Things to Do in Colombia in May

May turns the Cocora Valley into something close to surreal. The wax palms, Colombia's national tree, rise 60 m (197 ft) out of cloud forest soaked into every shade of green by the rains. Morning mist drifts between the trunks while the air smells of wet earth, moss, and wild orchids. The valley is largely free of the tour-bus crowds that arrive December through March. Start from Salento by 7am when the air is cool and clear at roughly 15 degrees C (59 degrees F). Plan to descend by noon before the afternoon clouds close in. The altitude at 2,400 m (7,874 ft) catches people off guard if they have come straight from the coast, so spend at least a night in Salento to let your body adjust. While you are there, the coffee fincas in the surrounding hills offer walkthrough tours where you can smell the beans at every stage, from the sweet fermentation tanks to the sharp crack of the dry roast in the tostadera. It is a bit counterintuitive. But the rainy month is the better month to see this landscape at its most alive.

Medellin in May sits at a comfortable 28 degrees C (82 degrees F) with enough afternoon cloud cover to keep the equatorial sun from being punishing. Walking its steep hillside neighbourhoods becomes far more pleasant than in the blinding dry months. Comuna 13's open-air escalators carry you past murals that rotate every few months as new artists paint over old work. The spray-paint smell mingles with the char of grilling arepas de choclo from the carts parked at every landing. The Metrocable gondola to Santo Domingo swings you above terracotta rooftops and into the cooler air at the city's upper edge, where the sound of vallenato drifts from corner tiendas. May's thinner tourist numbers mean the walking groups that thread through these streets are smaller and the conversations with residents feel less rehearsed. Mornings are your window. By 3pm expect a downpour that clears within the hour and leaves the streets steaming.

The 740 steps up Piedra del Penol, the granite monolith rising 220 m (722 ft) from the edge of the Guatape reservoir, reward you with a view of green islands scattered across water so blue it looks retouched. In May the reservoir is full from the rains and the surrounding hills are at their most saturated green. You will share the staircase with maybe a third of the people who crowd it in January. The town of Guatape itself earns the walk: every building facade is covered in hand-painted zocalos, bas-relief panels depicting local trades and folklore, and the colours register differently under the soft, overcast light that May tends to deliver. The air up here at 1,900 m (6,234 ft) is noticeably cooler than Medellin, about two hours west by road, so bring a layer for the top of the rock where the wind cuts through. The reservoir boat ride, if your trip includes one, smells of clean rain runoff and outboard fuel in roughly equal measure.

Bogota's May drizzle is, counterintuitively, one of the best reasons to tour the capital. The rain drives you into the places worth being: the Museo del Oro, where tens of thousands of pre-Columbian gold pieces glow under low light in a temperature-controlled hush that feels like entering a vault; Paloquemao market, where vendors slice open rambutan and granadilla for you to taste while the concrete floor is wet from hosed-down fish stalls and the air is thick with cilantro and overripe mango. The cramped interior of La Puerta Falsa, operating since 1816, where the chocolate completo, a cup of hot chocolate served with cheese you dip and a wedge of bread, warms hands that have gone stiff in Bogota's 9 degrees C (49 degrees F) morning air. La Candelaria's colonial streets, painted in fading mustard and terracotta, look their best when rain-slicked and catching lamplight. The altitude at 2,640 m (8,661 ft) leaves some visitors short of breath on the steep walk up to Cerro de Monserrate. Take the funicular instead. Save your legs for the city below.

Cartagena in May is hot. That needs saying up front: daytime temperatures push past 32 degrees C (90 degrees F) with humidity thick enough that the air feels like something you are wearing rather than breathing. But the old walled city at dusk is a different proposition. The stone fortifications of the Ciudad Amurallada hold the day's heat and release it slowly as the Caribbean breeze picks up, and the bougainvillea spilling over iron balconies in the San Diego quarter seems to saturate in colour as the light drops. Getsemani, the neighbourhood just outside the walls, comes alive after dark with the low thump of champeta bass leaking from open-door bars and the charcoal-smoke smell of street-side grilled meats. May's occasional evening thunderstorms are spectacular from a covered balcony or a rooftop with a cold limonada de coco. The catch is that afternoon showers can arrive fast and flood Getsemani's lower streets for an hour, so wear shoes that can handle standing water.

The trail from Tayrona's El Zaino entrance to Cabo San Juan, roughly 6 km (3.7 miles) through jungle that opens onto white-sand coves with turquoise water, is one of those walks where the sweat dripping off your chin and the tree roots catching your boots pay off the moment the canopy breaks and the Caribbean spreads out below. May is technically the wet season for the Santa Marta coast. But the park stays open and the showers, sharp and brief, cool the trail down from its otherwise relentless heat. The jungle sections are loud with howler monkeys and the electric whirr of insects, and the humidity has a physical weight to it. Fewer visitors in May means you might get a hammock spot at Cabo San Juan's beachside camp without arriving before dawn, which is close to impossible in peak season. Mind you, the sea can be rougher than in the dry months, so stick to the sheltered coves for swimming rather than the open stretches where the current pulls.