The tiny town of Guatap\u00e9 is a popular Medellin getaway for tourists and locals alike who want to wander its pretty streets and take boat trips out onto the artificial lake, El Embalse del Pe\u00f1ol. Looming over the lake is La Piedra del Pe\u00f1ol, a vast granite monolith – challenging you to climb the man made staircase glued to its side.<\/p>\n
Part of Guatap\u00e9 was flooded in 1970 in order to create the lake that now generates much of the region\u2019s power. Along it’s cute streets many of the houses are decorated with zocalos (colorful concrete bas-relief scenes). They were originally designed to prevent chickens pecking at the walls, and to stop children chipping away at the buildings with ball games.<\/p>\n
La Piedra del Pe\u00f1ol or El Pe\u00f1on is a 200m-high granite monolith that soars above the banks of El Embalse del Pe\u00f1ol. Climbing the rock\u2019s 659 steps is pretty tough but once you are at the top you can hover above the eagles, and as you stand, gasping for breath, you have a magnificent panorama of the beautiful countryside.<\/p>\n
Next stage: Hacienda Venecia.<\/p>\n
The tiny town of Guatap\u00e9 is a popular Medellin getaway for tourists and locals alike who want to wander its pretty streets and take boat trips out onto the artificial lake, El Embalse del Pe\u00f1ol. Looming over the lake is … Continue reading ![\"20140324-093420.jpg\"](\"http:\/\/worldoftravelling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/20140324-093420.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"