Google a list of top cuisines to try in South America, and you'll be hard-pressed to find something with contributions from Colombia.

There's a consenus that Colombian cuisine is bland, slathered in grease, and not worth discussing.

This conception is wrong. Colombian food is stunning; it's heavy ingredients, sweet deserts, unheard-of fruits, and hearty soul food. In many ways, Colombia's traditional dishes tell the story of the country's history. From the indigenous tribes that call the country home and the arrival of Spanish settlers to the influence of Colombia's Afro-Caribbean population and international experimentation.

This article will round off our top 10 picks you simply have to try while backpacking in Colombia.

The literal big daddy of Colombian cuisine, regarded as a national dish – it's like Colombia's take on a full English breakfast. The prospect of polishing off a Bandeja Paisa certainly isn't for the faint-hearted. If you somehow manage it, you'll need to be rolled out of whatever restaurant you frequented.

A Bandejo Paisa consists of steak or ground beef, red bean soup, chorizo, fried pork belly, eggs, plantains, avocado, rice, arepa, and salad.

Most restaurants serving Bandeja Paisa will charge between 20,000-30,000 COP for the dish, making it as cheap as it is filling.

Bandeja Paisa is served throughout the country, especially in Medellín and the Antioquia region, where practically every restaurant reserves a spot for it.

The Bandeja Paisa also represents Colombia's diverse cultures and influences. Arepas have been cultivated by Colombia's indigenous peoples for thousands of years. Plantains and red bean soups add an Afro-Colombian twist. Chorizo and ground meat from Spanish colonizers.

Though the Bandeja Paisa will be every veggie or vegan's worst nightmare, it's impossible to omit it.

Different variations of Ajiaco are found across Colombia, but Bogotá's take is the best.

This soup, or more accurately stew, comprises chicken, three kinds of potato, corn, and the endemic herb guascas. Most restaurants serve Ajiaco with toppings of avocado, sour cream, and capers.

It's the perfect warm, hearty comfort food that one might look for after wandering around mountainous Bogotá on a chilly day. Be sure to add some lemon rind for the best taste!

A bizarre concoction to anyone not from Colombia, but a breakfast staple for locals. Santafereño is traditional Colombian hot chocolate served with cheese inside the drink. 

It sounds bizarre, but don't knock it. Adding the cheese creates a perfect sweet and salty flavor. White cheese is best for this dish, specifically queso compasigna, queso fresco, or panela. The cheese doesn't melt into the drink; it turns into a big gooey goop at the bottom of the cup, which you can pull out and eat separately.

Santafereño originates from Bogotá and is seen as the perfect pick-me-up before starting a chilly day out in the capital. 

Most restaurants and cafés will serve Santafereño with sweet bread to dunk into the drink and scoop up the cheese from the bottom.

You should be able to grab a Santafereño from just about any café in Bogotá for less than 10,000 COP. 

Reserved for the really brave. Hormigas Culonas literally translates to big-ass ants. These little critters are a popular seasonal delicacy in the Santander region.

If stopping in Colombia's adventure capital San Gil or any of the quaint surrounding pueblos, you'll find street vendors selling the ants in little bags on every corner.

Hormigas Culonas is a protein-rich snack, and it's common to see locals in the Santander region sitting outside and munching on them while enjoying a beer with friends. 

If you're brave enough to try them, you only eat the ass, ignoring the head and body. They don't really taste of much, just the salt and oil they're roasted in – and the texture's a little like popcorn.

The practice of harvesting these leaf-cutters began with the indigenous Guane peoples. Then the Spanish acquired a taste for them, and the tradition has endured.

Harvesting the ants isn't easy. They only leave their nest for a day or two each year as the colony looks for a new home during the rainy season. Because of the difficulty in harvesting them, they're quite expensive. Expect a kilo of ants to cost you around 50,000 COP.

With tripe acting as the base ingredient for this soup, Sopa de Mondongo doesn't get the credit it's due. Many are just too squeamish about the ingredient.

Tripe aside, this hearty dish comprises beef stock, cilantro, and an assortment of veggies. You may occasionally find it served with chorizo or some other kind of pork. Done right, you won't taste the tripe, and the texture will resemble pasta. Done wrong, and there's no denying that the tripe can make the soup taste pretty unpleasant.

You can find Sopa de Mondongo in most traditional Colombian restaurants, and the dish is ever-present on set menus. Sopa de Mondongo is particularly popular in medellín, Colombia's second-largest city. The best place to try it is Mondongo's - a small chain found in the city of eternal spring.

Vegetarians rejoice. We finally have something here for you!

Originating from Colombia's Caribbean region, Cayeye – pronounced 'Kay-yah-yah' – is a popular breakfast and dinner, perfect for cooling down in the stifling Caribbean sun.

If staying in hostels that offer complimentary breakfast in Cartagena, Minca, or Palomino, don't be surprised if Cayeye is on the menu.

A plate of Cayeye consists of boiled and mashed plantains, topped with a generous sprinkle of cheese and served with a tomato and onion relish known as Hogao.

If you spot Cayeye in your lunch or dinner, expect it to be served alongside fresh fish, fried eggs, and avocados.

The best way to cool off in the world's salsa capital. Cholado is an icy fruit salad-come-cocktail-come-desert that has become popular in Calí – Colombia's third-largest city.

Initially conceived as a way for Caleños to get over a hangover, Colombia's take on the snow cone arrived at some point during the 1980s. The city has never looked back, and trying Cholado is a must for backpackers visiting Calí.

Typically, a cholado consists of:

• Mixed fruits – some you're familiar with, some you aren't. Think mango, guanabana, berries and lulo.

• A whole lot of shaved ice on top of the fruits.

• Some sugary fruit syrup over the ice.

• Even sweeter condensed milk for creaminess

• Ice cream

• Wafer cookies or, in some cases, cheese for topping.

It's definitely a diet killer, but oh so worth it. 

Naturally, street vendors put their own unique spin on the refreshments. If you're looking for the best Cholados in Calí, you should make a beeline for Canchas Panamericas, where a row of street sellers make the best in town.

Colombia is a hotbed for trying exotic new fruits you'll have never seen before. With so much to try, we recommend booking food tours to local markets whenever possible, particularly in Cartagena, Medellín, and Bogotá.

Below, we round up some of our favorite wacky and wild fruits to try in Colombia.

Chontaduro

Chontaduro is Colombia's best-selling fruit. The flavor of this peach-colored palm fruit is distinct, similar to butternut squash, while the texture is fluffy, like that of boiled potatoes.

Chontaduro is also incredibly nutritious, containing more protein than an egg and high quantities of zinc, copper, calcium, iron, omega 3, and omega 6.

Chontaduro's flesh is extremely hard and must be boiled before being eaten. Once boiled, the fruit is usually used in salads.

Cherimoya

Cherimoya isn't the most appealing-looking fruit. It looks like a sad artichoke from the outside and resembles a scrambled brain on the inside. But looks can be deceiving, and in our view, Cherimoya is one of the most delicious fruits on the planet.

After carefully peeling away the green heart-shaped petals that hold the fruit, you can slurp up the custardy white brains within, which taste like bubblegum and honeysuckle. It's mind-blowing.

You can purchase Cherimoya from local food markets and street vendors, where you should eat them immediately. The fruit is also a great ingredient for smoothies and pies! Just make sure you remove the large black seeds – which are toxic.

Mangosteen

These are typically grown in Southeast Asia but thrive in Colombia's tropical climate.

The white flesh of Mangosteens looks like garlic cloves, possessing a sweet, tangy taste that's like a cross between peaches and clementines.

The fruits have been used as natural remedies for hundreds of years. Different parts of the fruit treat Alzheimer's, cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and tuberculosis. They're also used as an anti-inflammatory. Mangosteens are also low in calories and high in vitamin C.

While Mangosteens thrive in Colombia's climate, they're not always easy to find and are said to be one of the rarest fruits in the world.

Guanabana

The Guanabana is massive, growing to a weight of 4kg. It's huge and weird-looking, both inside and out. From the outside, it looks like the angry Godzilla of conkers. Inside, it looks like well-cooked white fish, same texture too. And yet it tastes like a blend of pineapple and banana. Odd, but providing you can get over the fishy texture, pretty nice.

Guanabanas have been consumed since the Incan times, where they were eaten for their anti-cancer properties. However, these properties have never been proven by science. They're hugely popular in fresh fruit juices and cocktails, often blended with milk for a sweet, creamy, and refreshing beverage. While you can eat them raw, it's hard work and messy. But on the whole, this giant green oblong thing is worth said effort for the experience, let alone the unique taste.

Mamoncillo

Mamoncillo is a lot of work to grow and eat, but with worthwhile results. These little green balls of goodness look like limes but grow in punnets like grapes. The fruit is tangy and sweet, like a cross between lime and lychee.

The skin encasing the fruit is thin and rigid; most people use their teeth to crack the shell and get to the fruit. With the shell cracked, the cute orangey yellow fruit spring out. Even then, your work isn't done. The fruit is stuck to a large pit, and to get the fruit, you're going to have to suck on the pit until the fruit comes away before spitting the pit out.

Mamoncillos can be found in most markets across Colombia but are especially popular in Cartagena.

Although sold throughout South America, arepas are perhaps the defining food of Colombia; for their ubiquity, if nothing else. These savory pancakes are served anytime and everywhere. For Colombians, an arepa – or several – is always the answer. There is even an annual Colombian Arepa Festival in the country's major cities.

The origins of the humble arepa can be traced to hundreds of years before the Spanish colonization of Colombia, where indigenous tribes first began to cultivate the delicacy's base ingredient, maize.

When mixed with salt and water, the maize flour gave us the mighty arepa as we know and love it today.

In Colombia's restaurants, plain arepas are often served as sides to larger dishes. While they serve a purpose, these arepas tend to be quite plain. To truly find the best, you must seek Colombia's street food vendors.

Colombia's street arepas vary in color, size, thickness, and cooking method. Some will be baked, some will be fried, and some will be grilled. But the biggest difference between street arepas is the filling.

The filling can separate a good arepa from a great arepa, with street vendors getting creative with all sorts of ingredients. Some are stuffed with eggs, others ground meat. Some are stuffed with avocados, and some might be filled with chocolate. The possibilities are endless. Despite all the potential for experimentation, one street arepa stands head and shoulders above the rest, fried arepa con queso – the nation's most popular street food snack. Fried arepa con queso is simple but delicious. The arepa is stuffed with cheese before being deep-fried. The result is a crispy outer shell with a warm, salty gooey center.

Arepas are everywhere in Colombia. But try to avoid buying them off the street in tourist hotspots; the price will soar. We'd say that a good arepa shouldn't cost more than 7,500 COP.

Dating back to the rule of the Aztec and Mayan civilizations, tamales are a classic dish that has evolved across Central and South America for centuries. Every country has its own take on this dish, and Colombia is no exception.

Colombia's take on tamales ditches the corn tamale in favor of corn masa dough, while plantain leaves replace banana leaves.

After that, differences really do depend on which region of Colombia you find yourself in, for example:

On Colombia's Atlantic coast, you may find that the masa is swapped out for rice and typically consist of chicken, pork, olives, capers, potatoes, and peas.

Whereas in Antioquia, the heartland of Colombia, tamales are typically filled with pork, potatoes, carrots, and beans.

In any case, it's a delicious treat that can be purchased from any street food vendor or restaurant.