Comuna 13 Recovery tour

Enjoy a half-day tour and see how a slum that was once forgotten is now reconnected to Medellín thanks to innovative urban developments. Visit Comuna 13, the electric escalators, San Javier Library Park, and more.

Put on comfortable shoes and enjoy a memorable tour in an area that was once considered the most dangerous neighborhood of Colombia. Learn about its crude history from a local street artist and about its road to recovery, becoming a humble but lively neighborhood with beautiful street art and boiling with social innovation. Our expert guide will share his broad knowledge with you, point out important places of changes and tell you about what made Medellín the world’s ‘Most Innovative City of the Year in 2013.

Itinerary
This is a typical itinerary for this product

Stop At: Escaleras Electricas De La Comuna 13, Carrera 110, Medellin Colombia

Enjoy a memorable tour in a place that was once considered the most dangerous neighborhood of Colombia. Learn about its crude history and the road to recovery that has turned it into a lively neighborhood with beautiful street art and impressive urban innovation.

Your tour starts when our guide picks you up at your hotel to go on a taxi to the closest Metro station and head to San Javier station, the gate to Comuna 13. Boarding the Metrocable, an alternative form of public transportation for local residents, you will get to see San Javier from above. While floating up the hill and enjoying the view, you will learn about how much this project changed locals' lives.

Back at the main station, you’ll hop on a bus that takes you near the famous electric escalators that were built in 2011. They replaced 530 concrete steps and reduced the time for getting up the 384m (1,260ft.) immensely. Thanks to innovative changes like this, the complicated social dynamics gradually turned into a brighter panorama.

Through a local guide and the numerous graffiti art displayed at the comuna, you will get to know key aspects of the history and actuality of the place. At some point in the ascent, you will make a small detour and visit a small museum made by a local initiative that has pictures of the Comuna before and during Orion operation; A violent event that defined the course of this area.

Next, you will visit a small coffee shop right at the heart of the Comuna. It is an initiative of a group of local entrepreneurs who want to make visitors stay for a while, hang out, and have a nice time at their neighborhood. Here you will have some delicious Colombian coffee and rest while enjoying a great view of Medellín.

As you walk back down the electric escalators, you will head to the final destination, the library of San Javier, a place that brings families together to partake in literary, cultural and musical activities. After you can walk back to the metro station to return to your hotel, or our guide can help you sort out another transportation back.

Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes