Discover Salento: Viewpoints and Coffee Experiences

When looking for a hotel in Salento, you can first decide what to focus on during your trip: Would you like to enjoy views of the town and valley, explore the area around the Valle de Cócora, or plan a specific activity involving coffee and nature? The places and experiences offer different highlights and give you ideas for shaping your trip around your interests.

Views of Salento, the valley and the mountains

Mirador Alto de la Cruz offers panoramic views of Salento and a view of the Valle de Cócora. Ecoparque El Mirador provides a different perspective: From there, you can take in the mountains of the Cordillera Central, the Valle de Cócora and the course of the Río Quindío. Both viewpoints offer views of the valley; Salento can be seen from the mirador, while the ecopark also takes in the mountains and the river’s course. This can help you decide which landscape features particularly interest you when planning your trip.

The area around the Valle de Cócora

The Acaime and Estrella de Agua nature reserves are located in the area around the Valle de Cócora. The same area also includes a cloud forest and Cerro Morrogacho. An Indigenous cemetery is also located near the valley.

There are several opportunities for birdwatching during ecological hikes in the Valle de Cócora. This is different from the viewpoints: There, the focus is on the named views of the landscape and town; here, it is on watching birds along the way. If you plan your days around specific themes, you can consider these interests separately without treating them as the same kind of experience.

Boquía and the La Explanación Bridge

Boquía is a small village with traditional houses along the route to Salento. The La Explanación Bridge, a centuries-old structure, is located near Boquía. The train from Buenaventura to Bogotá used to cross it. This area therefore brings together a settlement and a structure with a history of railway use as distinct points of interest. The bridge is associated with Boquía; its former use belongs to the past.

Coffee, horseback riding and birdwatching

The Cabalgata Cascada de Boquerón Salento starts in Salento. Its route passes a coffee-growing area and continues to the Río Boquerón, which the horses cross several times. If you include this tour in your plans, check current availability in advance. The route thus combines a stretch through a coffee-growing area with repeated river crossings, while the viewpoints offer a different kind of landscape experience.

In the municipality of Salento, the El-Ocaso-Salento coffee tour includes visits to coffee plantations, picking coffee, sowing and transplanting seedlings. You should book this tour in advance and check current availability. Its focus is on several steps involved in growing coffee; by contrast, the Cabalgata route is defined by the journey to the Río Boquerón and the river crossings.

Birdwatching can also be considered as a separate focus: There are several opportunities for it during ecological hikes in the Valle de Cócora. Your trip can therefore include a choice of specific, distinct interests—views, the area around the valley, a historic structure, and activities involving coffee, horses and birds.

Discover more destinations: Buenavista, Armenia, Montenegro, Puerto Alejandria, La Tebaida, Circasia, Filandia, Pijao

For the broader travel overview: Quindío.