Walking the Valley de Cocora, visiting the humming birds and soaking up Salento

Nature
The wow factor for nature - does it show nature at its best? Doesn't need to be the wildebeest migration or diving with hundreds of hammerheads. Rather make you pause as you realise just how awesome the natural world can be
8
Culture
How much does this experience showcase some of the better and finer things that us humans can offer? Sure, it can be ancient ruins and renaissance churches, but it can also be festivals or soaking up some of the great modern cities of the world
6
Fun factor/activity
Very simple - was it fun? This is usually linked in with doing some kind of activity - i mean, walking along some cliffs is nice, but paragliding from them, now that is fun. Its a vastly underrated factor in a truly great experience
8
Avoid the crowds
Big tour groups and being surrounded by loud fellow tourists can sap the life out of even the greatest of travel experiences. This score is to reflect just how much you can avoid this. But. . . The score also takes into account if the crowds actually add to the experience, such as with a party town or a bustling local market
4
World famous
How world famous is the experience?
4
unique
How hard is it to have a similar experience in other places round the world?
7
Overall TE Score
The overall travel experiences score:  fun factor + avoid the crowds + (best of nature or culture) + (best of world famous or unique). Then convert into a score out of 100
67 *What the scores mean and where do they come from
RANKING
How this travel experience ranks compared to all the other experiences on this site, based on the travel experience (te) score
192nd/454
Top 40%
continent
South America
country
Colombia
Length of time
3-4 days
Typical daily price
This gives you a rough idea of the daily price based on 2 people travelling where they can split costs like accommodation. It excludes travel there and back, and factors in inflation the numbers in brackets show the price range for the full time of the experience (so not necessarily daily). It is a range to reflect different budget vs higher end
$60 (typically $40 - $80)
Time of year visited
March
Primary Tags
Click on any of the tags to see all travel experiences with the same tag
Hiking Jungle Mountains
All Tags
Bird spotting Forests Hilltop towns Market UNESCO world heritage site Wildlife - Hummingbirds
Wow Factor
The wow factor reflects just how much you’re likely to say “wow”. As there’s a lot of experiences in the world, and a lot of wows, i’ve gone with a simple ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ to ⭐️ score, and a separate category for the truly "gash"
⭐⭐⭐

Summary

The Los Nevados National Park region is gorgeous, mist-filled rolling valleys with just miles and miles of luscious greens of the jungle all around you.

The highlight is the Valley de Cocora – a valley full of the world’s tallest palm trees (up to 60m / 200 feet) that also includes a great 5/6 hour round trip hike with views of the valleys below and a spot with hundreds of hummingbirds hovering around you.

Plus generally staying in the pretty hill-top town of Salento for a relaxing few days.

They can get a little touristy in spots, but you don’t have to wander far to find yourself a quieter spot that allows you to relax and soak up the central Colombian vibe.

Definitely one of the highlights of Colombia

Highlights

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#1 Seeing the view of the surrounding mountains as you walk along the 5-6 hour hiking route through the Valley de Cocora

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#2 Wandering through the pretty towns and chilled out vibe of the Solento area

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#3 Soaking up the gorgeous, lush mountain and jungle scenery of this central part of Colombia

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#4 Wandering under the giant palm trees in the centre of the Valley de Cocora

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#5 Watching and playing with the hundreds of Hummingbirds flying to within inches of you in the Hummingbird Reserve

Travel Tips

For the Valley de Cocora:

  • Walk the round trip – you could, if pressed for time, take 1-1.5 hours and only check out the valley, but I’d recommend the round trip loop which takes 5-6 hours at a slow pace giving plenty of time for stops.  The loop lets you see the hummingbirds, the mountain farm and the river, but more than anything its just a beautiful hike with gorgeous viewing points and rickety old bridges to cross that are fun.  Plus, you’ve probably spent the best part of a day to get here from the likes of Medellin or Bogota so it feels a bit weird not to take in the walking loop
  • You can go clockwise or anticlockwise round the loop – I don’t think it makes a huge difference which way you go other than the walk from the Valley de Cocora to the Mountain Farm is far longer and less steep than the walk from the Mountain Farm to the Hummingbird area.  We went anti-clockwise and enjoyed it
  • Bring some snacks for the day – but if you forget you can get some very basic food at the Hummingbird place
  • You don’t need a guide – just as much fun to head off on your own and the track is very simple to follow
  • I’d suggest going early – mainly because it felt like it typically rained in the afternoon rather than the morning

 

Getting around – you get from town to town (and to the Valley de Cocora – don’t walk) using the colourful jeeps that are always stationed in the town centres.  They look like they should hold 7-8 but they happily fit 12, which means last to get on will most likely be standing hanging on to the back.  I found this quite fun as you’re zooming through the countryside, with the breeze on your face getting the best view, but could understand how it might be a bit tedious / scary for some.  You won’t so much get a “ticket” for the jeep, but there is always either a driver nearby trying to find the next people or a small hut organising trips who is next.  Whilst they do have a timetable, it seems to go out the window a bit at times.  They leave at least every hour and its super cheap (4,000 COP / US$1).  If you get a bit fed up and want to leave quicker, they’ll usually find one to leave with just you and your group.

Restaurants – there’s a heap of restaurants, many with nice views of the surrounding mountains.  I’d really recommend La Herreria on the west side of town which did superb food and great place for cocktails.

Finlandia and Circasia are worth a visit – just as much to jump on the jeep and head off on a mini adventure and soak up the countryside as anything else.

Accommodation – you can find super cheap deals in really lovely small hotels in many of the hilltop towns.  I’d recommend Hotel La Caracola in Salento which was friendly, colourful and separate from some of the busier parts of town.

Be ready for long bus rides to get there and away – even though the distances look short on the map, the terrain is super hilly so it takes a long time to get around.  Around 9 hours for either Bogota (via Armenia) or Medellin.

For how Salento and the Valley de Cocora can fit into a bigger 3 week trip to see the highlights of Colombia, see 3 weeks in Colombia for itinerary and tips.

Context is everything for Colombia.  Book recommendations:

  • One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez is the traditional must read literature.  At times it can be a little slow going, but it created its own genre (magic realism . . . obviously) and very much tells the story in a round about way of many of the difficulties faced by Colombia
  • To give a perspective of just what it must have been like for the American civilisations before the Spanish arrived, I highly recommend 1491 by Charles Mann.  It will change your view from what is likely to be that of basic jungle tribes / Indians hunting the buffalo on the plains to what they really were – in many ways equally sophisticated civilisations to those of Eurasia
  • For a broad, often quite opinionated, overview of modern South America, I also recommend Viva South America Oliver Balch

Broader Colombia – for how Bogota can fit into a bigger 3 week trip to see the highlights of Colombia, see 3 weeks in Colombia for itinerary and tips.

What to prioritise in Colombia

Colombia has some real wow experiences.  For a first time visitor it can be a little overwhelming as to what to prioritise and simply because the country takes such a long times to travel around. See the 3 week itinerary for Colombia for how to do this, but if time is restricted the below is how I would think about priorities and how Salento fits in:

 

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Hiking the Lost City Trek
A challenging multi-day trek through dense Colombian jungle, but rewarded by insane mountain views and majestic levels of remote ruins of Ciudad Perdida. Adventure and isolation and a mega wow. Hiking the Lost City Trek.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ Salento and the Valley de Cocora 
Mountainous coffee country with picture-perfect colourful hilltop towns and a wonderful walk through a valley with the world’s tallest palm trees.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ Cartegena
One of the best old towns in all of Latin America with incredible bar and restaurant scene.  Crowds take the shine off a little but still a country highlight. Soaking up the Cartagena Old Town.

 

⭐️⭐️ Medellin
The street art, the changing neighbourhoods, the museums, the great bar and restaurant scene – all worth seeing, but the highlight is the cable cars.  Not just over the differing neighbourhoods clinging precariously to the steep sides, but also up over the city valley sides and into the lush green forests where the city is completely forgotten.  Couple of days in Medellin riding the cable cars.

⭐️⭐️ Tayrona National Park 
Small flat walks through jungle and boulders to find stunning beaches.  We found the the chilled out beach hotels just the the east end of the park so nice we extended by 4 nights. Walking the Valley de Cocora, visiting the humming birds and soaking up Salento.

 

⭐️ The Guatape Lakes 
Nice day trip to take from Medellin – views from the top of the 220m (720 feet) tall La Piedra are amazing and the walk around the colourful town of Guatape is nice.  But I’d challenge a lot I’ve read about this being a “must see”.  Guatape Lakes outside of Medellin.

⭐️ Bogota 
I wasn’t the biggest fan of Bogota – there are better places to spend your time and we never really felt 100% safe. High chance though you’ll fly in and so do a half day cycling tour, play Tejo and to head up on the cable car to Monserrate.  Cycling and taking the cable car in Bogota.

Experiences nearby

The below map shows experiences nearby with a colour that reflect the Overall Score of those experiences

Similar beautiful valley walks

A day walking through Yosemite National Park
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Hiking Lake Esmeralda in the Tierra del Fuego
⭐⭐⭐

3 days / 2 nights hiking the Quilatoa Loop
⭐⭐⭐

Hiking around Interlaken
⭐⭐⭐⭐

Exploring Petra in winter
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Cycling and views around Tam Coc
⭐

The Blue Mountains on a train from Sydney
⭐⭐⭐

Driving through the Sacred Valley
⭐⭐⭐

Hiking and zip-lining in the Colca Canyon
⭐⭐⭐

Score Detail

The scores above are the real point of this site.

Over 20+ years and 100+ countries, I’ve tried to rank the world’s best travel experiences — from genuinely mind-blowing ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ to the properly gash.

Every one of the 500+ places on this site has both a Wow Factor rating and a more analytical Travel Experience (TE) score based on the things that actually make travel memorable.

If you're curious about the thinking behind it, head to the About page.

Otherwise, explore the map above or on the Home page and see which places truly deliver maximum wow.

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