In 2006 the Túnel de Occidente opened and cut the drive from Medellín to the coast by an hour. Almost overnight, the old mountain pass over Boquerón lost its traffic. Twenty years on, the tarmac is still there, the trucks are not, and the forest has moved back in.
That road is this bike tour. Medellín sits behind you as you start at Alto de Boquerón, 2,520 m up, and 36.5 km later you roll into San Jerónimo at 780 m. Nearly all of it is downhill. The few flat stretches don’t need pedalling if you carry your speed into them.
A sightseeing day that happens to be on bicycles
The riding takes about two hours. The tour takes six. That gap is the point.
We stop constantly: at viewpoints over the Cauca valley, at waterfalls, to watch birds, to work out which tree is which, to look at orchids and bromeliads growing on the branches above the road, to talk to whoever we meet, to eat fruit. If you want a hard day on a bike, we have other tours. This one is for looking at things. As the climate warms, there are chances to cool off at the river and swim if you feel like it.
Three climates in one descent
Starting at 2,520 m you’re in fog forest, cool enough that we tell people to bring a windbreaker. As you drop, the vegetation changes twice: humid forest through the middle of the route, then tropical dry forest at the bottom, where you’ll want the jacket off and in the support vehicle. Few rides anywhere let you feel three thermal floors in an afternoon.
Who it’s for
Riders from 13 to 70 have done this. What it asks of you is the ability to balance on a bicycle on a wide paved road, and that’s close to all of it. No technical skill, no fitness to speak of, no climbing.
That makes it the tour to book when your group doesn’t all ride. Grandparents, teenagers, someone who hasn’t been on a bike in decades, and the family cyclist can all have the same good day here.
