Once the South American country to avoid, Colombia is continuing a recent come-back, and is now far safer with a wild mix of destinations that take in the Andes, the Caribbean, the Amazon and the Pacific.

The Guardian listed it as one of the destinations of the decade, and its South America correspondent only warned against the remote areas.

One of the great Andean destinations, actually, is Bogota, one of South America's most engaging capitals.

The cobblestone core of La Candelaria is a student-filled area with a wonderful free museum of Botero's plus-sized sculptures and cafes selling canelazo tea (spiked with aguardiente), and the sushi bars and salsatecas around northern neighborhoods like Zona Rose and Parque 93 are for the dress-up crowd.

The classic Colombian route still hugs the coast, taking in Cartagena, Caribbean beaches and then hitting an island or two. If you'd rather take in the attractions of the interior, you could do a loop out of Bogota first heading north via colonial towns like Barichara and Mompos (or Mompox) to Cartagena. If you want to do the jungle trek to Ciudad Perdida (the Lost City), then you can head north-east from here to Santa Marta to arrange the hike.

Then you can head back south to Medellin to explore the Zona Cafetera – the coffee lands that your friends were rightly raving about - and the nature reserves around Manizales and the Valle de Cocora outside Salento. You can reverse again at Cali, after you've visited the archaeological ruins at Tierradentro and San Agustin, before returning to Bogota via the striking landscape of the Tatacoa Desesrt. Ciudad Perdida is an ancient

Tayrona site you trek in to over three days.Provided you don't go too far off the beaten track, you're likely to come away thinking Colombia feels as safe as anywhere else in South America, though frequent military checkpoints are a reminder of a less stable past. Apart from the Colombian tourism authority's snappy assertion that "The only risk is wanting to stay", the main concern is of theft when out and about in big cities. Take taxis after dark and seek local advice on any no-go areas.