Medellin, a city with about 3 million inhabitants, is a writhing thriving mass of humanity. While the hustle and bustle of the city is what lends it its charm; the paisas are a colorful and friendly people and the energy of the city center can be exhilarating, at times the constant noise, crowds, cars and smog can be a bit much. Here are Colombia Report’s top picks for the best places to escape the craze of the city and catch your breath.
La Ladera Park/Leon de Greiff Library Park
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The first stop on a tranquil tour of Medellin’s hidden green spaces makes you lose your breath before you catch it. A short but very uphill hike from Boston Park will bring you to a grassy knoll which is home to the Ladera Recreation Park and the adjacent Leon de Greiff library park which cover the site of a former prison. The library’s park at the base of the hill is a manicured swath of green dotted with trees, a play structure and clusters of benches. Immediately, the sounds of traffic and crowds give way to children’s laughter and birdsong.
The Leon de Greiff Library sits above the park. The building consists of three massive blocks, the roofs which have been converted into decks, complete with terraced benches and shade structures. The rooftop balcony of the library offers a stunning view of downtown Medellin, the proximity lending to an appreciation for the cities’ details, while the distance offers a break from the dirt and hoards that characterize the city center.
Stretching up the hill behind the library is the recreation park, with multiple soccer and basketball courts and a large garden with an empty pool and an abandoned water park. The former glory of the pool and adjacent garden are long gone but something in the state of abandon is romantic and intriguing in a “Secret Garden” kind of way. The garden is large and endearingly unkempt, overgrown with flowering bushes, and the air is thick with birds and butterflies.
Above the garden stretches an expanse of grass, with stands of trees and a herd of grazing cows.
Besides the unique view, the Ladera park and Leon de Greiff library park offer what can be the hardest to come by in the rush of Medellin – space.
Asomadora Park
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The Asomadera Park covers a hill in the El Salvador neighborhood. From the top you can see 360 degrees of Medellin – that is, you can glimpse it from in between the trees. The fist sensation upon arrival after a harrowing taxi ride up to the park is cool; the drop in temperature under the thick shade of trees is divine on a hot afternoon in the city.
The very top of the hill has been made into a lovely little park, with a pool, shaded picnic tables, play structures and a basketball court. The slopes rising up to the hilltop however, have been left wooded and the surrounding trees offer the gifts of isolation and shade. Networks of paths criss-cross their way down the slopes, which make for a peaceful walk in the woods right in the heart of Medellin. Some paths have been made into informational nature walks with plaques indicating the types of trees that grow there: abaro, monkey coconut, puy, chiminango, quimula and carreto.
This is the perfect place to bring a picnic or read a book in the shade and breath in fresh air.
Cerro el Volador (Hill of the Flyer)
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Cerro el Volador is the largest protected area within the city, with about 262 acres of forest. This massive hill is no park, it is literally wild land. It is a little bit less accessible than the previous two locations, you have to take a taxi half way up the hill and then walk about ten minutes up a road to get to where the road rings around the summit. There are few paths that cut through the wild brush and trees but it is an exhilarating place to be due to an impressive lack of humans.
The splendor of this space is that is offers an idea of what the Aburra Valley looked like before the onset of the ever-expanding neighborhoods which have transformed the land into modern-day Medellin. An assortment of native trees, thick brush and a plethora of flowers in every color of the rainbow cover the entire hill. If you can find a path, or bush-wack your way up to the summit you are rewarded with an expansive view of Medellin, from your own solitary forest local.
These three spots, which are relatively easy to get to from the city center, offer a true respite from the masses. Clean air, wide open spaces, and glimpses of green make these locations ideal for relaxation and rest.