Planning your own trip? Prepare for your trip
Use Rough Guides' trusted partners for great rates
written by
Rough Guides Editors
One of the least-visited parts of the country — and one of the most ruggedly beautiful — the Pacific coast is where the jungle meets the ocean along remote, gray-sand beaches. Here, you can spot whales and dolphins, stay in small Afro-Colombian villages, and experience a side of Colombia that few travelers see.
Exploring this region takes time and patience, as most settlements, like the laidback town of El Valle, are only accessible by boat from Buenaventura. But for those willing to make the journey, the rewards are unforgettable. For more incredible destinations across the country, check out the best places to visit in Colombia.
Buenaventura
A busy, gritty and charmless port city, BUENAVENTURA is the only gateway to the region, so you will end up overnighting here. The boats to various coastal destinations run from the muelle turístico (tourist wharf); the area around it is reasonably safe (which is more than can be said for much of the rest of town), and you’ll find a number of guesthouses and eateries nearby.
Buenaventura doesn’t lend itself to sightseeing, though if you’re a surfer it’s well worth visiting Ladrilleros, an hour’s boat ride north, where enormous 2–3m waves lash the shore during the August to November rainy season and where you can stay in a number of basic digs. To reach Ladrilleros, take a boat to Juanchaco, from where you can either walk the 2.5km or get a ride on the back of someone’s motorbike.
El Valle and around
Way north up the coast, and near Bahía Solano, a town famous for sports-fishing and whale-watching, compact EL VALLE is a good spot for surfing, as well as visiting Parque Nacional Natural Ensenada de Utría, where it’s possible to see whales close to the shore during calving season.
In En Valle itself, there’s some good surfing, and between September and December it’s possible to see turtles nesting at Estación Septiembre, a sanctuary 5km south along the coast. You can also do a day hike through the jungle to the Cascada del Tigre, a splendid waterfall with a refreshing waterhole (guide necessary).
