Right in the middle of the road between Bogota and Medellin is La Dorada. Being close to one of Colombia’s most important rivers, you can be sure to find some place to relax with nothing but green all around and the sound of rushing water enveloping your ears! Enter Rio la Miel (Honey River). It’s only 1.5 hours from La Dorada, close to La Habana, and house to the Mamalu hostel. Located on a riverbend without road access, getting to this hostel is a beautiful journey. More importantly, this place is calm. Great, simple rooms and beds, delicious fried fish and river activities await. If you need the comfort of a 5-star hotel, this isn’t the place, but if you want absolute peace, it sure is. You might get some love too, since Mamalu is owned by an awesome hippie – your host and guide, Caliche. This is how to get to Rio la Miel!
If you’re looking for what to do in Medellin, you can read our guide here!
How to get to Rio la Miel
*Note: the map to get to Mamalu from La Dorada is at the end of this post!
Now, my first recommendation before you head over is to have someone on the ground help you. Our friend Caliche even got a Carpati (a kind of truck) to wait on us for half an hour because our bus left Medellin late! The trip to Mamalu is complicated, so it’s good to have someone have your back. Caliche’s phone number is +57 (312) 235-2998. Call him or message him on WhatsApp!
In Public Transportation:
- Get to your city’s main transportation terminal (the Northern Terminal in Medellin) and take a bus to La Dorada this costs about $40,000 Colombian pesos, or about $15 dollars.
- In La Dorada, take a Carpati, which is a sort of truck decked out to carry passengers, at Jorge Eliecer Gaitan Park (I marked it on the map). The Carpatis leave at 3:30. Let Caliche know you’re coming so that he can tell the Carpati driver to expect you. The Carpati ride costs $10,000 pesos, or about $4 dollars.
- Get off where the Carpati driver tells you, which is at an intersection where you can walk down to the left to a tiny settlement called La Habana (also on the map).
- Caliche or one of his partners will pick you up there and take you to their boat. From here on out, they’ve got you covered.
- You’ll head over to the hostel downstream in the boat, about to get immersed in nature to another level.
- To get back to your city, literally just take these steps backward! The folks over at the hostel will take you to get picked up by the Carpati to head to La Dorada.
In a Car:
With a GPS: enter “Mamalu” into Google Maps or Waze and follow the directions (it appears as a rest stop in Caldas). Check out the spot we marked on the map to see where you can park your car (also in step 5).
Without a GPS (I really recommend having a GPS or a map to look at):
- Get to La Dorada, Caldas, Colombia.
- Follow the signs towards Norcasia and La Miel while on the main road between Bogota and Medellin, right on the outskirts of La Dorada. This turn is on the Western side of the Magdalena river, right by the river.
- Now, this road doesn’t have any signs, so I definitely recommend you rely on Google Maps here, because it has Street View almost the entire way. Stay on this road until you see a sign that says “Relleno Sanitario Doradita 3km” and go right at that fork in the road.
- Stay on this main road, which is completely unpaved, until you get to a fork in the road that has a number of signs on a big tree. One of the signs says “Panzer” and another one has a picture of a monkey. Take a left here. You’re on your way to the river. A small car might not make it here during the rainy season, but during the dry season there should be no problem.
- Drive along this road until you get to an area with a tiny shed with a few motorcycles parked under it. This place is called Playa Alta and you can park your car there. It’s marked on the map below.
- Now, though Playa Alta is not the closest you can get to Mamalu, it is the safest to park your car. Caliche or one of his partners will pick you up here and take you to the hostel in the boat!
If you’ll be visiting Bogota and you’re looking places to enjoy the outdoors, read this blog post here!
What to do at Rio la Miel:
Get to Know Heaven and Paradise (Waterfalls)
Our host Caliche named two of the most amazing waterfalls in Rio la Miel Canyon Heaven and Paradise. First, you travel upstream gazing at the river landscape until you get to a bridge where the Canyon begins. The river also gets a little crazier here, which makes for a grand adventure maneuvering through the minor rapids while waterfalls pound straight into the river from atop the canyon. It’s quite a sight! But none of the waterfalls are quite like Heaven and Paradise. These are huge waterfalls that have carved into the rock so much that they have their own little areas in which to fall. They’ve created pools and layers of rock to take a swim and have a picnic.
Go Waterfall Climbing and Jumping
Now, this activity is a real treat! You start a 45-minute hike right at the bridge I mentioned above. It’s a hike through the jungle and across and through a lot of creeks. You eventually get to a spot where there’s an enormous, deep pool with a raging waterfall. After leaving everything there, you climb up the side of the waterfall (it’s pretty easy) to another pool. Then, you swim across the pool to another waterfall and climb up its side… and proceed to do all of that another 3 times!! Finally, the only way to get down is to jump… 5 TIMES! One of the jumps is high (about 8 meters, or 25 feet)! This was probably our favorite thing we did while at Mamalu – climbing, swimming and jumping – it can hardly get any better.
Visit Grandad
Also right off the Rio la Miel, about 20 minutes by boat from Mamalu, is what Caliche calls Grandpa. It’s a 150-year old Ceiba tree that’s probably 100 to 120 feet tall. It really makes you feel like a small being. What’s interesting is that we were just as curious about the innumerable amount of tiny ants, all working in tandem towards an unknown goal, as about the gigantic tree. Honestly, no matter how big or small nature may be, it never ceases to amaze us.
Learn to Fish
Caliche is a self-proclaimed master fisher. He’s also a master fish cooker, if I do say so myself. We weren’t able to learn to fish while we were there, but it was on our bucket list. We just didn’t have the time, although Lala did get to pull a fish out of the water on our boat ride out! I’m sure all you fishers out there will agree, it’s relaxing and fun. Take a morning and learn a skill you can use throughout your life to enjoy time in nature or if you’re ever stranded and need to survive. You never know!
RELAX
Now, I don’t know what it is about this place, but Lala and I felt so relaxed being here. I think it was a combination of factors: the simplicity and comfort of the beds/rooms, the delicious food, great people and the idea that you can do anything while you’re there, including doing nothing. It’s no wonder people end up staying longer than they initially planned.
Some things to know:
- Prices at Mamalu are as follows: a day of activities, food and lodging for 4 people costs $1,120,000 Colombian pesos, or about $375 dollars. For 2 people, it costs $840,000 pesos, or $280 dollars. All of this is also personalized according to what you want to do, so talk to Caliche about it.
- For the longest time, this area of Colombia was quite dangerous because of guerrilla armed forces. But not anymore! Come enjoy this place without worries; it’s the epitome of peace.
- This area of Colombia, even before the armed conflict, was the epicenter of Colombia’s hippie movement. Pretty much led by Caliche’s grandmother, for whom the hostel is named, they got big names such as Led Zeppelin and Jimmy Hendrix to perform on a rock beach you’ll be sure to see. I know, it’s pretty bizarre.
- Make sure you bring cash, because most places don’t have the infrastructure to take debit or credit cards. Also, everything must be paid in Colombian pesos.
- From Medellin or Bogota, the bus to La Dorada costs $40,000 pesos, which is about $15 dollars, per person. It can cost more during holiday seasons, though.
- The ride on the Carpati costs $10.000 pesos, or $4 dollars, per person.
- The end of the car ride to Mamalu is a little rough. A small car might not make it during the rainy season, but if everything is dry, there should be no problem.
- Caliche’s phone number is +57(312)235-2998.
We hope this post has given you some valuable information regarding how to get to Rio la Miel, but we especially hope you enjoy your travels through Colombia, wherever you go! If you need a guide for how to get somewhere, let us know, we always want to help!
Another natural paradise, this time close to Medellin, is La Peña, a mountainous area with lots of hikes, the famous Aero Hostel La Casa en el Aire, and a developing climbing park. Our blog post is mostly about the climbing area and its surroundings, and you can read about it here!
