Why is everyone talking about… Colombia?

With recent Expedia figures indicating that 30 per cent of travellers are inspired by films and TV shows when planning trips, the concept of ‘set-jetting’ is showing no sign of slowing down. Colombia could be the next destination to witness this effect thanks to Netflix’s long-awaited adaptation of Gabriel García Márquez’s One Hundred Years of Solitude this month.

Colombia’s landscapes are vast and varied, home to Caribbean beaches, lush Amazonian rainforests, soaring Andean peaks, and a tropical climate that supports what’s estimated to be 10 per cent of the world’s biodiversity. Yet it’s only in recent decades that this nature-rich destination has emerged from a turbulent period of gang violence and instability to become one of South America’s most vibrant countries, with free-spirited cities like Cartagena and Medellín drawing tourists for their thriving food and music scenes.

“Colombia’s most obvious trait is its diversity. The city of Cartagena, for example, is heady with an Afro-Latino culture where music, dance and history are central to everything,” says hotelier and sustainability activist Portia Hart, who is known for shaking up the city’s boutique hotel scene and championing waste management across Colombia’s hospitality sector. “Then you can move to the coffee region and find absolute peace, while cities like Medellín and Bogotá have a modern and youthful energy.”

Why it’s hot

The first ever screen adaptation of Gabriel García Márquez’s One Hundred Years of Solitude airs in a 16-episode Netflix series this month. One of the greatest modern masterpieces in literature and a pioneer of the magical realism genre, this novel, written in the 1960s, has inspired generations of visionaries across South America and beyond. “It’s important to remember that the book can’t be rivalled”, Colombian-born director Laura Mora said about translating the fictional story to screen. “These [the novel and TV series] are two different languages, and the screen’s limitations mean that, oftentimes, we cannot compete with the images each reader has in their mind.”

The cast and crew – including family members of the late Nobel Prize-winning author – have honoured the spellbinding story while illustrating an accurate depiction of Colombia’s traditions, communities and landscapes through embroidered clothing and vallenato music. Travellers can visit where the fictional town of Macondo in One Hundred Years of Solitude was filmed for the new adaptation, in Alvarado in Tolima. With rumours building around a sequel to Encanto – Disney’s Colombia-set epic that resonated to a soundtrack of cumbia, salsa and vallenato – the country’s charismatic sights and sounds look set to remain centre stage.

What to expect

Cartagena is an ideal location for those looking to experience Colombia’s energetic spirit and slow pace of life. The fortified city charms with a crystalline Caribbean coastline and stunning colourful architecture. Be sure to bookmark the annual Hay Festival in January, where artists and authors come together to celebrate contemporary literature. In the Aburrá Valley, Medellín is known for its thriving art scene. The Museum of Modern Art Medellín is where to head for a cultural fix, while the Comma 13 neighbourhood is worth making tracks for with its colourful street art.

To the south of Colombia, the city of Cali hosted COP16 in October 2024, with government heads pledging to roll out a new programme to strengthen the role of indigenous people in a bid to preserve and respect local communities. The city is more widely known for its electric salsa scene, particularly in the San Antonio neighbourhood where locals dance in the streets and groove at underground bars such as La Caldera del Diablo, MalaMaña and Topa Tolondra.

Don’t miss

There’s a food renaissance happening in the capital city, Bogotá, with an explosion of innovative restaurants championing Colombia’s biodiversity. Jefferson García’s new restaurant, Afluente, strives to spotlight Colombia’s unique ecosystems through dishes crafted from locally sourced produce. “We use about 20 endemic species of Colombia including unique ingredients such as ají de páramo (chilli peppers), which were the condiment of the Muiscas (an indigenous group in Colombia dating back to the 6th-century),” says García. “We want people to view our restaurant as a research centre that promotes the conservation of Colombia’s unique ecosystem through great food.” As sustainability continues to flourish across Colombia, expect a new wave of cutting-edge food concepts to break through.