Hotels near Guillermo León Valencia Airport - PPN, Popayan

Been there before could spend a couple of full days there, this time we were passing through, since the last time I was there the city looked a little beaten down from the riots on the whole tax thing.. Cosmetically, it was really sad, the youth need to understand destroying tourist cities is just killing their own future. Colombia really has the potential to become a world power in tourism if they keep to their culture and don’t let themselves become over run by the tourist machine..

Popayan is a very historical city, dating back to the mid-1500s. Many of the central area buildings are original, over 400 years old. If you're a history buff you'll really enjoy a visit to Popayan. The only real negative is all the graffiti that has been painted on just about every building.

At Christmas the town was festive and fun. There were good restaurants, plenty of local vendors with food, handicrafts, and sweets. There were good coffee shops, too. With some effort we did find places to go birding and hiking near town. We had a great time, even taking a bus to hotsprings in the mountains one day and to a traditional indigenous market in Silvia another.

There's so much intense traffic through the centre of this city, which is a shame because it makes it really fumey and a bit nerve-wracking to walk around, except the very centre square which is pedestrianised. Recommend doing a walking tour as you can see inside some of the historic buildings which is where they really come to life. Didn't feel very safe at night to me. Bus station is a bit far from the centre and the walk there felt quite edgy especially at night, so recommend getting taxis. The best thing about the city for me was that it was a good base to get the bus to Tierradentro, which was incredible and the best thing I visited in Colombia. Very special place, whether you're into ancient history or just walking across beautiful mountains in a remote and surprisingly untouristy area.

Popayán, known as the “White City” for its stunning colonial architecture, is nestled in the Andean region of southwestern Colombia. It is renowned for its Holy Week celebrations, one of the oldest and most important in Latin America. Since the 16th century, the city has held nightly processions from Tuesday to Saturday, where sacred images are carried on wooden platforms by devoted “cargueros.” The processions follow a symbolic cross-shaped route through Popayán’s historic streets and have earned recognition from UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. During this sacred week, the city also hosts a Festival of Religious Music, drawing artists from around the world and adding to the spiritual and cultural richness of the tradition.

Popayan is a beautiful city, I only wish I had more time to know it better. My only warning is about the airport; the good thing about it is that it's located only 1 km from the center of the city; however, apparently there is a common situation with high winds that made my flight to Bogota be cancelled, and I had to race to Cali just to be able to catch a flight. Although this type of cancellation seems to be a common occurrence, the airline handled it as if it had never happened before (i.e. badly and unprepared).