On our first morning in Salento we are up and in a colectivo by 7.30am ready to hike Cocora Valley, which is one of the sights that both of us are most excited about in Colombia. The ‘Willy’s Jeeps’ are lined up in the square and there will be someone there filling the cars. Transport costs 4000 COP / £1 and takes about 45 mins.
Colombians love a drink, and the evidence of this is right there in the bus with us! A local couple are on the colectivo, but with a half empty bottle of ron (rum!). Before the colectivo even left we’d been given shots of rum, and then spent most of the journey refusing “MAS RON! MAS RON!”. The last time we saw that couple they were walking in the opposite direction to the hike, looking for a open bar. This is Colombia.. you can find open bars at 8am!
We were doing the full loop, so at the trail start (the sign just past the buildings on the right hand side) we turned right. The full hike was nearly six hours, through lots of mud, steep inclines and close jungle. Thank you to our hostel for lending us welly boots; our feet were sinking in the mud! I think most hostels in Salento offer welly rental.
At some point on the flat part of the trail we were stopped by a guy claiming the trail was private property and that it therefore cost us 1000 COP / £0.25 to proceed. There were some Colombians arguing this with him, but rightly or wrongly we just paid it. It’s most probably not his land, but he gave us a map and a sticker and we continued on!
Half way round there’s an optional 1k (each way!) detour to a hummingbird sanctuary, Acaime, to see various hummingbird breeds and also some racoon-like creatures. I love quirky attractions like this and after the steep climb to the entrance it was great to sit and watch the birds with a coffee/hot chocolate and cheese. The racoon-things were loving the leftovers that the friendly owner was feeding them! Entry is 4000 COP / £1, which includes your drink and cheese.
After this point the directions got a bit confusing. We were aiming to follow signs back down to the detour and then to ‘Finca la Montana’. However, signage was not clear. Just be aware of this and ask the horse handlers for help so that you won’t need to double-back like we did!
A little later, drenched in sweat we stopped for lunch. There are some lovely views at the top of the hill, before the descent back down. We bought a packed lunch which I definitely recommend because I only saw drinks for sale along the route.
After hours of up, up, up and then a little down we finally descend on to the giant wax palms that we had come to see. They put everything else on the landscape to insignificance and the view is incredible. Beautiful.
Getting back to Salento worked the same way as getting in… there will be a man at the car park, near to all of the Willy’s Jeeps grouping people in to cars and sending them off.
This hike took one of the top places on our favourite things to do in Colombia. It was amazing to be teeny tiny little figures next to those giant palms! A must do whilst in Salento.
