Valle de Cocora — Attraction in Quindío

Great day out from salento. To get there just walk to the main square where you’ll find a willy jeep. Buy a return ticket (4+4mil) to ride in the jeep which takes you to the cocorra valley (30 min drive). Highly recommend taking money you need 8 mil for jeeps 5+5 mil for entrance to private property and some cash for coffee + cake, 1.5L water, sunscreen, cap, hiking boots or trainers as the path can be very muddy. If you want a short route to see the wax palms just head straight up the road uphill. However If you want to do the 4.5 hour whole trail through the jungle with rivers waterfalls and bridges I highly recommend doing it anticlockwise as it is very steep and muddy in places and much easier doing that uphill. Instructions copied from a website but worked for us:

Where the jeep drops you off you’ll see a blue gate. Turn right and enter through the gate. Immediately, you’ll see a wooden sign saying “Bienvenidos, etc”. You can’t miss it. Continue walking straight, while descending down the hill. After about 40 minutes, you’ll arrive at the wooden signpost with “Fundacion Herencia Vero”, among other signs. Stay to the right of it. Even if it looks like there is a fork in the road, if you take the wrong way, it’ll be obvious within minutes and you can backtrack to the main trail. You’ll cross numerous rickety suspension bridges (5 or 6). Arrive at an actual T-junction in the road with a wooden sign saying “Acaime La Casa de Los Colibris” and another sign with a big red arrow pointing right. This is the way to go for hummingbirds, before backtracking back to this same junction. If you don’t want to go to the hummingbirds (we didn’t), then continue up the hill on the left. You will go up, up, up for about an hour Arrive at the Finca La Montaña with great views. You can stop here for a drink and a break. Bring a picnic! Descending down from the Finca, you’ll hike for about an hour and a half on a wide dirt road before reaching the Wax Palm Trees. From there enjoy the view and you can easily find your path back to where you started. To get the jeep back you just return to where you were dropped off and once it fills up to 10 people they’ll drive...

One of the best places to visit in Colombia. The full hike is fantastic and worth doing. The palms and the environment are unique and otherworldly at times. We arrived as early as possible to beat the crowds. We had our own car and the road to the valley was completely paved and easy to navigate. The early morning was the best light for the park in my opinion. We did the full counterclockwise loop hike that goes first through the jungle and ends in the palm valley. It took about about 6 hours to complete with a few rest stops for snacks and lunch. The full counterclockwise hike is strenuous enough that you should only do it if you are in semi-decent shape. There is a lot of up and downhill including one particular tough climb to get out of the jungle. You do need to keep your balance on rocks along and on the river which sometimes are slippery. The scenery was varied and beautiful, starting with going through trenches in the valley with some overly friendly cows, to a forest/jungle setting crisscrossing a river on multiple bouncy bridges, to climbing misty hills, to finally overlooking the tall majestic palms that we all came to see. We were lucky enough to see condors from the viewpoint as well. The descent through the valley kept amazing us with scenic vistas when you would hit different angles. The only thing I would change about the park would be to take out some of the instagram artwork that litters the entrance/exit of the park. I understand that these are draws for some people who want a more colorful photo to post but there really is too many of them and the trees and setting really are nice enough. The only advice I can add is to rent the boots if you are doing the full hike. I went with my normal shoes and they ended up in puddles, mud, and then the river. It is basically impossible to avoid, especially after rain which is often in that area. I had muddy shoes that wouldn't come off for the rest of my trip. I dont know how much boot rental costs as I didn't ask but I saw a lot of other hikers wearing them and I...

Basically, the hike is 5⭐ but the B.S. is a star off. First, read a blog post about the Cocora hike. It will likely rain. Views are amazing, as is the flora (wild strawberries everywhere). Get the lunch AND a map from Brunch in Salento. Bring cash, small bills. As of mid 2019, the entrance is 2000, the private property fee for the palms section is 3000, and the hummingbird section is 5000. Nobody tells you this. Get boots in Salento if you can, at the corral at Cocora if not. Unless, you get hot feet and you can dry your shoes after the hike. This trail is in two sections, double track on private land, which is muddy in the valley, and single track in the park, which is muddy everywhere. Bring a poncho or rain coat or a rain cover for your pack. Layer your clothing for hot sun, cold humid air, and rain. We did 10 miles+ on the full loop and more is possible. You can wuss out and just do the palms, too. Probably 2.5+ miles. There is a lot of ascending and the altitude is a mile high. Technicality of the hike is 4/5 due to rocks, water, mud, rickety bridges, for-sure rain, and altitude. No bouldering, cliffs, or swimming. There is an alpine section that looks hairy, but didn't try it. If you haven't hiked altitude, you need to take it slow and start early. Everyone was huffing and puffing except the guys who were obviously experienced hikers. The BS: the Jeeps suck - cramped and hot, made me carsick. Ride on back if you can and dare. The mad dash to get a Jeep home (probably in the rain) while Colombians cram the road with lunacy (horses, vehicles, motos and pedestrians) is annoying. The fees are not disclosed by anyone. No trash cans anywhere, even though mountain has easily 5000 people on it per day. Crowded in areas, which drives away fauna. We saw like 10 birds. Horse poop EVERYWHERE and muddy poop slime too. Other than that, the beauty is breathtaking, and the hike is good enough to satisfy weaklings and seasoned hike snobs. Highly recommend, but you need to prep...