If you are looking for a traditional touristic place and close to Medellín, you do not have to look any further: The East of Antioquia. It has various places to enjoy, cultural offerings, beautiful natural land-scapes, wide offer in hotels and gastronomy; all of these things make this subregion an almost obligated place to visit.
When you leave Medellín, just 30 minutes after you go on the road, you may start to enjoy the natural beauty of the subregion. The municipalities of this trajectory which have received the name of the Green Route are a constant attraction on the highland, and to get to them, one may use three routes starting from the capital of the department, all of them with destiny towards Rionegro, the main municipality of the zone.
One way is the one that heads up to Santa Elena, where the silleteros are from and where each year they give life to the Flower Fair. Santa Elena belongs to Medellín; it is the first cultural and weather sampling of the East: agricultural vocation and it has an average temperature of 16ºC.
Another option is Las Palmas road. On the Alto de las Palmas, one may indulge in typical cuisine, meats or arepas of chócolo . Along the road it is possible to buy craftsmanship work in wood or rustic furniture. Also, one may take a deviation towards El Retiro and La Ceja, other two municipalities of the Eastern part of the department. In addition, this road takes you closer to one of the dams of the subregion: La Fé, near to El Retiro and La Ceja.
The third way is Medellín-Bogotá Highway. The first municipality that you encounter with is Guarne, where horseback riding races take place at its hippodrome, on Thursdays and Saturdays. These races are closely watched by lovers of horseback riding in the country.
Either of the three roads that you take, you have a wide variety of touristic possibilities. Plus, the great quality of the roads helps even more. Going through the East is like going to a labyrinth with exits and entrances everywhere and with good sign posts that indicates where are you going, and of course, how to get back home. Added to this, you have several options to taste the diversity of gastronomy of the region.
Municipalities close to Medellín are Rionegro, La Ceja, El Carmen de Viboral, and El Retiro. Rionegro is considered the capital of the East because of its importance in the history of Colombia and at the moment on its perimeters, it is the home of many companies that are known for its trajectory in the Colombian economy.
In these municipalities is possible to do a Culture and History of Córdova trip. José Mária Córdova was one of the leaders of Colombia's independence, and museums or places that are allusive to him and to others that were contemporary to him are in Rionegro, San Vicente, Marinilla, and El Santuario, among others.
El Retiro is known for its wood work, especially for homes -beds, chairs, dining tables, etc. - There are parks that are perfect for camping, to recreate or to do ecological walks.
Long streets that never end, with almost perfect traces lead to tranquil areas. These calms places take you to the countryside. Those are the entrances and exits of La Ceja. From here exportation of flowers and odors arrive to the International Airport José María Córdova, located in the jurisdiction of Rionegro.
In Carmen de Viboral the production of pottery is a complete industry and tradition. It is the legacy of many families which sell their production in local and foreign markets.
A new attraction is the Tutucán zone. It is a replica of an Antioquian town, and it even has live interpretations of traditional characters. It is located in Llanogrande, entering Rionegro.
You may do the Agro Touristic Circuit "Clean Production", which consists in an association of productive agricultural and cattle spaces. This circuit develops the theory of clean and organic production. Furthermore, it points to a constant production to benefit the entire East.
San Antonio de Pereira is a famous small town of Rionegro. It is a place that combines urban with rural, and it a frequent destiny of a night life, thanks to nightclubs and restaurants which are in the area.
The Green Route is perfect to practice cycling; it is used by aficionados and professionals, which find the highland an ideal place to do this activity.
A natural and potential abundance of the East are the water reservoirs. This has motivated the creation of hydroelectric plants, and for this reason Antioquia supplies a third of the energy that the entire country consumes. Therefore, the Touristic Dams Route was created.
The most famous dam of the subregion is El Peñol-Guatapé, located an hour and a half from Medellín and it is close to two municipalities that give the dam its name. One may go through the dam by boat and enjoy a pleasant stay on the dam's banks, thanks to a hotel infrastructure available all year long. When the dam was built, it reached the municipality of El Peñol, reason why it was transferred to another place.
There, aquatic sports are practiced such as water ski and canoeing. Next to the dam it is also located Guatape's crag, official name of the always called El Peñol Rock.
The Rock has the possibility for you to ascend up to the top, located 220 meters from the solid ground. After one ascends almost 700 stairs, ones eyes are received with the spectacle to observe the highland covered by the dam. Furthermore, on top of the crag, a place where you may buy and indulge in products from the region was built.
This natural beauty is circumscribed in the Stone and Monoliths Circuit, which associates a group of them, it forms part of the Antioquian Batholith and it has its main samples in Guatapé, El Peñol, Concepción, and San Vicente, which have similar crags.
Now that Guatapé was mentioned, all of its homes have a constant facade: painted sockets with vivid colors and with allusion to a paisa culture or art. In the dam's banks lies the pier, which has a corridor of restaurants, lodging, and aquatic services such as floatable flats conditioned with chairs, music, and bars, in which many tourists get on to enjoy float like nightclubs.
Besides, one may enjoy a 300 meter canopy ride, which is considered the largest in Colombia. What is best about the over flight is that it is done over the waters of the dam, which generates an even more excitement to the activity.
Other municipalities that have dams in its jurisdictions are Alejandría, San Rafael, and San Carlos. Dams such as Calderas and Punchina, in San Carlos, Playas in San Rafael or San Lorenzo en Alejandría, do not have touristic infrastructure such as El Peñol-Guatapé but are also interesting for fishing and aquatic sports.
To return to Medellín, one may do it by any of the three routes that were used to enter the East. During the entire trip it is possible to buy craftsmanship, typical products of each of the municipalities, or try the local gastronomy in any of the establishments which are located side by side of the road.
However, the options do not end here; in the cultural aspect the Eastern subregion offers museums in almost all of its municipalities that conforms it. The most famous are in El Peñol and Guatapé, where one may see worthily objects that are from the colonial times, such as independence war weapons and art work done by contemporary artists.
Yet one has to recognize the cultural power of places such as Rionegro, with its Religious Art Museum, Juan del Corral crypt, Artillery Workshop House, the Cultural House, and the Museum of Santader's Bank. Marinilla with its Historical and Archeological Museum, and El Santuario, with José María Córdova Museum and the Museum of the humorist Montecristo.
Rionegro also offers a Recre-ational -Environment Route of the fluvial star of the Negro River, which connects a series of lineal parks along the main source of water of the region, which also is the reason for the name of the municipality.
Lovers of adventure, of ecological walks, and agro tourism find their spaces in the East of Antioquia. There are different paths for different interests, including old paths of muleteers which connect with near subregions of Antioquia such as Aburrá Valley and Southwest.
Waterfalls and bathing places in crystal clear waters wait for you in Cocorná, municipality which has maintained its tradition of a natural place to rest and right they are trying to reactivate the area once more.
The East offers touristic plans for everyone, and its closeness to Medellín, makes it easy to travel in just one day. The Green Route it is not only the name, it is green, like everything that is observed through out all of the corners of this subregion.

This subregion has the following internal route:

* Towards the Touristic Dam Route.
* The Culture and History of Córdoba Route.
* Agrotouristic Circuit "Clean Production".
* The Recreation - Environment Route of the Fluvial Star of the Negro River.
* The Stones and Monoliths Circuit.
* The Environment Recreational Parks Circuit.