Salento is a lovely magical little town in the coffee region of Colombia. While it is small, it packs a lot in and I would definitely recommend going and staying there for three to four days. The highlights are horseback riding, coffee farms, cute restaurants (its known for its trout) and, of course, the famous Cocora Valley with its large beautiful wax palm trees.
While many go to Salento from Medellin I highly recommend going from Cali which is an amazing city. From Medellin it is a six hour bus ride although due to the small winding nature of the roads and a lot of construction I have heard nightmares of it taking up to eleven hours.
From Cali which is a wonderful city you should visit, it is only three and a half hours on a long straight highway. I took a cab from Cali for 500,000 COP (about $132). As taxis are cheap this is a very good option especially if there are a couple people going. There are also regularly scheduled inexpensive buses which leave about every 30 minutes and take about 5 hours($15).
You could also take a flight to Pereira airport or Armenia airport but its then still a 45 minute drive to Salento.
On the drive from Cali or Medellin there are rest stops to get some food and snacks and use the facilities (below)
Calle Real
The main artery of Salento is the street “Calle Real”. Here are the cute restaurants and boutique shops. At one end is the main plaza, Plaza Bolivar with a small park and the Church of our Lady of Carmen. This is where you get the jeeps (called “Willys”) to the Cocora Valley and there are a number of eating options, cafes and ATM’s. At the other end of the street is the stairs to take you up to “Mirador”, the viewpoint over Salento with nice views of the town below and mountains.
Mirador- the City Viewpoint
At the end of Calle Real you will see a stairway which will bring you up to the overlook, the “Mirador”. It takes about 4 minutes to climb the stairs. This has both nice views of the city on one side and nice views of the mountains on the other. There are some people selling snacks and sourvenirs here.
Bolivar Plaza and the Church of our Lady of Carmen
At one end of Calle Real is Bolivar Plaza. Here is the Church of our Lady of Carmen, a small park, restaurants and street food, a place to book horse riding tours and the jeeps going about every 20 minutes to the Cocora Valley.
Cocora Valley
A highlight of Salento is the famous Cocoro Valley with its huge Wax Palm trees. You can get there by taking a jeep from the main plaza or taking a cab. Its about a 30 minute jeep ride there. Once you get there, head up the hill and there are some entrances for viewing spots. There is a small entrance fee to get into these viewing areas. There are also horserides that you can rent for 30 minutes, 1 or 2 hours which take you into the hills. They are a number of hiking trails here, for a good guide to the trails check this site: Cocoa Valley Hike. For more information on the Cocora Valley see: Cocora Valley.
Coffee Farms
There are a number of coffee farms in the hills around the town. I went to Las Acacias Coffee Farm. Here they explained about the picking the beans which we did, inspecting them for quality and then the process of converting them to coffee. At the end of the tour you can, of course relax and sample the great coffee. One of the horseback options from the plaza (look for the blue tent) is a horseback ride out to the coffee farm. For more information on visiting a coffee farm see: Salento Coffee Farm.
Restaurants, Bars and Clubs
For a little town, Salento has a good selection of restaurants and a nightlife scene. Salento is known for its trout and there are number of great places for that. For the best restaurants, bars and clubs see: Salento Restaurants and Nightlife.
Where to Stay
Hotel Camino Real -Mid-ranged, where I stayed, nice. clean, good service and great location- 2 blocks from Calle Real.
Viajero Hostel– Hostel, Good, clean, friendly hostel
Lumbre Glamous Camping– Luxury, outside the city in nature
Conclusion
Salento is a beautiful little town, you can relax or party, there are number of nature options in the hills around the town (besides horseback there is hiking, biking or ATV’s), some lovely restaurants and bars, and, of course coffee, to enjoy. It takes a little to get there but its worth it. Let me know what you experience was like and any tips for other travelers. Enjoy!
