Ritmo Del Rio is an eco-lodge in the subtropical Andes in San Rafael, Antioquia. Set on a crystal clear river, with a year-round average temperature of 26° C, we invite you to enjoy the beauty of the Colombian Andes. Founded in 2013, Ritmo Del Rio is a multifaceted project, with four main focuses in mind: sustainable tourism, organic agriculture, culinary arts, and education. In July of 2013, an uninhabited and untended cattle farm was purchased by Ritmo Del Rio in San Rafael, Antioquia and the project began.
Five years have passed, and Ritmo Del Rio has grown immensely. With an Eco lodge built from scratch, an infertile land now a productive farm, a restaurant and a foreign language school up and running, and the neighboring 15 hectares now established as a natural reserve, we are proud to finally open to the public.
Ritmo Del Rio is located in San Rafael, Antioquia—a tranquil agricultural town three hours to the east of Medellin. Sitting at 1000 meters, San Rafael has an incredible subtropical climate year-round, never becoming overwhelmingly hot or unpleasantly cold. With six crystal clear rivers, dozens of waterfalls, beautiful jungle treks, San Rafael is a tropical paradise. Ritmo Del Rio is a 15 minute drive outside the center of town, allowing for an escape from the hustle of a lively town while still remaining close enough to visit daily if need be. While quiet on most weekdays, the town of San Rafael comes to life on the weekends, as many campesinos come down from their farms on horseback for their weekly shopping and festivities.
Our hostel is located on the river El Macanal, in San Rafael, Antioquia. This clear turquoise river is home to all types of life, including monkeys, river otters, exotic birds, fresh water crabs, and a variety of fish. One can spend weeks discovering new `charcos`, waterfalls, and animals in the three rivers walking distance from our hostel: El Macanal, La Rapida, and El Arenal. If you are a lover of nature, we invite you to enjoy the gem that is San Rafael.
While things can be slow at night in the countryside, we try to keep life interesting here at Ritmo Del Rio. With live music or salsa classes on the weekends, and game nights, cooking classes, cinema, and astronomy classes during the week—we hope you won’t miss the city too much in this tropical paradise.
