Climb into
The Escalators of Medellín
Once one of the most dangerous neighbourhoods in Colombia, Comuna 13 is now covered in murals and served by a run of outdoor escalators that turned a steep climb home into a short ride.
Read About Comuna 13More of Colombia—From Medellín to the Caribbean coast.
This 360° panorama was captured on the walkway beside the outdoor escalators in Comuna 13, on the western hillside of Medellín, looking down over the neighbourhood to the Aburrá Valley.
The camera stands on the paved walkway that runs along the top of the escalators. Below it the escalators drop down the slope under their orange roofs, past rooftops painted with bright patterns, and beyond them the brick houses of the comuna fill the hillside all the way to the valley floor. On the other side of the path, murals cover the walls and a turquoise house sits on the corner, with children perched on its steps.
Comuna 13, also called San Javier, grew up on the steep western edge of Medellín. Through the 1990s and early 2000s it was fought over by guerrillas, paramilitaries and gangs, and in 2002 the army launched Operation Orión to take it back. The violence left the neighbourhood with a reputation it has spent the years since rewriting.
The escalators opened in 2011, built to give residents a way up and down the hill without a climb of hundreds of steps. Together with new walkways and the street art that followed, they turned Comuna 13 into one of the most visited places in the city, with local guides, many of them young people raised here, leading graffiti tours through the lanes.
How do you get to Comuna 13? Take Line B of the Medellín Metro to San Javier station at the end of the line, then a short bus or taxi ride up to the start of the escalators. Most visitors come on a guided graffiti tour, which local guides run every day and which is the best way to understand the art and the history behind it. Mornings are quieter than afternoons.