Colombia’s mountains are magical places. Far from images of snow-capped peaks and biting cold, the Colombian mountains are lush realms: sometimes cool, sometimes warm and humid, but always intense. At nearly 3,000 meters above sea level, the country’s highlands are true jungles where every kind of species thrives: prehistoric plants, pines, fungi, and more. Here, the visitor must humble themselves, naturally sensing the smallness of their being in the face of this abundant and ever-present flora.
History, magic, spirituality and spirituality in Colombia’s mountains
Yet human presence is ancient. For most Colombians, particularly in the Paisa cultural region, which encompasses Medellin and the Coffee Axis, the memory of the old arrieros — the muleteers and pioneers of the region — remains vivid. Through the impenetrable jungles of the mountains, travelers encounter these centuries-old trails, cleared by machete and the hooves of tireless mules that connected one valley village to another. Today organized, marked, and maintained, these paths still exude the pioneering spirit of the old Colombians, and even older generations before them.
Indeed, the first inhabitants and pioneers of the mountains were the Indigenous peoples. For millennia, Embera, Zenu, Tula, Quimbaya, and Muisca peoples lived in and shared their existence with the mountains and their impenetrable jungles. This shared, ancestral life deeply shaped the Indigenous peoples who survived Spanish colonization, but also left an enduring mark on the land itself.
Once places of hunting, living, and prayer, the jungles and mountains quickly became refuges for Indigenous peoples after the arrival of the Spaniards. Even today, one can discover caves — deep yet very low, carved into the rock by indigenous hands — where they sought shelter from the invader and their predatory spirit. Now inhabited by bats, wild animals, and birds hiding their eggs, these spaces still breathe the profound and painful history of these ancestral peoples.
For Colombians living in the Andean regions, the mountains still hold great spiritual importance. While most Colombians live in cities, rural exodus is a recent phenomenon, and many retain ties to the remote, rural, mountainous countryside through uncles, cousins, or grandparents. The harshness of urban life, universally stressful and oppressive, has led many, young and not so young, to turn once again to this lung of life and spirituality in Colombia: the mountains.
Hikes, treks, excursions, and spiritual retreats are increasingly frequent and organized, as people use them to reconnect with nature, but above all with themselves and their ancestral lineage. Immersed in this incomprehensible green ocean, one heals old traumas and soul wounds, sometimes through conversation, meditation, or techniques from the East, such as yoga, which is very popular in the country. Unlike in the West, here yoga is valued not so much for its physical aspect, but for its spiritual, mystical dimension.
For this is what the Colombian mountain is about: spirituality, connection. A place to find oneself and encounter others, a place that, like its abundant and extravagant flora, welcomes all who come with good intentions, no matter where they come from.
Colombians, regardless of who they are, are deeply spiritual. Beyond belief in God, they also believe in spirits. Not as a fetish, but out of respect for their land and the millennia of history that preceded them. The mountain, the jungle, is the home of fairies, goblins, and woodland spirits, all of which are treated with reverence, whether out of belief or caution.
Like all places untouched by humans, the Colombian mountains lend themselves to legends and beliefs. Even the fearsome guerrilleros, at the height of their power, held “el monte” in respect, using it as a hideout, with many leaders going so far as to practice magic and invoke spirits to make the mountain an ally against the army.
The mountains are places of spiritual connection and lend themselves naturally to rites and mystical experiences. The use of tobacco, as an ancestral and sacred plant of the Indigenous peoples, is still employed to connect with one’s soul and the universe.
Certain travel agencies, such as Monomadas, based in Medellin, offer activities centered on reconnecting with nature, far from mass tourism, whether in forested, mountainous, or coastal spaces.
In any case, the Colombian mountains are for everyone: Colombians, foreigners, so long as they approach with good intentions, respecting the wildlife and flora, but also the beliefs of those who came before, whose spirits still inhabit these mysterious places.