Mud, mountain views, and a version of Medellín most tourists never see. Here’s everything you need to know before you ride.

⏱ 60 min read🏍 All experience levels⛰ Off-road trails⭐ 15+ years operating

There is a version of Medellín that exists beyond El Poblado, beyond the metro, beyond the tourist circuit. It lives in the steep green hills that surround the city — the ones you can see from every rooftop but most visitors never reach.

The ATV tour goes there. And once you’re up in those trails, with the city spread below you and nothing but dirt track ahead, you understand why this is one of the experiences people talk about for years after their trip.

"People come thinking it's a gentle ride through the countryside. Twenty minutes in, they're covered in mud and asking when we can do it again."

— Your guide, who has taken thousands of travelers up these hills since 2009

Who this tour is actually for

The honest answer is: almost everyone. The trails are designed to be challenging enough to be exciting, but accessible enough that you don’t need any prior experience. If you can ride a bicycle, you can handle an ATV on this route.

That said, there are different intensities — and your guide will read the group on the day and adjust accordingly. A group of experienced riders gets a different route than a group of first-timers. Both leave happy.

LEVEL 1
First Timer
Never ridden an ATV. We start slow, build confidence, and have you on the real trails within 20 minutes.

LEVEL 2
Some Experience
You've ridden before but not off-road. This is where the fun starts — steeper climbs, tighter turns, real terrain.


LEVEL 3
Thrill Seeker
You want the hardest trails, the biggest drops in elevation, the muddiest paths. We know exactly where to take you.

What the ride actually looks like

The route climbs through neighborhoods that most tourists never visit — working-class barrios where kids wave from doorways and the smell of arepas drifts from kitchen windows. Then the city disappears behind you and it’s just trail, trees, and altitude.

At certain points on the route you get views of Medellín that even locals have never seen. The entire valley laid out below, the towers of El Centro in the distance, the green hills rolling in every direction. You stop. You take the photos. You realize the city you thought you knew looks completely different from up here.

Then you get back on the ATV and find more mud.

Safety — the real version, not the brochure version

What to wear: Clothes you don’t mind getting dirty — mud is part of the deal. Closed-toe shoes, nothing loose that can catch in the machinery. Leave the white sneakers at the hotel. Bring a change of clothes if you’re going somewhere after.

The moment that makes this tour

There’s a point on the route — usually about an hour in — where you stop at a viewpoint that doesn’t have a name on any map. The guide kills the engines. The whole group sits in silence for a moment, looking out over Medellín, catching their breath, still buzzing from the ride.

That moment — the adrenaline, the altitude, the view, the people you just shared it with — is why this tour has been running for fifteen years and why the people who do it keep recommending it to every traveler they meet.

What kind of rider are you — and what are you looking for?

Tell us below and we’ll build the right experience around your group. First-timers, adrenaline seekers, and everything in between — pick your question:

• :I’ve never ridden an ATV — is this tour right for me?
• I want the most extreme version of this tour — what’s possible?
• Can I combine this with another tour the same day?