Cocora Valley (Colombia): 5h30 walk in the middle of the Wax Palms
After visiting a coffee farm the day before, we leave today for the Cocora Valley, 30 minutes by Jeep from Salento. Always in company of Philippe, the father of JB.
Part 1: Travel Diary Part
2: Practical Tips
Part 1: Travel Diary
We take a Jeep from the main square of the village. 8000COP/person round trip. We plan to take the one at 8:30 am but as it is already full at 8:15 am, the car leaves right away. Philippe and I are sitting next to the driver so we have a little more room than those sitting in the back (or JB who has to be standing during the whole trip).
Because of the accumulated fatigue lately, my memory is failing me and I’m convinced that the ride lasts only 3 hours maximum, despite the warnings of a guy on the spot who talks about 6 hours of walking (or 3 hours on horseback).
So, instead of doing this (expectation): 5.6km. I told Philippe that I did not like walking. And neither does he…
We did it (reality): 9,1km
Oops!
We will learn later that this is also the path recommended by mountain guides, and people pay to do the same trek, with a guide.
But for the moment, we don’t know that yet. We walk happily through the valley, taking a small path to the right (type Cabanas Truchas Cocora on maps.me).
The Cocora Valley is well known for its 2000 wax palms, a protected species that is the pride of Colombia. They are even represented on the 100,000COP bill. Its wood, though long, cannot be used for construction, and its fruits can just feed the animals… but they are beautiful, very tall (up to 60m).
A farmer stops us (Punto de Control Sendero El Porton on the map) and charges us 3000COP/person to cross his farm. It’s worth the price because the path is well marked, it’s very pleasant.
An hour later, the sky starts to get darker, but we are already in the jungle and have to cross 5-6 bridges like that. So handmade that only one person is allowed at a time.
After crossing all the bridges, the difference in height increases and with the altitude, we take 45 minutes to reach 700m. I curse myself for having taken the wrong route. If we turn back, the descent is even harder than the ascent. It is necessary to continue.
We decide not to go to the Acaime Bird Reserve (because it would mean adding 30 minutes of walking there and back), but we immediately turn left to go to the Finca la montaña.
We can see the Finca la montaña (with a nice garden and lots of flowers) from below, and for us it is like paradise. The name Finca and the logo “café” on maps.me promise us a good lunch, a hot coffee/tea after those long hours of walking. Having left for a small walk, we didn’t take anything to eat and a very small bottle of water. We are very hungry and thirsty!
What a disappointment when you learn that not only is there nothing to eat (understandably), but there isn’thing to drink either. Wait, second big disappointment: by making the loop and going down via another more touristic path, there isn’thing to eat/drink either for a good 2 hours.
Luckily we still have some water left, but we still haven’t learned how to put snacks in the bag for the treks. Philippe saves us all by taking out some chips and candies. With that, we have to endure another 2h30 of walk, but fortunately while going down.
We cross a small pine forest (magnificent) to arrive at the 1st watchtower… completely covered by clouds.
We reason by saying to ourselves that this part is covered by the clouds since this morning anyway, and that we will have a better view afterwards.
We fly our drone in the middle of the forest and against all odds, our drone suddenly loses altitude, becomes uncontrollable, and crashes into the trees.
A very nice English tourist goes into the jungle and finds it for us. But unfortunately, one of the 4 engines is out of order and he is definitely dead. At least, we could bring it back and throw it in the trash, instead of leaving it like that in the forest.
The songs of the birds comfort us a little, and at one point we saw about ten of them, singing and flying above us, it’s incredible! We saw a special bird with a long tail, with wings that look like a flying squirrel.
We still pay an entrance fee for the 2nd farm (4000COP/person) we pass through. That’s when I understand my mistake, I wanted to take the path marked on the map, but instead I followed the blue river to the right. Oops.
It’s not too serious, we’re just going down now, and the scenery is becoming more and more spectacular. It is superb to finish a long trek by the best.
2nd watchtower
3rd watchtower
This watchtower is my favorite because you are very close to the palm trees and you can touch them. They are also more numerous. We have moreover a view at 270°C on the valley.
I think that if you don’t like walking, you should at least come all the way here before turning back.
Forest of Wax Palms
We go down to the village following the red path on the map to find ourselves in the palm forest. The landscapes are extraordinary, it is definitely the highlight of our trek.
Other tourists, smarter, opt for a horseback ride (between 2 and 3 hours). It is necessary to count at least 20 000COP/hour.
Starving, we are very happy when the waitress serves us a trout bathed in a garlic sauce. It isn’t as good as the trout tasted in Salento but we are so hungry and tired that we find it delicious. Even I have finished my plate.
We get on a Jeep with available seats and make the trip with an Italian couple who walked even more than us (the brave ones went to Acaime).
Chance does things well, we have a lot in common: the husband is a polyglote, and his wife, a developer, also has a travel blog. The conversation suddenly becomes technical, between crawlers, SEO, affiliation, digital nomadism for/against … 😀 the 30 minutes of travel pass super fast.
If you prefer videos, here is the link to our vlog
Part 2: Practical Tips
Itineraries, prices and practical advice for the Cocora Valley are detailed in this article
Find our travel diary in Salento, transport from/to Salento and all our travel diaries & practical guides in Colombia here
