Cabañas Solentiname

The township of Santa Elena is famed for the flower bouquets made here for the traditional Silleteros Parade. If you’re not in the area during the festival in August, you can still visit the surrounding silletero (flower vendor) farms to learn about the crafting process that goes into these arty arrangements. Another local place of interest is the 16,000-hectare Arví Park, a forest reserve with guided walks available across trails dating back some 1,500 years. Access a cable car here that will whisk you down the hills across the rooftops of the city’s surrounding favelas and into the centre of Medellín. When in the metropolis, set off for explores of the parks and squares – a couple of the best include Plaza Botero in the Old Quarter, sprinkled with smile-sparking sculptures by famed artist Botero, and Parque Lleras with its sprawling selection of street food stalls and musicians. If all the urban sightseeing has you craving nature, nosey around the city’s botanical gardens, covering more than 14 hectares’ worth of 4,500 flowers and 140 different species of bird. Outside Medellin (an hour and a half), Guatapé could be your next destination for a reservoir with a series of inlets to bounce between by boat.