Brightly painted Salento is one of Colombia’s oldest coffee-producing towns and retains a captivating mix of tradition and new-world bustle.
Trekking-clad tourists brush shoulders with local farmers. Spot the locals strolling around in their ‘Aguandeñan’ hats (predecessor to the Panama hat), Wellington boots, machetes, and moustaches—with a customary poncho folded over their shoulders.
Try playing Tejo here, Colombia’s national game. This lively game involves throwing metal discs at clay targets lined with small gunpowder packets.
The iconic way to travel here is by ‘Willy’ jeep, with people often hanging off the side as they zip through the countryside, perhaps to visit one of the many traditional coffee plantations that made this valley famous.
Many people travel to Cocora to gaze up at the Gigantic Wax Palm trees that grow here, thrusting up to 60m/197ft from earth to skyline. Here, trekkers enjoy walking through the mountain ranges of Los Nevados National Park, from cloud forest to high páramo.
