Coffee Cultural Landscape
★ 4.8🇨🇴 SalentoSuggested visit 2-3 daysBest season December to February and June to August, with less rain
World HeritageCoffee estatesNature
Coffee estates and painted towns in the Andes, inscribed as a cultural landscape in 2011.
Overview
Spanning Caldas, Quindío and Risaralda in the central Andes, the Coffee Cultural Landscape joined the World Heritage List in 2011. Steep coffee plantations, bamboo craftwork and painted towns define it. Near Salento, the Cocora valley holds wax palms up to 60 metres tall, Colombia's national tree. Estate visits cover everything from picking to roasting.
History
Settled as coffee country by pioneer farmers in the 19th century, creating a distinctive model of smallholder mountain cultivation and architecture, inscribed in 2011.
Highlights
- •The wax palms of the Cocora valley
- •Coffee estate tours from picking to roasting
- •The painted streets of Salento
- •Bamboo craft and the colourful buses
Practical tips
- •Jeeps reach the Cocora valley; mornings and evenings are cold
- •Book coffee estate tours in advance
Practical information
- Best time
- December-February
- Tickets
- Coffee estates about COP 40,000
- Opening hours
- Estates roughly 9:00-17:00
- Local food
- Colombian coffee, arepas, trout
- Getting around
- About an hour by air from Bogotá to Armenia, then 40 minutes by road.
- Visa
- Visa-free for stays up to 90 days with a valid passport.
Traveller reviews
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