Comuna 8 urban transformation & coffee tour sustainable tourism

Comuna 8 La Sierra tour focuses on having the experience to be immersed in a typical neighborhood in the city, exploring what we want to be known for: education, entrepreneurship, resilience as well as having a better understanding as to the city's background.

We seek to confront the stigma of being once "the most violent city in the world" and swap it to one of the most innovative cities, which counts with one of the best public transport systems, where its inhabitants, despite adversity, are resilient and have good living standards.

We believe in sustainable tourism, and that is why we leave a great percentage of what we make for different social projects aiming to improve the development in the neighborhood we are visiting, where we will have the opportunity to interact and meet the ones who make this experience possible.

WE DO NOT SUPPORT mass tourism, we only do tours on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturdays in the morning in private groups from 1 to 6 people.

Itinerary
This is a typical itinerary for this product

Stop At: Tranvia wellness center, Av. Ayacucho ##4021, Medellín, Antioquia, Colombia

The tram, as well as a great part of the city's public transport, has been a benchmark and a source of pride for people in the region, as it is an example of resilience, development and, above all, aims to improve the quality of life for Medellin inhabitants and connect them. From San Antonio, we head towards the last station, where we jump on the cable car while we will enjoy the panoramic view of the historic city center

Duration: 20 minutes

Stop At: La Sierra, Medellín, Medellin, Antioquia, Colombia

Once we get to the cable car, it will take us to the highest neighborhoods on the hillside, meanwhile we have a brief introduction and talk on the history of the city and the neighborhood as such, as tour guides we have the responsibility to reveal foreign people the side of the socio-economic and urban transformation the city has gone through, that way we seek to confront and get rid of the stigma “the most violent city in the world” and change it to one of the most innovative cities, which counts with one of the best public transportation systems, where its inhabitants, despite adversity, are resilient and happy, we get by.

Duration: 15 minutes

Stop At: Institucion Educativa La Sierra, Cra. 4 Este #5663, Medellín, Antioquia, Colombia

Once immersed in the neighborhood, a social leader is going to collect us (car or motorbike) and will take us to a coffee farm where you learn the process of Colombian coffee (from the seed to the cup) and of course, we will have coffee tasting. The essence of a Colombian family is the love for its work and its people. We will walk through some streets of the neighborhood and get to talk with Norman and Edilma, an interesting and touching family, that comes from the countryside, settled in the neighborhood and now gets ahead thanks to coffee, the same one that is found in other countries and also in the best coffee shops in town.This is an opportunity to learn about the culture and daily life of an average citizen, get to discover the hidden details of this city and put into context the experiences of the neighborhood, its dynamics, social and urban projects.

Duration: 2 hours 30 minutes

Stop At: Mirador segundo piso estación Metrocable, Cl. 55h ##4 Este80, Medellín, Antioquia, Colombia

Finally, we will have a typical lunch, cooked by a woman who is part of this community as well as a foster home. We will visit several of the projects that are part of this experience, the parish, the headquarters of the youth action and we will listen to the people who reside there, who are witnessing the transformation of the community. Our country is also known for its diversity, landscapes and the city in particular, for the mountains that surround it. We will walk through the mountains, we will take photos of the city, the murals and we will enter the heart of the neighborhood, which for many years was stigmatized by violence and exclusion, and today it is a light of hope that proves that investment and inclusion are important in any society

Duration: 1 hour