Zona Cafetera
3 Days in Colombia Travel Itinerary & Guide
Guest Post From:
3 Days in Zona Cafetera, Colombia
Right after the hustle of Medellin, we spent 3 relaxing days in the famous “Zona Cafetera”. Guided tour of a coffee plantation, day hike in the incredible Valle de Cocora, and quite some time wandering around the cute little village of Salento.
Day 1:
Street fruity breakfast on Salento’s main plaza, 5km walk to “El Ocaso” coffee farm for a tour, shared jeep back to Salento, visit of the city and walk to the Mirador for fantastic views of the valley. Dinner in one of the “food trucks” lining on the main place at night, all serving the region’s specialty, tasty trout.
Finca El Ocaso Salento
Following numerous blog advice, we decided to take a guided tour of “El Ocaso” coffee plantation. Being only 5km away, we decided to walk there to enjoy the views on the way. It was a a steep descent, we agreed that we would find a vehicle for the way back. There you can choose between a basic tour of the farm (around 5$/p) or a 3h tour including lessons of coffee tasting. We went for the basic tour and were not disappointed. It was a really immersive english-guided tour of almost 1h, ending with a free cup of coffee. Definitely worth the money. After the tour, we decided to stay and enjoy the views around the property, and enjoy another sort of coffee while trying to photograph colibris! We came back standing at the rear of a jeep (unique experience)
Walk around Salento
Salento isn’t a big city, therefore it won’t take you long to see everything. However, you should go for the mirador. We followed the signs, not knowing what to expect. We were not disappointed. There you have unparalleled views over the valley behind Salento. A perfect picture spot. We went back through the “main” street of Salento, entering some of the “Artisanal houses” that offer some real fine work that will easily find their way to your luggage.
At night, we recommend having dinner on the main plaza, where the food trucks serve delicious trouts on “patacon” (basically fried smashed banana) for almost nothing (couple of $)
Day 2:
Time to explore the Valle de Cocora ! This natural park is famous for its 60m-high palm trees all over. Unmissable !
Hiking in the Valle de Cocora
To get there, buy a return jeep trip from the little building at the center of Salento’s plaza. We would recommend you to aim for the 8.30am: the earlier you get there, the lesser people you will see during your hike.
Once there, just ask your way to the path, and there you go ! A 12km loop that takes you to breathtaking lookouts, a hummingbird house (optionnal) and through a rainforest and its “Indiana Jones” like wooden bridges. Be aware that the first part goes up (like really up: from 2400m to 3000m high).
Tip 1 : bring your own lunch, since you won’t find restaurants on the trail. There is a supermarket on the main plaza of Salento that opens at 8am
Tip 2 : it is highly likely that it will rain during the day. Bring a raincoat
Hummingbird House
During the hike, you can choose to do a little extra walk (something like 45m return) to reach the “hummingbird house”. We paid ~1,5$ each to enter, which gives you a free drink. Nothing special there, benches under a roof, BUT dozen’s of colibris fly around, not scared of people (actually flying really close). It’s a perfect place to practise taking pictures of these little birds, or just enjoy having them turning around you. Worth the extra walk in our opinion.
Day 3:
Relaxing at the hostel, then heading to the bus station, time to go to Cali!
Hilltop Hostel, Calle 7, Salento
We chose that hostel for its cheap price and did not expect such a nice place. The common parts were filled with hammocks & chairs around the pool. Perfect to spend a couple of hours doing nothing. The sunset from the roof was something too!
Note : it’s a “social” hostel, and can sometimes get noisy. But if you’re part of it, you won’t mind 🙂
Tips and Tricks:
The ticket booth on the middle of Salento’s plaza is very well organized. Anywhere you want to go, ask and buy your tickets there.