El Metro, Medellin, Colombia

Crowded, even at 9 on a Sunday morning!

Yesterday, Sunday, Jan. 15th, we made an excursion to Parque Arvi via the metro system in Medellin. We started out by taking the metro from Poblado Estación (about $1).

The metro is very clean, comfortable, cheap, and efficient. At the Estación Acevedo we transferred (no extra charge) to the Metro Cable that rose up the hill towards Parque Arvi.

Christa enjoying the ride up. 

From the cable car we had a fascinating view of the poor barrios below and of the sprawling city of Medellin in the valley. We had to transfer again at Santo Domingo and then had to pay about $2.50 to ride the rest of the way to the park.

Grafiti art is popular in Medellin, as evidenced by this roof top art. 

Estación Santo Domingo

The metro cable was originally built as transportation for the residents of the barrios, but has become the top tourist attraction in the city.

The barrios became poorer looking as the gondola went up the hillside.


And then as we neared the park there was farmland.

At the entrance to the park there was a market. The fruit cups were about $2.

The park itself was a disappointment, however, as you could only walk on one of the trails without hiring a guide. There were very poor directions for reaching the trailhead, and we had to walk along a road for about 20 minutes before reaching the trail.

The park is unlike any park I've ever been in -- street vendors and restaurants blasting music.


I had to ask for directions at this info booth. 

I was glad I wore my running shoes!

We took "Flora" trail, and there were a few pretty flowers.

gigantic ferns

and colorful berries. 

We walked along the trail for about an hour and a half, and then walked down the road back to the cable car. As we stood waiting to board the gondola, we noticed that some people were not even disembarking. I guess they didn't want to pay the return fare and were just out for a Sunday ride.

Back at the transfer station at Santo Domingo, there was a big line-up of people waiting to ride up to the park.

When we rode up, we didn't have to wait at all. We were glad we had gone early!

I can see why the Metro Cable is the #1 tourist attraction in Medellin.