Exploring the iconic facades in Gautápe, Colombia

Gautápe is a picturesque little town that is perhaps best known for its iconic facades. The most interesting thing to do in this town, is walking the coplestone streets admiring the colorful houses. They are painted in every known color and adorned with fresco-like bas-reliefs, depicting animals, plants, humans and local culture. These artworks are called «zócalos» and are placed on the lover part of the buildings. Often the motifs will tell something about the person / persons living in the house.

The location of Gautápe is by the Gautápe Reservoir, a short drive from Medellin. The landscape is absolutely stunning and the area offers lots of water activities, like canoing and hike possibilities. I also noticed that hang-gliding and paragliding are popular activities. I quess it must be amazing to see the lake area with a bird-eye view. A climb to the top of a 220 meter high monolith is another popular activity to do when staying in Gautápe. The former estate that used to belong to the drug lord Pablo Escobar is also located by the shores of the reservoir. I did visit the estate as well.

I did a walk around town to look at the zócalos. Now I'm going to take you on a tour of some of the streets. You can try to guess what the zócalos tell you about the people who live there: what do they do for a living / what kind of interest to they have. This is just a small selection. I would have had to spend days here if I should have looked at each fasade in town!

Plazoleta de los Zocalos

The Spanish word "zócalo" means "plinth". They are made of concrete on the lowest part of the building. Then they are hand painted in vivid colors. The practice of creating these facades began sometime in the early 1900s., when the purpose was to protect the walls from humitiy. The variation is amazing. Each house is a piece of art. You will find mofifs inspired by nature, religious symbols, tradistions and portrets (maybe of the owner of the house).

The tradition is kept alive as the local artists will do the restoration when needed. I also heard (from the local guide) that both the local authorities and organizations are having projects that will encourage preservation.

Gautápe has it name from the indigenous people who lived here before the Spanish conquest in the 16th century. The leader of the group was a «Gautápe», hence the name of the town. The name means «stones and water» in the native language. The official foundation of Gautápe did not happen until in 1811. The lake / reservoir is a man-made lake, due to the establishing of a hydroelectric complex in the 1970s. This has made Gautápe important when it comes to producing eletric power.

The lake area is absolutely beautiful. One way to enjoy it, is from above the Piedra del Peñon. This imposing, free-standing rock is located only two kilometers from Gautápe town. It can be climbed. A little more than 700 steps will take you to the top! I only went up to the base and didn't climb to the top ( afraid of hights), but I can imagine the view will be spectacular. As you see, the view from the parking at the base is actually quite amazing too. The stairs are built into a natural crack. The first climber to climb the monolith did so via this crack. Hence the idea of building stairs. As far as I know the rock is privately owned.

Being in Gautãpe and the surrounding area makes for a real treat. Walking the streets to enjoy the zocalos was for me one of the highlights to Colombia. I felt like being in an outdoor gallery.

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La Manuela – the former mansion of Pablo Escobar, Colombia

U.J

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All the photoes are mine, Ulla Jensen (flickr, Instagram and facebook)

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