Three days in Salento (Colombia): a Small Village in the Coffee Region
From Bogotá, we continue our road trip to Salento, with Philippe, JB’s father, who is currently on vacation in Colombia.
Part 1: Travel Diary Part
2: Practical Tips
Part 1: Travel Diary
How to get to Salento from Bogotá?
We have the choice between a bus that takes almost the whole day, or a 45-minute flight. The airplane option was voted unanimously. Very wise decision because the view from my porthole is breathtaking.
I think that after the beautiful landscapes seen from the porthole in Colombia, it is advisable to pay an extra fee to choose a place near the porthole (we had not paid the option to choose our place, I was lucky to have the porthole).
We land in Pereira around 11am and wait for the bus 206 which brings us to the bus terminal (1h). We arrive at the terminal at 12:28 pm, and hesitate in front of the ticket sales office for Salento, telling us that it is too late to take the bus at 12:30 pm, but a gentleman beckons us to follow him. We settle down in the quiet bus and we pay the tickets at the end (1h15 of journey).
The explanation, schedules and detailed rates for this trip are available on this article
The bus stops first at the Salento bus terminal (near our Hotel El Zorzal). A man got on the bus to tell us that if we want to go back to Pereira the same day, we have to buy the ticket right away because the sales office closes at 4:30 pm. Then the bus continues to the main square.
DAY 1 : Visit of a finca
Dora the Explorer
The journey from Pereira to Salento is very pleasant because the landscapes are beautiful. I’m sitting next to a Colombian lady and thinking I’m all alone, she starts talking to me in… English. It’s rare to find a Colombian woman, older in addition, who speaks English as well. As I approach Filandia, she tells me that she was born there, but that she now has another cottage in Salento. She recommends us to go there, it’s prettier than Salento. Passing by Boquia, she also advises me to spend some time there, because the river is very pretty.
I ask him for advice on restaurants in Salento and we end up having lunch together.
Her name is Dora and of course, everyone calls her Dora the Explorer. Dora takes us to a restaurant where she has been having lunch for more than 10 years. It is very clean and fresh according to her, unlike the well decorated but dirty tourist restaurants. The trout farm is in the valley next door, the Cocora valley.
The restaurant is called Antorchas, it is very discreet vs. the others, you may come across Dora at lunchtime 😀 If so, say hello to her from us.
Trout, the specialty of the area, is delicious. We opt for a trucha asada each, accompanied by salad and a huge chip of plantain banana. For 3 days, we will eat almost only trout, but the one in Antorchas remains indeed the best, the freshest, with the most taste. After lunch, we give RDV to Dora: Sunday at noon (2 days later), at the same restaurant.
Finca Las Acarias
There are plenty of fincas (coffee farms) in the area. All the fincas mentioned in the tourist guides are unknown to the locals. We asked Dora and another Colombian from the bus, both of them answered “you’re talking about avocado plantations?” #facepalm so the farms here aren’t that well known, it is better to expect something more or less touristic.
We go to the main square, from where the jeeps leave in the direction of the fincas.
I wanted to go to the Finca of Don Elias, recommended by my former colleague; but I was told that it closes quite early, so I had to leave at 2pm. It was too late.
We then choose the Finca Las Acarias, a small farm similar to the first one… but the jeep ticket seller wants to sell me the tickets for the Finca Buenos Aires and its 2h coffee tour (more expensive, further and according to her more “interactive”).
What would I do for 2 hours on a coffee plantation? I don’t even drink coffee. I insist on going to Las Acarias, where the tour only lasts 1 hour
12,000COP/person for the guided tour of the farm (Las Acarias).
6000COP/person for the round trip by JeepDeparture
every 30 minutes by JeepAll
these tickets can be bought directly at the office in the main square next to the jeepsThe
saleswoman speaks English/Spanish and even a little bit of French
It is marked 8 people max, but we finally end up with 15 in the jeep, some seated, others standing hanging from the bar in the back. Fortunately we travel light.
At the end of 20 minutes of uncomfortable track, we are the first to go out (phew, we can’t take it anymore) for Las Acarias. The guide of the farm offers us right away a coffee (very concentrated and very bitter), I know nothing about coffee to tell you if it’s good or bad. I don’t like coffee anyway, but it smells very very good. The tour is in English or Spanish, your choice.
After a presentation of the animals present on the farm: Monu, Mona, Hercules, Mario, Antonio (in reference to Marie-Antoinette) …
… the guide shows us the vegetables & fruit trees of the farm only for family consumption. So, to be in total autonomy, just for 3 people, you need a huge hill. The yield is very low because everything is organic.
Then come the coffee plants (arabica only). It takes at least 3.5 years to have a good harvest, that’s why farms are handed down from generation to generation
In this farm, after 5 years, the plants are pruned (otherwise they do not give any more seeds), and after 15 years, they are replaced. Banana trees are planted between the coffee plants, to provide shade for the farmers and water for the plants.
Only one harvest takes place per year (between May-June) and they pay extra labor during this period. Depending on their capacity, harvesters can choose to be paid by the hour, or by the kilo. A good worker can be paid up to 25€/day (9 hours of work). The minimum wage is 9€/day.
The harvested coffee beans are first removed from their top layer (composting direction), then fermented, washed and sun-dried. They then export the seeds like this because roasting is done in the destination countries (depending on the taste of the country).
At the end of the tour, we are offered a second coffee (no thanks!).
I spot a drone in flight and quickly find its owner, to whom I ask a lot of questions. It’s a Mavic Air DJI with an incredible autonomy and a range of 8 km! My drone is a little toy next to his.
He tells me that his drones were checked on departure and arrival in Colombia, but since his explosion-proof bag (which contains several lithium batteries) is approved by air regulations, everything went well. He also advises me to retouch the photos and videos taken by the drone because even his own lack a little contrast.
I can’t give you his YouTube channel because he doesn’t have one. For him, it’s just a hobby to keep busy during his travels. It’s pretty much my approach too, doing the drone and filming, I don’t necessarily edit it or show it to you, but it’s fun for me.
We hail a jeep that passes just in front of the farm. In this sense, all jeeps go to Salento, you can stop any of them, get in and pay (in cash or by showing the return ticket). The dials of the jeep don’t work at all. The driver tells me that the jeep is already 57 years old, and he’s had it for 15 years. He has become very good at repairing cars (you surprise me) and repaints it regularly. If you take the jeep n° 26, he’s our driver!
Our hostel
We arrive at the square and walk 3 minutes to our hostel El Zorzal (link Booking). Everything is very clean, quiet, very nice with hammocks in the garden and a beautiful view of the surroundings. Only 20€ for a private room (payment in cash or credit card with some extra charges).
We hurry to go to a viewpoint a little bit high at 1 minute walk (in front of someone’s house in bulk) to watch the sunset. Not extraordinary, but very nice anyway.
The city center is becoming very lively. As it is a small and quiet village, we go out in the evening without any worries. However, you have to be careful with dogs and change sidewalk when you cross one, because some of them defend their territory more than others.
DAY 2 : Cocora Valley
We are awakened by the song of the birds. There are worse as alarm clock, but these birds are very early in the morning. Today, we will go to the Cocora Valley (travel notebook in another article) and will spend 5h30 walking (instead of the 2h-3h planned).
As soon as we get back to Salento, who do we see? Dora the explorer!! She looks very disappointed and asks us why we didn’t come to the restaurant for lunch. We tell her that the appointment is for the next day (Sunday), not today. Poor thing, she was mistaken, she even cooked for us and intended to invite us in her small chalet 🙁
At least, chance made it possible for us to meet and say goodbye properly. It would have been stupid to go to the restaurant the next day at noon, not to see her and not understand why.
As the 1st hostel has no more availability, we change hostel and go to Posada Plaza Salento. Very tired by this long day of walk, we are satisfied with some snacks then sleep. Unfortunately the weekend there is a small concert just in front of our hotel 😀
DAY 3: Visit of Salento and return to Medellín
It’s 7:30 am, we go to the bus terminal to buy the tickets for a departure at 10 am. There are still 12 places left according to the website but you never know 😉
We quickly visit Salento because in the end we only visited its surroundings, but not the city itself. It is Sunday and many tourists from Armenia (a Colombian city) are already there. Many go to the watchtower (+200 steps), then go to the Cocora valley.
The church on the main square is very simple on the outside but very pretty on the inside. The doors are always open, feel free to have a look.
8 hours by bus to Medellín
It is time to take the bus back to Medellín. We could have taken the plane from Pereira but we took it too late and there were only expensive tickets left (100€ instead of 30€). It is 8 hours of road which await us (instead of 6 normally) because of the works on the road and there are only 2 lanes.
On the other hand, the bus is rather luxurious: equipped with toilet, plug, USB and individual screen… (just like on the plane) and especially sumptuous landscapes… so much so that I couldn’t even sleep: there were too many things to look at. By chance, I am lucky to be placed on the right side, where the landscapes are the most impressive.
On the way, you can guess the coffee, avocado, mango plantations… everything is green and there are lots of birds.
We stop at a small restaurant on the road for lunch, and drive non-stop to Medellín. The bus stops in front of the Sabaneta metro station before continuing to the del sur terminal. But we stop at the subway because it is only 5 stations away from Poblado, our neighborhood.
This is the end of this mini road-trip of 4 days with Philippe. In the next 4 travel diaries, we will visit Medellín and the surroundings.
Here is our vlog for those who prefer videos
Part 2: Practical Tips
Transportation, fares & schedules From (Pereira, Medellin, Garden)/To Salento are explained here
If this information isn’t up to date, know that the Colombians are extremely nice, will be able to inform you and find a bus for you, don’t worry.
Travelling by public transport in Colombia is child’s play, the main difficulty is the long distance between cities. Don’t rely on Google Maps to give you the exact duration of the bus trip. There are a lot of mountains and work to do. If you don’t have much time, you can always rely on the plane, which isn’t very expensive in Colombia, as long as you travel with carry-on luggage.
If, like Philippe, you do not speak English or Spanish, and do not have the Anh-JB agency at your disposal, you can also come to Colombia on a tailor-made trip
Distributors – ATM in Salento
There are several ATMs in Salento, take some cash when you come here (to pay for the busses in particular) but you can withdraw on the spot without any problem (fee equivalent to 1.7% of the amount withdrawn with an international card). Some restaurants accept credit cards.
To take with you
Salento is in high attitude (1850m) and you may have to climb up to 2860m in the Cocora Valley. I traveled for 4 days with 1 tee-shirt and 1 merino wool sweater (showering every day) and that’s enough.
Even when sweating a lot in the Cocora Valley, the T-shirts don’t smell anything. So to travel light and not be cold, I advise you:
- a short sleeves merino wool t-shirt
- a long sleeved merino wool sweater
- a first price k-way (it often rains here)
- hiking pants & change pants
- trail shoes & 2 pairs of socks
- an umbrella
- earplugs
- pyjamas
- something to snack on
Budget
- Cab Bogota => Bogota airport: 30 000COP (with the Cabify app)
- Plane Bogota => Pereira : 30€
- Pereira => Pereira bus terminal (bus 26): 2100COP
- Bus Terminal Pereira => Salento: 8000COP/person
- Salento => visit of a finca: 18000COP (visit + transport A/R)
- Bus Salento => Medellin: 54 000COP
- Accommodation: 20€/night double room: El Zorzal (Booking link), close to the bus terminal, 3mn walking distance from the city center, with a breathtaking view of the mountains, very quiet, hot water, hammocks in the garden, hearty breakfast
- Restaurant: count 15 000COP to 23 000COP the dish, and 6000COP the drink. We highly recommend the restaurant Antorchas, cheaper and better than the others.
