Medellin Metrocable to Parque Arvi

Overview & Quick Tips

Riding a gondola to the recreational nature reserve of Parque Arvi is a highlight of Medellin. It only costs a few dollars. The scenery changes rapidly along the route, passing over twisting city roads, slums, hill top neighbourhoods, farmland and dense forest. The view is wonderfully, but difficult to photograph.

Detailed information

Riding the Cable 
Scratched and dirty, the gondola window are far from ideal to shoot though. I struggled to find a clear area of even a few square inches and bent awkwardly to keep my lens right to against this ‘good’ section. Shooting from even a foot back from the glass would have increased the amount of poor window in front of my lens to a hopeless level. Maybe when you visit you’ll board a gondola with windows in a better condition! Hang back rather than get on an old gondola. Let other passengers pass,  wait for a cleaner looking carriage.
The gondolas hold up to ten people with seating. You’re not likely to have one to yourself, or to be able to move around when inside, so when you do see a clean windows, get in first and sit rear going up, and front going down (so you can shoot looking down hill). Claim your spot in a corner, in order to shoot out the sides, as well as facing the cable.

Weather
Showers are a frequent occurrence in Medellin. Distant storms add drama to a photo, but if rain is forecast you may want to delay your trip to avoid shooting through a window of droplets. Thunderstorms are more likely in the afternoon, so a morning trip has its advantages. Afternoon shots into the low sun, over looking Medellin.  The weather, clouds, and amount of smog having over the city are more important than the time of day at this location.

Composition
The scenery changes fast as you ride the cable. You’ll have little time to compose photos with care. A wider angle lens will yield more options for cropping later, but be careful…as much as I love wide angels, Medellin neighbourhoods of red bricks and tiles, green vegetation and a sometimes blue sky, makes a colourful mix, but it can all look rather confused and messy in wide compositions. I needed to edit my photos, and play around saturation and contrast, to reduce some of the confusion in them, and still they look a little off to me.

Santo Domingo 
The Cable to Parque Arvi is broken by a stop at Santo Domingo. When you change lines here, be sure to take some photos from the station. I tied a few HDR shots from the platform but the results were even more confused than my single exposures!
You can visit the Biblioteca España (Library of Spain) at Santo Domingo. This is three-part, odd looking building made of black slate. The surrounding neigbrohood has a reputation for crime, but I found the locals friendly and with numerous police around the station, I felt safe.

Parque Arvi
From Santo Domingo to Parque Arvi, the 4.8km cable flattens out and continues over farmland and an extensive pine forest. This is what I love about Medellin – within minutes the city is left behind and nature is all around!
Parquet Arvi Ecological Park is 1761 hectares of pine and eucalyptus forest, home to 19 species of mammal, 69 species of bird and 79 species of butterfly. You can hike there alone, or join a 40 minute guided hike. The last one departs at 3pm. A longer lake hike and camping are also options.
Parque Arvi is open from 9am-6pm, Tuesday to Sunday. It also opens on holiday Mondays. Weekends and holidays are very busy, so try to go during the week.
Food, drinks, and souvenirs are available outside the station. Bring a rain coat and warm clothing, it can it get surprisingly cold there!

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