ipiales, CO

This place is in the far far south of the country. It’s the border town with Ecuador. If you aren’t crossing the land border into Ecuador or from Ecuador then I bet there is a zero percent chance that you are going to go here at all. But if you are crossing the land border into Ecuador you are in for a surprise. This place has hand down the coolest church I have ever seen. I don’t really even like churches either. But this one is so special and feels like it’s out of a Disney movie or something like that. More gothic European than mountainous Colombia. The pictures on this page will do the description of that church more justice than my words could ever do. When you come here to cross the border, I would recommend staying a night. Checking out the church, and spending a night in the town. The town of Ipiales is actually pretty cool and there’s some really interesting cultural things to look at. For example, this is where I saw my first alpaca in South America and my first roast guinea pig (a staple in neighboring Ecuador). Now you probably won’t come here if you aren’t doing the land border crossing, but if you do, make a day out of it, check out the church, it’s a really cool surprise. At least it was for me.

GENERAL OVERVIEW

LOCATION - Ipiales is the border of Colombia and Ecuador. There is probably a zero percent chance that you will be here unless you are crossing the land border of Ecuador and Colombia. To get here from Cali, which is where you will likely be coming from you can take a bus, or you can drive.
- BY BUS FROM CALI - The bus from Cali to Ipiales costs about $20 USD or about 95,000 COP. So a little more than $20 USD. The bus is long, takes about 12 hours and will be over night. But its not all that bad you get free accomodation on the bus. Here is a link to the bus schedules. The Cali bus terminal is located here.

ACCOMODATION - I stayed in a small little hostel in town. Its below and I wouldnt look any further if I were you.
- Xantico Hostal - It's a small little spot right in the center of town. Its cheap, comfortable, and easy. They are very used to people who are going to cross the border to Ecuador so they are helpful in getting you there and getting you all the information that you need. I would stay here and not look any further.

EATS - Its not a small town and there's plenty of places to eat. I just went to a small bakery though. I imagine you wont be spending much time here so this doesn't really matter.

NIGHTLIFE - Same as above, I doubt that you will be spending enough time here to go and find the party scene. But I actually think there is some decent nightlife. This place is pretty popular with Ecuadorian and Colombian tourists so if you want to find it, you can.

SIGHTS - Go see the church. Santuario de Nuestra Señora del Rosario de Las Lajas. That's it. Its spectacular. The church is actually so so stunning and it's one of the coolest and most out of place looking things ever. Its something that's more gothic and European than anything I have ever seen in Latin America. Its only located about 10 miuntes from town and there you also have views of some waterfalls, a giant river and canyon, as well as some market stalls where you can buy some traditional high altitude stuff or just look at the cool things that they sell.

SURFING - Nothing, but at this point, you are pretty close to Ecuador, where the waves come back.