The Rock of Guatape, is an iconic
landmark inselberg also famous as “The Stone of El Peñol” located in the border
of two towns Guatapé, and El Peñol Antioquia in Colombia. Hence, both towns
claimed ownership of the Rock Guatape. The Guatape Rock has also historically
claimed the rock as their own and thus has led to various names for the site. The
landform is a granitic rock remains that has resisted weathering and erosion,
probably as result of being less fractured than the surrounding bedrock. The
town of Guatape is a
major tourist attraction, particularly for travelers from MedellĂn, for both El
Peñón de Guatapé, and the famous zócalos that adorn numerous buildings.
The Guatapé is an outcrop of the
Antioquia Batholith and towers up to 656 feet above its base. Tourists can
scale the rock via a staircase built into one side, a path that includes more
than 649 steps to the top. Number of food and markets stalls available near the
base of the Rock. About halfway up the stairs, there is a shrine to the Virgin
Mary. The summit contains a three-story viewpoint tower, a convenience store, and
a seating area.
The indigenous South American
agricultural tribe TahamĂ, former inhabitants that region, superstitions and worshiped
the rock and called it in their language mojarrá or mujará. In 1954, the rock
was first climbed by three climbers Luis Villegas, Pedro Nel Ramirez, and RamĂłn
DĂaz in a five-day endeavor, using sticks were embedded in the fissure on the
rock. Hence, the staircase was built later on to allow people to climb to the
rock without needing particular equipment.
Pitcairnia heterophylla (A new species
of plant) was found on the top of the rock. The beautiful viewing spot was built
on top of the rock. Here, visitor can buy different handicrafts, souvenirs, postcards,
and other local goods. It is possible to see the five hundred km shore-perimeter
dam. There are 740 steps to the uppermost step atop the building at the summit,
a fact reinforced by yellow numbers also seen in the climb up the stairs. In
the 1940s, the Colombian government declared it a National Monument.
According to Wikipedia
On the western face of the stone there are painted large white letters
"G" and an incomplete "U" (only the single vertical stroke
was completed, resembling an "I"). The towns of Guatapé and El Peñol
had long disputed ownership of the rock, and the residents of Guatapé decided
to settle the matter by painting the town's name on the rock in huge white
letters. It did not take long for the residents of El Peñol to notice the work,
and a huge mob was assembled to stop it. Only the "G" and part of the
"U" were completed.
The rock rises from the bottom of
the hydroelectric dam of Peñol-Guatapé. This monolith was spotted as a border
landmark between country farms and the two cities of Guatapé, and El Peñol. At its highest part, on the rear southeast
side, it has an elevation of 7,005 ft above sea level, with an average
temperature of 18 °C. The massive rock "Peñol" is 935 ft long and 360
ft wide. It has some rock breaks, one of which was used for the construction of
650 steps of the stairway that can be used to go to the top.
The Stone of Peñol is mix of
minerals such as of quartz, feldspar and mica. The view from atop of this
70-million-year-old rock is unimaginable an enormous lake full of small islets.
The rock is easily visible for miles from the surrounding countryside. There
are very few travelers leave Medellin without making a visit to this
pre-historic massive rock. Even today, researchers are uncertain how the rock
was formed or where it has come from.
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