Colombia’s Coffee Region: A Slow Start to South America
Hot springs, hummingbirds, and towering wax palms in the hills of Salento
As it turns out, weddings make great anchors for continent-hopping. After Tanaya and Nishal’s celebration in San Diego, our venue scouting in Antigua, a food-filled stint in Mexico, and a pit stop in San Francisco for Dan and Emma’s wedding, we had six more weeks to fill before wrapping up the “Americas” leg of our trip with family visits in Florida and New Jersey, plus Claire’s friend Shannon’s wedding in mid-July.
We kicked off these six weeks with a flight from San Francisco to Bogotá, which we booked months ago after learning that Yellow Fever vaccines are offered for free at the Bogotá airport (shout out to Reddit for the tip).
Back in New York, during our last-minute vaccine scramble before leaving in March, we had been quoted over $800 for the same shot (not typically covered by insurance as the US doesn’t have yellow fever), which we needed for several countries on this year’s list. And with that oddly practical motivation as our starting point, we decided to begin our South American chapter in Colombia’s coffee region.
Santa Rosa de Cabal: Rest First, Sightsee Later
Our first stop was Santa Rosa de Cabal, tucked away in the jungle and home to the hot springs of Termales Santa Rosa. Our friend Nicole had recommended both the town and its accompanying hotel, and after the chaos of wedding weekends, travel, and city-hopping, we didn’t realize how badly we needed to decompress.
We spent our days soaking in warm mineral pools nestled beneath waterfalls, and our nights catching up on sleep. We’re talking 14-hours-in-one-night levels of sleep. The hotel had both private pools and access to the more visually impressive public hot springs. The food options were limited and the location a bit isolating (Uber in, Uber out), but the forced pause ended up being well worth it. No decisions to make, no places to be. Just steam, sleep, jungle.
Salento: Four Days in Colombia’s Most Colorful Town
From Santa Rosa, we made our way to Salento, the colorful town that serves as a launching point to Valle de Cocora. Salento struck the perfect balance of lively and peaceful. While the town itself is small, with just a few blocks in each direction, it never felt sleepy.
From Salento, there are three day trips that everyone does. Naturally, we did all three, and we reached these destinations via the UNESCO-recognized Willy Jeeps. These are old-school jeeps turned public transport, waiting throughout the day in the center of town to ferry visitors to nearby attractions. For ~$2-4, you cram into the back of one with 8 other people, plus 2-3 more standing on the back ledge, hanging on for dear life. We never had to take a standing spot, and we were relieved.
Day Trip #1: The Valle de Cocora (Which Inspired Encanto)
First up: the main event. Valle de Cocora is known for its towering wax palms, Colombia’s national tree and some of the tallest in the world. We took the full-day hiking loop instead of going straight to the viewpoint.
Early on, we were adopted by a friendly family from Cali who wanted to practice their English. We swapped stories about travel and work before parting ways and heading to the Hummingbird House, a forest café with feeders swarmed by birds of every color.
The final stretch brought us into the valley. Claire had been dreaming of this for years since reading about it in a National Geographic book and learning that it inspired Encanto. Seeing her face light up made the climb worth it. Worth mentioning, though, that the altitude left us more winded than we expected, as we’re used to hiking at sea level.
Day Trip #2: Painted Streets in Filandia
Our second day trip was to Filandia, a slightly larger and equally colorful town about 45 minutes away. While Salento feels like a base for hiking, Filandia is more about leisurely wandering. We started with lunch at Helena Adentro, widely considered the best restaurant in the coffee region. Then we spent the day strolling the cobblestone streets, popping into cafés, and just existing in the vibrance of the town.
Before departing back to Salento, Claire made a beeline toward a bakery for a fresh pandebono: a cheesy, doughy Colombian delicacy that has been one of her favorite snacks ever since tasting her first one at Pueblo Querido in Brooklyn.
Day Trip #3: Coffee Education at Finca El Ocaso
On our final day, we toured Finca El Ocaso, one of the most well-known coffee farms in the region. We signed up for the “premium” tour and thought we’d mostly just get walked around and told fun facts about coffee. Instead, we got a hands-on crash course in coffee production.
Neither of us is a sophisticated coffee drinker, but we came away genuinely excited about what we learned. The tour walked us through how altitude, roasting methods, and fermentation techniques influence flavor. We learned how to pick beans and raced to pick the best ones (I did better than Claire, who focused on quantity over quality).
We even got to practice our pour-over technique and try different beans side by side. It felt more like a workshop than a tour, and we both left with a new appreciation for how much work goes into a cup of coffee.
Final Reflections: Why We Loved the Coffee Region
Despite visiting during Colombia’s rainy season, we somehow lucked out. The only rain we experienced was at night. Each day brought cool air, light clouds, and the occasional rainbow. It wasn’t lost on us that we almost skipped this whole region because of the forecast.
The coffee region was exactly the kind of soft landing we needed to begin our South America leg. It gave us rest, hummingbirds, and hammocks. And most importantly, it reminded us that sometimes the best travel decisions start with something as random as “well, we can get a free vaccine here.”
