Colombian sports: these are the best ones you can try out

Traditional Colombian sports

Colombia offers many unique chances for you to get off your seat and move! Not only can you hike through a plenitude of beautiful landscapes or try your best at popular Colombian dances, you can also try out some traditional Colombian sports which can be enjoyed by everyone.

1. Sharpen up your aim with Rana

Rana is Spanish for frog. The name comes from the frog figure that sits atop the box you use in the game. It is played in Colombia, Perú, Bolivia, Argentina, and even Spain. It is said to come from the Incan indigenous belief that frogs had magical powers. During traditional holidays, people used to toss gold pieces into lakes in the hope that frogs would eat them and grant them wishes in return.

In this laid-back sport, opposing teams of two people throw six brass rings at the box from a distance. The goal is to slip the most rings possible inside the frog’s open mouth. This requires very good aim. But do not worry, you also get points for the rings that hit the frog or the back of the box and fall into the holes that surround the figure. The team with the most points wins!

2. Tejo: a game with explosives?

Yes, you read that right. In Colombia’s national sport, players throw weighted steel disks (tejos) toward a big wooden box about 49 feet away. The box is filled with clay and has a central metallic ring, surrounded by paper triangles filled with gunpowder (mechas) which explode upon impact.

You get different amounts of points for different moves. You can burst mechas, place the tejo exactly inside the ring, or manage to do both in a single throw. The player or team that reaches 27 points first wins.

Modern tejo comes from a traditional game which was played in the Turmequé region of Boyacá, some 450 years ago. There are also indications of a similar practice in the Chibcha indigenous community during pre-Columbian times.

Contemporary Colombian sports

If you follow international sports competitions, chances are you are familiar with many Colombian athletes that have excelled at them for years. The country’s sportsmen shine in many different disciplines: from BMX to weightlifting.

Such a rise in national athletes has inspired a surge in popularity of some Colombian sports. The main one, perhaps, is cycling. Back in 2019, 23-year-old Egan Bernal won the Tour de France. Nairo Quintana has been second in the same race, as well as the champion of the 2014 Giro d’Italia. Additionally, Rigoberto Urán has ranked second in both of those competitions previously. He also won the silver medal in road race during the London 2012 Summer Olympics.

Cycle your way around Colombia

Colombian people have been fond of cycling for decades. During the 70s, local city governments started to regularly close down streets to cars for people to walk, skate, or cycle in. Today, these ciclovías operate in many major cities every Sunday and on national holidays. They are a great place to get some exercise, explore the streets and enjoy traditional ciclovía treats like bowls of fruit, salpicón, freshly squeezed juice, or a sweet oblea.

There are also informal cycling routes on the roads that people regularly use. Some of them do it as part of their cycling training. Others do it for the pleasure of admiring Colombian landscapes and discovering small towns firsthand.