Paloquemao Market tour: Taste 6 fruits and traditional arepa

Taste your way through Colombia's biggest market

A 4-hour guided walk through Paloquemao Market in Bogotá, where you taste six different fruits, a traditional arepa and fresh juice while learning how Colombian geography and climate create the country's plant diversity. The market fills with thousands of fruits, flowers and plants, and a live guide in English or Spanish leads you through the stalls and explains what grows where and why.

Step-by-step itinerary

Explore Paloquemao Market and taste foods

• Walk through Paloquemao Market
• See diverse fruits, flowers, and plants
• Taste six different fruits
• Try traditional Colombian arepa
• Drink natural juice

The experience

Paloquemao is one of Colombia's largest markets, and the way to understand a country's food culture is to stand inside it. You'll walk surrounded by thousands of fruits and flowers, seeing varieties most travelers never encounter outside the region. The guide explains the connection between what grows here and Colombia's position as one of the world's most biodiverse countries: why certain fruits thrive in certain zones, what they're used for, and how they move through the market's supply chain.

The tasting is the core of the experience. You'll sample six different fruits chosen to show the range of what the market stocks, taste a traditional arepa (the cornmeal staple that appears at nearly every Colombian meal), and drink a fresh juice made from a fruit you select. These aren't samples passed around. You're eating and drinking at the market itself, often standing among the vendors and other shoppers, so the food tastes like the place it comes from.

A live guide conducts the tour in English or Spanish, so the experience works whether you speak the language or not. The market is wheelchair accessible, and public transportation options sit nearby if you need them.

What’s included

• Guided walk through Paloquemao Market.
• tasting of six different fruits.
• one traditional arepa.
• one fresh juice of your choice.
• live guide in English or Spanish.

Before you book

Days and timesEvery day11 departure times: the first at 08:00, the last at 13:00

Book up to8h before

AgesAdult (18 to 80 years) · Youth (13 to 17 years) · Child (2 to 12 years) · Infant (under 2)

GroupUp to 15

Live guideEnglish and Spanish

Meeting point and pickupNo hotel pickup: you go to the meeting point. Ends back at the starting point.

Cancellation and refundsFree cancellation up to 24 h before the start. After that, no refund.

Prices and times updated yesterday

Good to know

Low physical effortWheelchair accessibleAccessible transportPublic transport nearby

Operated by Condor Tours

Is this one for you?The 4-hour commitment means you can fit this into a morning or afternoon and still have time to explore another neighborhood or museum in Bogotá the same day. If you want a deeper dive into Colombian food culture with cooking or a longer market visit, this is the entry point.

Traveler reviews

5.00★★★★★★★★★★

2 verified traveler reviews

Read all the reviews ›

Top questions

What languages is the tour guided in?

Live guide in English and Spanish.

Can children come?

Yes. Ticket types: Youth (13 to 17 years); Child (2 to 12 years); Infant (under 2).

What exactly are the six fruits I'll taste at Paloquemao?

The guide selects six fruits based on what's fresh and in season the day you visit, so the lineup changes. The point is to show you the diversity of what grows in Colombia rather than hit the same six every time.

Is Paloquemao Market safe for tourists to walk through?

Paloquemao is a working market where locals buy and sell produce daily. You'll be with a guide who knows the layout and the vendors, and the tour is built around the market's normal operating hours when it's busiest and most active.

How much walking is involved in the 4-hour tour?

You'll walk through the market stalls and stop at several spots to taste and learn. The pace is slow enough to look around and ask questions, and the guide can adjust based on how the group wants to move through the space.

Can I buy fruit or other items to take with me after the tour ends?

Yes. After the tasting and the guided portion, you're free to shop at the market's stalls if you want to take fruit, flowers or other goods back with you.

What's the difference between a traditional arepa and what I might find elsewhere?

An arepa is a grilled or fried cornmeal cake that's eaten across Colombia, Venezuela and other parts of South America. The one you'll taste on this tour is prepared the way vendors at Paloquemao make it: simple, fresh, and often stuffed or served with cheese or meat depending on the stall.