Coffee, Cocora & Cowboys - Round trip Colombia (II)

The central-western part of Colombia is stunning! You’ll find stretched coffee plantations, huge palm trees and cowboys riding their horses all around you.

You can’t miss this area of Colombia when you’re doing a roundtrip in the country. For us, the best surprise of this part of our trip was definitely the village Jardín. I’ll take you on a tour to our stops in this part of Colombia and I share my tips with you:

Colourful Salento

How do you get there?
Cocora hike
Roasting coffee beans in Salento
Other tips for Salento

Cowboys in Jardín

How do you get there?
Horseback riding with a cowboy
Relax at the city square of Jardín
Other tips for Jardín

Tip: Click the layers on and off in this map with the (square) button on the left in the grey beam.

1. Colourful Salento

How do you get there?

We took a plane from Bogota to Pereira, in the western part of the country. LATAM offers this less than one hour flight daily. When we arrived at the airport, we talked to some other travellers and asked if they wanted to share a direct taxi to Salento. It was cheaper and we made new friends right away! The people who took the bus arrived more than an hour later in Salento.

Obviously, you could take a bus from Bogota to the coffee area, but it will cost you a day to travel for sure. Don’t be mistaken: This part of Colombia is very mountainous!

Cocora hike

The Cocora valley, with the very tall palm trees, is for sure on your bucket list for Colombia. And you definitely have to see it! IF you are slightly sporty, the “long hike” is your pick!

To get to the Cocora valley is already a very nice event: you drive through the beautiful landscape with Willy’s (jeeps) in many colours to the drop-off point.

Pro tip: Be sure to be the last one to board the jeep, so you can stand on the back of the Willy during the whole trip! The trip alone was already a memorable experience! Soaking in the views with wind in your hair. Hold on tight 😉

At the drop-off point you can choose for the short or long hike. When you take the short route, you almost immediately arrive in the valley with all the palm trees. If you choose the long, more difficult hike, you’ll be rewarded with the phenomenal views at the palm trees at the end. During the hike you pass a couple of small, wobbly, wooden bridges, climb some steep paths, you could almost get lost, but you also get some plastic cheese to dip in your hot chocolate milk while heaps of colibris are circling around your head. You approach the Cocora vally with the impressive palm trees from the top of the mountain. Of course, we took the long route!

After this hike it feels like you have been to a festival: so many coloured wrist bands you collect on the way! And your shoes are also very dirty 😉

NB: Don’t forget to bring mosquito repellent and a small towel, you’ll need it.

Stop by Brunch de Salento for a hearty breakfast before you go for the hike. They serve huge fruit salads and delicious pancakes. Handy: Order their lunch box for the hike!

Treat yourself with a cold beer at Casa Willys, near the drop-off point at the Plaza. The views at the valleys and mountains from the balcony bar outside are stunning. A moment of pure relaxation after all the efforts.

Locations:
Cocora Vallei (Valle del Cocora)
Km 11 Vía al Valle del Cocora Salento, Salento, Quindío, Colombia
You can reach it with a Willy from the main square in Salento
www.valledelcocora.com.co
Brunch de Salento
Cl. 6 #3-49, Salento, Quindío, Colombia
Tel: +57 311 7578082
Casa Willys
# a 7-84,, Cl. 5 #72, Salento, Quindío, Colombia
www.casawillys.com

For more hiking inspiration in Colombia, read my blog Hike in Tayrona NP – Weg van de massa. This national park is located in the north of Colombia and is situated next to the ocean.

Roasting coffee beans

Our guesthouse The Plantation House is run by coffee farmer Don Eduardo. On the opposite side of the street is a part of his coffee plantation. Don Eduardo himself explained everything about the process from coffee bean to coffee to us.

After the explanation, it was our turn to roast coffee beans. At the end of this tour you have a homemade souvenir: self roasted coffee beans!

Location:
The Plantation House / Finca Don Eduardo
Cl. 7 #1-04, Salento, Quindío, Colombia
www.theplantationhousesalento.com
Tel: +57 315 4097039

Other tips for Salento

Stroll through the colourful streets of Salento and enjoy the hustle and bustle at the plaza while eating a fresh river trout (“trucha”) and a cold drink. If you have some spare time, a short walk (depending on the location of your hotel, of course) to the viewpoint “mirador de Salento” is nice. From the terrace at nearby Quindú Restaurante you can enjoy beautiful views over Salento.

Certainly, book a table at the very nice restaurant La Herreria: delicious food, great wines and nice service. What else do you need?

Locations:
Plaza de Bolivar Salento
# a 4-83,, Cra. 6 #41, Salento, Quindío, Colombia
La Herreria
Carrera 5, Salento, Colombia
Tel: +57 318 3291098

2. Jardín

How do you get there?

This is a very important point: don’t do it the way we did! We did not take the earliest bus departing from Salento, we had to transfer two times and we arrived in a city even the LonelyPlanet does not describe half an hour after the last bus departed to Jardín… We asked some people along the road in our best touristy Spanish if there were taxis going to Jardín; they laughed at us and thought we were crazy. Fortunately, we found a hero with a minivan who was willing to drive us to Jardín. We paid € 100,= for this trip! It was a 4 hour, very bumpy drive and it was pitch black around us. When we arrived in Jardin, we understood that the driver was going to stay in Jardin for the night as well.

So, how do you get there? At least check the latest bus timetable one day before to be sure to arrive in Jardín that same day without stranding somewhere along the trip. Prepare yourself for a very long and bumpy ride and leave with the first bus in the morning. Just to prevent you for any unexpected surprises.

Horseback riding in Jardín

We didn’t regret taking the very expensive taxi to Jardin, especially when we woke up with a stunning view from our room at Hotel Diana de Campestere …..

Locatie:
Hotel Diana Campestere Jardín
Cra. 1 ##7-04, Jardín, Antioquia, Colombia
Tel: +57 311 3747003
Website: hotel-diana-campestre-jardin.negocio.site

We explored the surroundings of Jardin from the back of a horse. We booked this tour via the reception of our hotel. The cowboy came to pick us up to collect an arm wrist first and guide us to the horses. The cowboy takes you to a waterfall, a cave with bats and a waterfall at the end and you end the tour at a little restaurant in a banana plantation. There is a special cable car to transport the bananas to the valley below.

Relax at the city square of Jardín

Jardín’s city square is ‘the place to be’ in the afternoon. Do exactly like the locals: take a colourful chair, and lean back on its rear legs against the wall, order a drink, and enjoy the show in front of you. Cowboys are riding by with their untamed horses, colorful busses pick up people all over town and the locals are chatting with each other, undoubtedly with hats. Pure joy!

Tip: Do visit the big church on the square. Although the outside looks rough and unappealing, the inside is blue and beautiful.

Locations:
Parque Principal
Basilica of the Immaculate Conception
Cl. 11 #2-43, Jardín, Antioquia, Colombia
Tel: +57 4 8455525

Other tips for Jardín

It’s definitely worth it to hike to the Christ statue (mirador Cristo Rei) and drink a cup of coffee at Café Jardín. The view of Jardin and its surroundings from the coffee plantation is phenomenal. On your way, you will also pass a trout farm where you can have a look.