How to make calls

Calling landlines and mobiles in Colombia

How to make calls

Making calls in another country can always be a bit tricky. Read our guide on how to call mobiles, landlines and make international calls in Colombia.

International calls

In order to call a landline in Colombia from outside the country, all you need to do is enter the country code (0057) the area code and the fixed number, which is 7 digits.

To dial to a mobile phone add the international code (0057) before the mobile number (9 digits). Mobile phones usually start with numbers such as 315 or 310, relating to their respective providers. Below we have listed the regional dialing codes for major cities as well as mobile area code networks.

Mobile codes

  • Tigo: 30
  • Claro (Comcel): 310, 311, 312, 313, 314
  • Movistar: 315, 316, 317, 318  

Here are a list of regional dialing codes for major cities:

  • 1 Bogotà
  • 2 Cali
  • 4 Medellin
  • 5 Cartagena
  • 6 Pereira
  • 6 Indicativo Armenia
  • 7 Indicativo Arauca

How to make local calls

Making a local call within Colombia is simple. Phone numbers follow either these 2 patterns, where A is the telephone provider code (1 or 3 digits) and B is the regional code:

  • 0AB-XXX-XXXX
  • 0AAAB-XXX-XXXX

Here are a list of codes for the main telephone providers:

  • 7 ETB
  • 9 Movistar
  • 456 Claro Fijos
  • 444 Claro Movil
  • 414 Tigo

Followed by a list of regional codes:

  • 1 Cundinamarca and Bogotá
  • 2 Valle del Cauca and Nariño
  • 4 Antioquia, Córdoba and Chocó 
  • 5 Atlántico, Bolívar, Cesar, La Guajira, Magdalena and Sucre
  • 6 Caldas, Risaralda and Quindío
  • 7 Norte de Santander, Santander and Arauca
  • 8 Boyacá, Tolima, Huila, San Andrés, Meta, Caquetá, and the Amazon and Orinoco regions.

For example, to call a Claro Fijo line in Cesar, you would dial: 04565 123 4567, where 456 is the code for Claro Fijo and 5 is the code for Cesar.

Emergency numbers

Here are some vital numbers to note down in case of emergencies:

  • National police: 123 (emergency line)
  • Civil defense: 144
  • Colombian Red Cross: 132 - 512 - 7333
  • Administrative Security Department (DAS): 153
  • Fire Department: 119
  • Ambulance: 125

Further reading

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