The Day We Got Stuck on a Mountain in Medellín

Everybody who Googles Medellín knows the beautiful view at night full of lights that looks like an ocean of stars. So one afternoon, we decided to go up to Cerro El Picacho. We had done some research on the best views of Medellín and this one seemed to be a hidden gem. Nothing too complicated. We were staying in Laureles, so we ordered an Uber and headed towards the mountain.

At some point, the driver stopped somewhere at the bottom and told us that we could just walk up from there. Apparently, we would eventually get there. So we got out, looked up at the mountain and started walking.

Technically, he was right.

What he didn’t mention was how steep the walk was going to be.

The climb took us around thirty minutes, which doesn’t sound like much until you’re walking straight up a mountain. The road was steep with lots of curves and it was honestly much more exhausting than we had expected. By the time we got to the top, we were definitely ready to sit down for a while.

Once we were up there, though, it was worth it. The views over Medellín were incredible and being up above the city gave us a completely different perspective. We spent some time looking around and taking everything in while waiting for the sun to go down so we could experience the lights. And in fact, it was the most beautiful view we had seen so far. It looked like a million stars all across the city. You could hear the sounds of the city and it was such an amazing feeling that I wish I could make you feel it yourself. Now there was one problem we hadn’t really thought about before coming up: getting back down.

There isn’t really a phone signal up there and you can’t simply assume that an Uber will come and pick you up at the top like we did. We had also arrived late enough in the afternoon that it was getting darker. Looking back, this is definitely something we would plan differently now.

If you’re thinking about going to Picacho, I would recommend going in the late afternoon but I would also make sure you have a proper plan for getting back down. Ideally, go with someone who knows the route, whether that’s a local guide, someone with a car or someone who knows the roads well enough to take you back down. We saw how complicated the roads could be with all the steep curves and constant traffic and I wouldn’t want to rely on an Uber at the top. Bringing enough water and a flashlight is also a good idea, especially if you’re planning to stay until around sunset. There are vendors up there if you need something small but once you’re at the top, you’re definitely not somewhere you can rely on your phone. You won’t really need it apart from taking some pictures.

We, of course, had not planned any of this.

So when it started getting dark, we were standing there trying to figure out how exactly we were going to get back down. The weather in Medellín can also change quickly and if it starts raining, the steep roads and paths can become slippery. Walking down in complete darkness and rain was not exactly something we were looking forward to.
Luckily, we weren’t the only people up there.

We started asking some of the people around us if they were heading back down and whether there was any chance we could go with them. And that is how we ended up meeting a couple from Puerto Rico.

At the time, it just felt like one of those random travel moments where you meet strangers because you happen to be in the same place at the same time. They helped us figure out how to get back down and what could have ended as a slightly stressful evening turned into one of those unexpected encounters that you remember. We ended up driving through the city with them for some hours before they dropped us off at Parque Lleras.

What we obviously didn’t know yet was that meeting them on that mountain would eventually take us much further than Medellín.

We would see them again, end up doing a volunteer opportunity with them and months later make a completely spontaneous decision to fly to Puerto Rico for two weeks at the end of our Colombia trip. That trip was definitely not part of our original plans and it also did a surprisingly good job of messing up our travel budget.

But that’s a story for another post.

Looking back, the Picacho trip is one of those experiences that reminds me why I like travelling without planning every single detail. Sometimes you end up somewhere because an Uber driver tells you to walk up a mountain, realize halfway through that the climb is much harder than expected and then have no idea how you’re going to get back down.

And somehow, those are often the moments that lead to the stories you remember most.

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Written by Fabienne, Medellin