Parque Arvi

Arvi is the reason Medellin's cable cars are worth riding even if you have nowhere to be. Line L runs on from the hillside gondolas at Santo Domingo, crosses the ridge and drops into a plateau of pine and native forest above the city at around two and a half thousand metres, noticeably colder than the valley floor. On the far side there are marked walking trails, some following stone paths laid before the Spanish arrived, a lake, and a small market where growers from Santa Elena sell fruit, cheese and flowers. The change from hot city to cold cloud forest takes about half an hour.

History

When the conquistador Jorge Robledo reached the area in 1541 he found no settlement, but, as the chronicler Sardela wrote, old ruined buildings along hand-made roads cut in the rock, wider than those of Cuzco, and he did not dare follow them; after that the Arví area lay almost forgotten for some 450 years. Its pre-Hispanic remains include hydraulic works, platforms, roads, gardens and irrigation channels, and since February 2010 the park has been reached by the Arví cable car, Line L of the Metrocable, from Santo Domingo station (Spanish Wikipedia, Parque Arví).

What's there

• The cable car crossing - the ride over the ridge from the city into forest.
• The pre-Hispanic stone paths - old paved tracks running through the woods.
• The trails - marked loops through pine plantation and native forest.
• The Santa Elena market - local fruit, cheese, flowers and cooked food at the entrance.

When to go

Drier months, December to March and July to August, keep the trails from turning to mud. Go early: the cable car queue at Santo Domingo grows through the morning and the last descent is in the late afternoon, after which you are left arranging road transport. Weekends are busy with families coming up from the city.

Things to know

It is cold and often drizzling up there while the city below is warm, and people arrive in shorts and regret it. Some trails can only be walked with a guide booked at the entrance, which is not obvious until you get there. The cable car queue can take an hour at peak times, and the last ride down is earlier than most visitors expect.

Nearby

Santa Elena village, the Medellin metro network and the city's botanical garden.

Key facts