Coffee and mountains: Eje Cafetero and Los Nevados

Trip Description

Accomodation

Stay program

• day 1

  The Coffee Farm

  Your adventure begins at Pereira airport, where you will meet your guide. From there, you will drive along picturesque mountain roads to Chinchiná and spend the day on a coffee farm. In the evening, you will drive to Manizales, where you will spend the night.

• day 2

  The Santa Isabel glacier

  The day starts early with a drive to Los Nevados National Park and the starting point of the Nevado de Santa Isabel trail at 4000 meters. The trail climbs immediately and you will walk through a mountain forest of dwarf trees, mossy plants, and small lagoons. As dawn breaks, the vegetation is dense and you have a breathtaking view of the rocky cliffs and mountain slopes. Patches of snow appear as you ascend, accentuating the barren yet beautiful and white landscape. You will pass by a group of glacial lakes and, shortly after, you will reach the edge of the Santa Isabel glacier at 4700 meters. After enjoying the high-altitude scenery, you will catch your breath in the pure air and, perhaps, make a snow angel, then you will walk back down. Five hours and 7 kilometers after the start, you will return to the trailhead. You will spend the night at Campoalegre, a farm-inn located at 3930 meters, outside Los Nevados National Park. There you will discover handmade arepas, fresh farm cheeses, and the hospitality of the Colombian highlands.

• day 3

  Otun Lake and the Páramo

  The day's trek will begin on a wide mountain trail, offering a panoramic view of meadows and hills full of wildflowers. From the trail, you will catch sight of El Ruiz, the famous and very active volcano that killed 25,000 people during its eruption in 1985. After about an hour, you will arrive at the Laguna de Otun, a lake fed by the Santa Isabel glacier that you crossed the day before. The lake is at an altitude of 3,900 meters and is the source of the Otun River, which supplies drinking water to the city of Pereira, where you began this adventure. After admiring the view of the lake and the waterfalls that feed it, you will leave the wide mountain trail to follow a narrow path that will take you through a garden of exotic succulent plants. This is the beginning of your hike through the páramo. You will spend the rest of the day crossing this unique landscape of frailejones (plants resembling cacti that evoke monks), colchones de agua ("water cushions"), rocky slopes, and Andean eagles. In the middle of the afternoon, you will arrive at the El Jordan farm, where you will spend the night.

• day 4

  Otún Quimbaya, sanctuary of flora and fauna Otún Quimbaya.

  You will descend from the páramo and enter the cloud forest. The forest is covered with a mysterious white shroud, but teems with life. Your Los Nevados trek will end at the village of El Cedral. From there, you will take the road to the Otún Quimbaya Flora and Fauna Sanctuary, where you will walk through this sub-Andean forest that bursts with colors and music thanks to countless flowers, birds, and exotic butterflies. After soaking in the sights, smells, and sounds of this rich ecosystem, you will be driven to the town of Salento, where you will spend the night.

• day 5

  Salento and Cocora Valley

  Salento was founded in 1842 and is the best-preserved town in the Coffee region. Its colorful buildings, traditional colonial architecture, and mountainous landscapes make it one of the most picturesque towns in the country. You will spend the morning admiring the sights of Salento before heading to the Cocora Valley, where the Colombian national tree is found. The palma de cera (wax palm) is the tallest palm tree in the world and has a trunk covered in wax that can reach up to 60 meters (200 feet) in height. The first part of your hike will take you through a spectacular landscape of grassy hills dotted with these trees. Then, you will enter a dense forest interspersed with streams. Your destination is a small cabin in the middle of the forest. This cabin is surrounded by flowering plants and trees and, as a result, it is buzzing with hummingbirds. After admiring the many species of hummingbirds feeding on nectar, you will return to the starting point of the trail and enjoy a well-deserved lunch (the specialty is rainbow trout and patacon). After your last cup of coffee in the Eje Cafetero, you will say goodbye to this wonderful region as you head to Pereira airport.