Colombia Complete Travel Guide
Salento is in the heart of Eje Cafetero, also known as the coffee axis. A region in rural Colombia formed by multiple towns that historically has been farming coffee. The position in the Andean rainforest makes for some of the most beautiful landscapes. Of all the villages, Salento is the most visited, mainly because of its proximity to Cocora valley.
Hike through Cocora Valley
Visiting Cocora Valley is one of the best things you can do in Colombia. At the valley there are 2 loops to walk, the short loop of 1.5 hours in only the valley. Or the route I recommend doing of 12 km which takes about 5 hours to walk. This route doesn’t only take you through the palm tree valley, but also through the jungle, across wobbly suspension bridges and charming paths in the surrounding valleys.
I started the day early and took one of the first Willys (shared jeeps) at 6:30. An early start has 2 major advantages; the first is to avoid the crowds, the second is to avoid the rain. In Salento (and the rest of Colombia) a rain shower can suddenly come out of nowhere, the likelihood of these rain showers is much higher in the afternoon. As I have a huge dislike towards rain, I prefer taking any measures to avoid it as much as possible. With success!
Willys at the main plaza to take people around Salento
At the drop off point you can walk the route the regular way (clockwise) by starting at Cocora valley. For an easier hike, I recommend walking it in reverse (counterclockwise), by taking a right at the blue gate. The reversed route first goes through a relatively flat trail through the valley.
The first part of the valley doing the route counterclockwise
One of the many small suspension bridges across the river in the jungle
After about an hour the trail gets more rocky and through the jungle. At a certain point you come at a crossroad, to go right to the hummingbird house (where you will have to walk back again), or left to continue the trail. From this point it’s a very steep but relatively short hike uphill. This part is the most intense. This midway point is where I was greeted by other travelers who were walking the clockwise route. When I reached the very top at Finca la Montana, it was only walking an easy downhill trail back and being treated by the magnificent Cocora palm tree valley at the end.
Astonishing giant palm trees in Cocora Valley
Alternatively doing the route clockwise in the early morning has the big advantage of being in the popular Cocora valley while there aren’t many people around yet. But I noticed most people do it that way, where I had the first half of the trail completely to myself, surrounded by only nature.
The trail is very accessible to hike on your own. A guide for traversing the trail is not needed as it’s nearly impossible to walk in a wrong direction. In the jungle I maybe had two short moments of “where to now?”, but that was resolved within seconds.
Tip: download maps.me on your phone to view the hiking trails
The hiking trail to follow
Be emerged in Colombian coffee with a coffee tour
In Salento multiple coffee farms offer tours on their plantation. All of the coffee farms are situated along the road SouthEast of Salento. The largest and most touristic coffee tour is offered by Finca Ocaso. I was looking for a smaller and more authentic experience and went to Luger.
The coffee tour does not need to be pre booked, either show up at the farm or book a ticket at the Willy desk at the Plaza for both the tour and transportation. I did the latter for 53.000 COP.
Upon arrival at Luger I was greeted by Lionell, the most friendly and enthusiastic guide. While I waited only 10 minutes for the tour to start, I was treated to a welcome coffee. I have to admit, I’m usually not a fan of coffee, but this was actually pretty good! It tasted a bit sweet and not too bitter.
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During the 1.5 hour tour, I got to learn all about the roasting process. How in Latin American they prefer the light to medium roast, which is more sweet and not so much caffeine (the one I liked). And in Europe the people prefer a dark roast that is more bitter and a higher amount of caffeine.
Walking through the plantation, I got all dressed up with a typical Colombian hat and poncho. After picking up a few already dried seeds, we created our own coffee from scratch by roasting, grinding and eventually pouring and tasting the perfect cup.
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SALENTO
Where to eat in Salento?
I had 2 favorite restaurants in Salento. The first is Brunch de Salento where I went every morning for breakfast. I loved their French toast, but they have all kinds of delicious food on the menu. A bonus is that they open at 6 AM, meaning I could already have a hearty breakfast before hiking Cocora Valley.
The other restaurant I had a great meal at is El Callejón de Balcones, which was recommended to me by my taxi driver. The place is just around the corner of the main square and attracts mostly locals. The menu had plenty of options and was very affordable too. Only downside is that they close the kitchen at 5 PM. I arrived just before for a late lunch / early dinner.
How to get to Salento?
By bus:
My first option was to take a bus from Medellin. A direct bus, operated by Flota Occidental departs from Terminal del Sur 3x a day. The bus journey should take around 8 hours and cost 78.000 COP. I bought my bus ticket online, but when I started reading about delays because of road works and potential road blocks, I freaked out after enduring a roadblock in Mexico, and arranged a flight.
By plane:
To reach Salento, you can either fly into Armenia or Pereira airport. My flight from Medellin was into Armenia and I arranged a taxi to pick me up for 110.000 COP. While driving we agreed to bring me to Pereira airport 3 days later, only that ride would be 170.000 COP because of the additional toll road.
A more budget friendly option would be to get a taxi from the airport to the bus station of Armenia or Pereira and catch one of the frequent departing buses from there.
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