PRACTICAL WANDERLUST
Packing for a trip to Colombia can be really challenging. After all, Colombia is home to about every diverse landscape you can think of. From the hot and humid Amazon to the freezing temperatures in the high altitudes!
If you’re going backpacking in Colombia, here are our absolute, most important, top 3 must-have essentials. If you don’t bring anything else on this list, bring these!
Most insect repellents are not worth the unpleasant oily feeling you get after applying them, the icky hacking cough you develop after spraying them, or that skin-burning feeling you get after applying 100000% chemicals to your skin.
2. Permethrin Spray
Permethrin is a bug repellent that adheres only to fabrics, leaves no smell or residue on clothes, and doesn’t harm human skin. I can’t emphasize enough about how crucial Permethrin spraying your clothing, backpacks, and other fabric-based gear is.
3. Steri-Pen Water Purifier
This handy little water purifier saved us a LOT of money (not to mention waterborne illness!) in Colombia, where there is almost no drinkable tap water (Bogota is the only place we went with potable water).
4. Anti-Diarrhea Pill & Vaccinations
Even if you’re super careful about sterilizing your water, traveler’s diarrhea is still very common. Imodium is fantastic to have on hand. You’ll also need some vaccinations before you leave, like Yellow Fever and Tetanus.
5. Travel Friendly Cameras
We used a travel friendly pocket-sized Canon Powershot, which appears deceptively cheap and old-fashioned to potential thieves but actually takes AMAZING photos.