Glorified Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar, one of the world's most notorious and ruthless narco-traffickers of all time, continues to conjure up raw emotions and bring in revenue - not from cocaine, but tourism dollars generated by his corrupt legacy.

 "As Colombia gropes its way out of the shadows of decades of violence, nationwide tourism is on the rise-up 300 percent since 2006. Tourism officials predict a record-setting 2 million people will visit Colombia in 2013. The following year they're aiming for twice that," reports Roads & Kingdoms.

While the uptick in tourism is a breath of fresh air for many Colombians living in Medellin, some approaches come in poor taste - such as the offering of Escobar tours. 

"The visitor's bureau refuses to promote them-a top administrator said she 'feared' reinforcing the Colombia-cocaine stereotype and even some tour companies like Colombian Getaways decline to offer them, calling the idea 'hurtful.'"

Currently there are at least 10 companies offering Escobar tours of Medellin, which include a visit to his grave, the place where he was killed, among other gruesome pit-stops. For example, Medellin City Tours offers an Escobar tour for $45.

Escobar's evil empire included an army of soldiers and criminals, mansions and real estate all over Colombia, private airstrips and planes for drug transport.  One of his most notable properties was the Hacienda Napoles, which is located about four hours from Medellin. It was a paradise that consisted of swimming pools, a bullring an exotic zoo with hippos, giraffes, elephants, among other exotic animals. It was a place where Colombia's most powerful gathered to attend drug-fueled parties and bask in Escobar's lair.

After the fall of Escobar's reign, the estate was gutted by people looking for rumored stashes of cocaine or cash and for many years the property remained in ruins - until today.

The 3,000-acre estate, which was an enticing property to build on and reinvent - not only for its unavoidable ties to Escobar's horrific history, but it was a chance to transform something evil into something more positive that would help Colombia's image and yearning to break away from its drug-ridden reputation.

The Colombian government handed the property over to a management company that turned it into the largest theme park in South America called Parque Tematico Hacienda Napoles (Hacienda Napoles Theme Park).

According to Roads and Kingdoms, the park advertises itself as a destination "for family tourism, environmental protection and the protection of animal species in danger of extinction." Since it opened in 2008, managers say it has attracted about one million visitors, overwhelmingly Colombian, who pay up to $30 to get a peek.

The managers carefully executed a new layout and approach to the drug ranch-turned theme park that doesn't serve as a tribute to Escobar's lavish, narco lifestyle.

"The drug-running plane that Escobar had perched atop the Hacienda Napoles entrance was painted with friendly zebra stripes. Five new theme hotels were built (Africa, Casablanca, etc). Escobar's private bull ring was recently turned into the Africa Museum. A 30 foot tall fake octopus now douses shrieking swimmers in a water park that is as tacky as a Florida putt-putt course. Escobar's original menagerie of wild animals-which included 4 hippos-has been expanded to include lions, tigers, rhinos, jaguars, and more than 40 hippos. A pair of elephants will arrive as soon as the paperwork is sorted out."

While the Hacienda Napoles staff is discouraged from answering any questions about Escobar, the subject, ironically comparable to the elephant in the room, does come up.  The aforementioned ruins of Escobar's personal home are located on the property. "Ravaged by shovel-wielding locals looking for riches allegedly buried under the pool and in the walls, its gutted rooms have been turned into the Memorial Museum, which presents a grisly timeline of Escobar's life, rampage, and death."

To this day, many Colombians, who directly benefitted from his dirty fortune, continue to have love and loyalty for "Don Pablo."  After all he established food programs, built parks and soccer fields. On the other hand, most people, including those who were caught in the crosshairs of his violence and corruption hold disgust and hate for Escobar.

Not solely a menace to society, but a menace to humankind, Pablo Emilio Escobar Gaviria controlled 80 percent of the cocaine traffic to the United States. His riches were so overly in abundance that he had the audacity to offer to pay Colombia's national debt with his dirty money. At one point, he briefly held a seat in Colombia's Congress -- an alarming concept, considering the numerous judges and politicians he killed. The kingpin, who could order a hit on anyone he wished, at any moment, committed a plethora of crimes that included assassinations, car bombings, extortion, and the bombing of an Avianca commercial flight. In 1987, Escobar appeared on the inaugural Forbes magazine list of billionaires, as the seventh richest man in the world -- and he remained on that list until the day he died.