Salento & Cocora

This day trip is available within the coffee zone. It’s also possible to stay in Salento for the duration of your coffee zone trip.

About

Salento is a bustling colonial market town at the centre of the coffee zone, it has a lively buzz, excellently conserved architecture and great restaurants serving up a multitude of dishes incorporating the local trout. Its juxtaposition with the Valle del Cocora makes it an extremely popular small town, as such it has good tourism infrastructure.

Cocora, on Salento’s doorstep is is a majestic valley and the perfect place to lose yourself for a few hours. The valley is home to the wax palm, the national tree of Colombia and the worlds tallest variety of palm tree, measuring up to 60m. It is the wax palm that makes Cocora a truly special destination and brings visitors flocking to see it. The topography of Cocora offers easy trekking and walking possibilities.

Tour outline

We provide private transport from your finca or hotel to Salento where you will be met by your guide. Salento is well known amongst the people of the coffee zone for having some of the best coffee, so before heading to Cocora, enjoy a tinto.

Your driver will then take you and your guide to the entrance to the valley for your guided walk in Cocora. Our Cocora guide is one of the valley’s rangers and provides a captivating explanation of conservation efforts in the valley, the ecosystem and the fauna and flora found in the area. Learn about efforts to protect the wax palm and how farmers work the land in the valley.

The tour is private so make it your own. You can undertake a full 6 hour trek in Cocora before coming back to Salento. Or you can spend less time in Cocora and spend more time looking around the shops of Camino Real.

Your driver will take you back to your accommodation for about 4pm. If you happen to be staying in a working coffee finca, this is the ideal time to see the coffee processing activity as the pickers return from the hillsides with their harvest of coffee cherries.

Group size

This is a private tour ideally suited for 2 to 8 people, larger groups can be accommodated on request.

Stay the night in Salento

Although this is a day trip, Salento’s plaza is a fun place to enjoy a few beers during the evening and has a particularly international feel thanks to the tourists that visit the town from all over the world. Salento has charming accommodation options so be sure to let us know if you would like to spend the night there or even spend the duration of your stay in the coffee zone in the town.

Clients undertaking our short coffee tours or our signature tour The Colours of Colombia always spend a night in Salento.

We say

• Cocora is a spectacular destination and a must for your visit to the coffee zone.
• The valley is private land, has no defined pathways and is prone to descending mists that make visual navigation impossible. Getting lost for a few days in the valley is quite common. Under no circumstances will we organise this trip without an experienced guide.
• Salento and Cocora are superb destinations for photographers, be sure to take your camera.
• In accordance with our horse welfare and client safety requirements we do not offer horse riding in Cocora.