Arví Park (in Spanish known as "

Ecotourism Ecotourism is a form of tourism involving responsible travel (using sustainable transport) to natural areas, conserving the environment, and improving the well-being of the local people. Its purpose may be to educate the traveler, to provide fund ...

Park Arví") is both an ecological

nature preserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological o ...

and Pre-Hispanic archeological site on the eastern slopes of Aburrá Valley, in the northeast area of Medellín, Colombia. The park covers several other municipalities of Antioquia, including

Envigado Envigado () is a town southeast of Medellín, Colombia in the department of Antioquia. It is located in the Metropolitan Area of the Aburrá Valley. It borders El Poblado, Medellín to the north, Sabaneta to the south, El Retiro and Caldas ...

, Bello, and Copacabana. It covers 16,000 hectares, 1,760 of which are in the state of natural forests. And it is equipped with 54 miles of walkable trails. It is a major tourist attraction, known for its wildflowers, butterflies and trails. Activities include hiking, nature tours, cycling, and outdoor adventure sports. An outdoor food market is located next to the gondola station. The Piedras Blancas Ecological Hotel and its private reserve are adjacent to the park. The park can be reached from downtown Medellín via the metro station. Line L on the

Medellín Metro The Medellín Metro (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Metro de Medellín'') is a rapid transit system that crosses the Metropolitan Area of Medellín from North to South and from Centre to West. It first opened for service on 30 November 1995. As one ...

goes to Arví station, where there is a direct link to the metrocables that go to the park.

Development

The investment in this huge park, the largest of its kind in the country, is made entirely by regional state agencies, and it has achieved the feat of offering 12 square meters of parkland for each resident of Medellin, where before it was only 4 meters.http://arvi.pacifica.co/ Arví Park website Thanks to the joint efforts of many companies Antioquia (EPM, the Metro de Medellín, Comfenalco, and several others) the park is now a reality.

Pre-Hispanic constructions

The park features sections of prehispanic construction, including antique buildings, water works, platforms, roads, gardens and ditches. It has trail called "Camino Cieza de León" or the "Prehispanic Trail", which can be more than 1,500 years old. It is very wide, built of stone, and is still well preserved some of the original parts.

Access via Metrocable

Among the most featured attractions of Arví Park is its access system, which is realized through a metrocable that is oriented towards ecological tourism. Cable Arví, also called Metrocable Line L, is a section of the cable cars that connects Santo Domingo Savio station with Arví Ecotourism Park. It is the first tourist line of the Metro and the third by cable car System, and began commercial operation in February 2010.

References

External links

Parque Arví website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arvi Park Nature reserves in Colombia Geography of Medellín Parks in Medellín Tourist attractions in Medellín