3 Weeks Itinerary for Colombia - Part 1

15.02.17 08:14 PM By Putri

Last December we decided to spend three weeks in Colombia. Why Colombia? well, first because none of us ever went to South America, second, we have a lot of Colombian friends who shared us their lovely stories about their hometown in Colombia that inspired us to visit the country, and last but not least, because we are coffee lovers, we wanted to have a taste of the real Colombian coffee, freshly brewed at the local coffee plantation.


Et voila, we decided to spend 22 days in this amazing country and here is our full itinerary (separated in 2 articles, part 2 here):

Bogota and surroundings

Day 1. Arrival in Bogota

We arrived on Saturday late at night, we didn't really do much apart went straight to our hotel at Madisson inn Bogota. The flight was only about 8 hours but with transit it became 14 frickin' hours. We were happy to finally meet our clean nice bed at the hotel.

Aerial view of Bogota in day light

Day 2. Montserrat

Our second day in Bogota fell on Sunday. It turned out that Sundays meant quiet day in Bogota; stores were closed, restaurants opened late, and main roads were closed for cars. We decided to visit the most famous monastery in Colombia; the Montserrate sanctuary since there were not much to do in town. 

Montserrat church on top of the hill.

Day 3. Candelaria and museums

Candelaria is one of the most mentioned place of Bogota in all of travel books/sites we read. The place has a reputation and that's why we had to visit it!

Plaza Bolivar

Day 4. Zipaquira salt cathedral

Underground cathedral made entirely of salt, how cool is that?! There are only two salt cathedrals in the world, one in Poland and the other one is in Colombia, and guess what, it's only 2 hours drive from Bogota!

Quindio region

Day 5. Flight to Pereira 

We headed to the Coffee Axis or Eje Cafetero, a region that is famous for being ZE spot of Colombian coffee plantation. The small town we were heading called Salento, but to get there we first had to fly to Pereira, one of the nearest cities to Salento that has an airport. 

Day 6. El Ocaso coffee plantation, Salento

As coffee lovers, it was crucial for us to visit a coffee plantation when we visit Colombia to learn more about our favorite beans; arabica coffee beans. This caffeine fueled activity took place at the El Ocaso coffee plantation.

Quiet village of Salento and its bright colored doors, early in the morning.

Day 7. Getting to know Salento and its charm

Salento is a small village with vibrating charms. We took the day for relaxing and enjoying the village. 

Gazing at the cocora's

Day 8. Valle de Cocora

On day 8 we decided to have a serious hike through the Andes mountain and visit the famous Cocora valley. It took us about a 6 to 7 hours to complete the route but it was worth it. My legs were dead afterward tho. 

Putri