The colourful Colombian town of Guatapé, is a quaint Andean town — located in the outskirts of bustling Medellín
Home to just over 5,000 residents, the town has increasingly become a popular tourist getaway for travellers. Visitors marvel at one of Guatapé’s best-known treasures: its vibrantly coloured building façades peppered with 3-dimensional relief drawings called ‘Zócalos’.
Guatapé’s curious charm is characterized by its residences, restaurants and hotels, which are colorised in a spectrum of vivid tones. Shutters, roofs and doorways are painted in bold blues, vivid violets and perky peaches. Lining the bottom of the buildings, forming a sort of skirt along their base, are carved bas-relief drawings. These graphic illustrations depict a broad scope of different aspects of everyday life, including cultural clothing, famous foods, and even political events.
These images, by photographer Jessica Devnani, have captured the eccentric and enchanting quality of the village in a series of ‘saturated streetscapes’. “The entire town is colorfully and cheerfully painted,” Devnani recalls. It was an absolute pleasure to meander through and photograph”.
Furthermore, Guatapé is famous for being home to the ‘best view in the world’. “This is a very subjective title, but there is no doubt that it is high on the list,” Devnani continues. “Atop a rock, which looks like it was literally dropped on top of a hill, you can view 360 degrees of the surrounding island scenery. Being up there really makes you appreciate how beautiful our planet is.”
(Source: Designboom, Images Designboom. Photography Jessica Devnani)