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Cocora Valley near Salento

Salento is a sleepy little town in Quindío department, in the Zona Cafetera region of Colombia. On weekends and holidays the town in flooded by tourist from Armenia and Pereira.

[edit] Get in

There are buses from 5:30 am to 10:00 pm to and from Armenia.

Week days there are three buses a day to and from Pereira. Buses from Pereira leave at 6:20 am , 1:20 pm and 4:20 pm. Weekends there are more buses.

If for whatever reason you miss the last bus to Salento. Then the cheapest option to get there is bus to Circasia and then a taxi from Circasia to Salento (Taxi company in the main square of Circasia).

If you`re coming from Pereira then Bus Company Flota Occidental will drop you off in Circasia.

[edit][add listing] See

[edit][add listing] Do

• Visit one of the many Organic Coffee Fincas that are in the area.

• Visit the Mirador - the lookout point. It´s supposed to be one of the best views in Colombia. (Ask in Plantation House for the location of a house with an even better view)

• Play Tejo - drinking, throwing metal weights and gun-powder !!!

• Further afield - Butterfly house in Calarca or the Guadua (Bamboo research Centre) or even the very touristy National Coffee Park.
• If you really want something different try pig racing at Panaca.

• Salento´s fiesta is typically the first week of January. Salento transforms from a sleepy little village to party central.

• Valle de Cocora. Here grows Colombia's national symbol, the 60 meters high wax palms (palma de cera). The landscape is surreal !
• CicloSalento, (Next door to the Plantation Hostel), ☎ 318 668-8763. Decent mountain bikes are available for hire here, from 8,000 COP for an hour to 35,000 COP for a full day. There are a whole range of trails around the area, providing something for everyone from relative beginners to those who want something a bit more technical. Some of the trails afford some spectacular views across the area and the coffee plantations.  edit

[edit][add listing] Buy

There is no ATM in Salento, so bring enough cash.

Nearest ATM is Circasia. If that´s not operating then Armenia has plenty of ATM´s. There is now an ATM just outside the bus terminal in Armenia and there are ATM´s in LA14 the shopping mall across the road from the bus terminal in Periera.

Plenty of local artisans in Salento. Specialities include jewelry, candles and guadua artisania (the local bamboo).

[edit][add listing] Eat

• El Rincón de Lucy (on the corner of calle 4 with Carrera 6) has cheap but rich set lunches.

[edit][add listing] Drink

• Weekends - any where round the main square - all the bars have beer tents set up. Along the Calle Reale, Bar Quindio has a couple of pool tables and lots of billiard tables.

• For something different, there's a Tejo bar two blocks from the main square (normally only open at weekends).

[edit][add listing] Sleep

• Hostería Las Nubes, [1]. One of the most beautiful places to stay during your visit to Salento, Quindío. Bead and breakfast place with excellent landscapes and services.  edit

• Plantation House, Calle 7 #1-04 (Get off at the fire station by the entrance to Salento), ☎ 759 3403 / 310 4097039. Nice hostels with big gardens - one dormitory style, one with private rooms. The hostels offer kitchen use, free coffee, laundry facilities, bookswap and have good trekking maps of the nearby parque Los Nevados and a map of Salento showing restaurants, supermarkets, etc...  edit

[edit] Stay safe

[edit] Get out

• Don't miss Valle de Cocora. Here grows Colombia's national symbol, the 60 metre high waxpalms (palma de cera). Every day trucks go from the plaza Salento to the valley at 7.30am and 11.30 am and go back at 5pm (more in weekends). People who miss these trucks, can sometimes find room on the jeeps leaving the local elementary school at 2 pm, bringing students back to their fincas. Likewise, tourists have the option of paying 24,000 pesos (approximately $14 USD) for jeeps that leave whenever they want. Once at the park, there is a nice halfday hike up to finca Acaima through the cloudforest and back through the valley. The scenery is quite exotic and beautiful due to the wax palms and lovely jungle plants.

• The nearby Parque Natural Nacional Los Nevados provide ample trekking opportunity. The way of life in the fincas in the park hasn't changed the last 200 years. Most of the fincas in the park offer food and beds for a bargain price.