Adventures around the Rio Claro reserve

The Reserva Natural de Rio Claro, in Doradal, Antioquia, is a beautiful tropical region easily accessible from Bogotá and Medellin, and packed with adventures . The stunning scenery includes tropical forest unique to the steep limestone and marble region, steep hills , canyons and clear rivers. This is a great area for kids, and is relatively free of mosquitoes – they don’t seem to like the alkaline rivers much. The half-day rafting is safe even for small kids, but take care swimming in the river gorge.

Unfortunately the marble has also attracted mines and a massive cement factory, but luckily much of the land is protected by the private Rio Claro Reserva Natural, which offers activities such as nature walks, rafting, zip-lining, caving as well as eco-type accommodation, and all-inclusive details. At least a day visit to Reserva is a must, but you can stay in the nearby town of Doradal, where there are hotels of for all budgets, or in some of the finca-hotels in the region, or eco-hotels such as Los Colores Ecoparque, who also organise activities with tour companies such as Rios Y Adventuras.

Also close by is the amazing water parks and zoo at Hacienda Napoles, the old ranch of drug baron Pablo Escobar. See my post here:
– Pablo Escobar’s Hacienda Napoles,

Planning a trip to the Rio Claro region

When to visit: activities are operating all year, though river levels can get low in January dry season. At weekends, especially bank holidays and around New Year and Easter, the area overflows with tourists from Medellin. If you want a quieter visit, and more accommodation options, try and visit on weekdays outside the peak season.
What to do: with kids, I buy the two-day pass to Hacienda Napoles, one day to spend on the water slides and one day to see the animals and museum. Then for rafting, zip-lining, climbing, caving allow 2 more days, plus a day to chill by the pool. So five days is perfect.

Budget option: the nearest town is Doradal, a sweltering bustling transport hub, but with many hotels such as Yahaya which is a good budget option and right at the intercity bus stop, and has a cool swimming pool. From here you can book all your trips and adventures with the hotel.
Best option: stay in the beautiful Rio Claro canyon in the Reserva Natural Rio Claro. The problem here is booking ahead, since the website is hard to figure out and you have to pre-pay a deposit locally. However, if you visit off-peak (weekdays not at New Year or Easter) you can just turn up and there is usually rooms free on the reserve.

Alternative: quite close to the Reserva is Los Colores Ecoparque which you can book via Expedia or Booking.com. It has a nice swimming pool, nature walks, and natural pond where iguanas and otters hang out.
Getting around: Local tour companies include transport to your hotel, there are also taxis and tuk-tuks to get around. Rio Claro Reserva is about 20kms and 30 minutes drive west of the town of Doradal.
Getting to Doradal: Intercity buses (Bogotá-Medellín) stop at Doradal, and you can also ask them to drop you at the Rio Claro reserva. Medellis is closer (3 hours) than Bogota (5 hours).