought peace

Caño Sabana, the river of 5 colors in Guaviare (the small caño cristales)

Visit Laguna Negra in the Guaviare region of Amazonia

Amazon river dolphins travel guide: Where to see pink river dolphins in Colombia

Visit Cerro Azul travel guide: the Sixtine Chapel of the colombian Amazon in Guaviare

Visit San José del Guaviare travel guide: the gateway to Amazonia

Colombian destinations off the beaten track

Many regions lie off the beaten tourist track. Take, for example, the Casanare, a totally different territory in Colombia. Its topography, climate, culture and traditions are totally distinct from those of the rest of the country.

But other regions are well worth a visit on a trip to Colombia:

If you go through a travel agency for a tailor-made tour of Colombia, don’t hesitate to tell them about these lesser-known destinations, which will give you another taste of Colombia!

“Destinos de paz” : Tourism in post conflict times

We’re thinking in particular of the regions affected by armed conflict, which are slowly beginning to open up to tourism.

The Guaviare, for example, has long been a territory left in the hands of armed groups and drug traffickers. Today, the entire area around San José del Guaviare is open to tourism, revealing some exceptional treasures! These include the River of Five Colours, similar to the famous Caño Cristales, but also the Sistine Chapel of Colombian prehistory: Cerro Azul.

The Uraba and Cordoba region is also a territory scarred by armed conflict, which is slowly opening its doors to numerous community tourism projects to support. Destinations such as Necocli, Lorica and San Bernardo del viento are well worth discovering

Still on the Caribbean coast, Montes de Maria is a pilot area for the development of tourism for communities affected by the armed conflict.

Photographs on this page: © — My Trip to Colombia. All rights reserved.

A French-Colombian couple based in Colombia since 2023, Angélica Troya and Samuel Bourille have been traveling the country since 2013 and share their stories and experiences on their blog My Trip to Colombia, blending an insider's perspective with a traveler's eye to show readers a different side of Colombia.

They're the authors of the Guide Évasion Colombie (Hachette, 2024) and the Guide Simplissime Colombie (Hachette, 2026), and their blog is recommended by the Guide Vert Michelin, Petit Futé, and Guide Tao Monde.

My Trip to Colombia has become a trusted resource for travelers planning a trip to Colombia, with more than 400 articles published, a network of 40+ local partner agencies, and a community of over 60,000 monthly readers across three sites: monvoyageencolombie.com in French, miviajeporcolombia.com in Spanish, and mytriptocolombia.com in English.

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