nevado del ruiz

This was like a National Geographic Adventure!! So amazing! Outstanding views! Felt like I was in the clouds! Loved it! Don't go to Manizales without going to El Nevado del Ruiz!

Call me spoilt, but I wasn't impressed. I saw volcanoes in Indonesia, Italy, Chile, Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador and they were ALL nicer than this one. And cheaper, a tour is 120.000. For this they stop at 6 cafetarias, and every 5 minutes we had to get in and out of the bus, they wouldn't let us walk anything. Surroundings were ok, but also better in Peru. Guide had the talent to let me fall asleep with my eyes open when he started talking. Couldn't come close to the volcano for safety reasons, but also nothing to see from a distance through the thick mist. You off course can't influence conditions, but for me it wasn't worth taking the detour to Manizales. Complete waste of time and money.

Often the Nevado has not snow. However, you should ask at the Travel Center in Manizales downtown (Gobernación de Caldas), in order to see the conditions. The access to the Nevado without a guided personnel is forbidden.

About the only way to go is to go with a guide who has four wheel drive. Since Nevado del Ruiz is active, we took the alternative Santa Isabel trek. BE WARNED: the drive from Manizales takes four hours to get there, five if you stop for breakfast! We drove to 4,000 meters (about 14,000 feet) and then we hiked up to 15,400 feet to the base of the glacier. The scenery and the vegetation (and how it changes) are beautiful!!!!! The hike that we took is relatively easy as far as hikes go. only 700 meters (2,100 feet) in ascent and nothing really steep. Also the path is generally speaking pretty smooth. I had lived and been running three times a week in Manizales for 2.5 months before starting the hike up. The altitude still killed me. However my hiking companions who didn't exercise at all, didn't feel any effects at all. I felt like an 80 year old zombie with asthma. The guide told me it's better to go slow and steady and to not stop. So I was moving at tortoise pace, but I made it. VERY glad I did. The glacier is shrinking dramatically, but it is wonderful to see a river of ice. A once in a lifetime experience. I would do it again IF I knew the drive was shorter. 10 hours of total travel time + 6 hours of hiking makes for a very long day. Nevado del Ruiz, when he quiets down, would be my destination of choice.

I went with a tour group to Nevado Ruiz. We did not go all the way as they have it restricted due to volcanic risk.The tour started out with breakfast just outside Manizales. Breakfast was typical. We then road in the bus up to the park. The ride up had tremendous green mountain views. As we got closer we could see the snow covered peaks around Nevada Ruiz.The scenery begins to change as we approached the paramo. It changes twice again as we rise up to where there is no vegetation. It feels like you are on a different planet.On the way back down we stopped at Termales de Otono. These were nice. One thing, they do not provide towels, so I had to use a shirt to dry.Overall, this was a great experience.

Not only the view is fantastic, but the experience of challenging yourself to go to the top. Awesome

We did the Nevado Santa Isabel Trek, since although longer, it actually allows you to go TO the glacier (and actually, the next glacier to be lost to global warming in Colombia). The trip was: breathtaking. Until then, I don't think I've ever seen something so amazingly beautiful. Be forewarned though: it is treacherous, and several people in our group had to go back because of how strenuous the trip turned out to be. Honestly: listen to your tour guides and heed their advice. Stay hydrated, go slow, and don't rush the journey. As long as you follow their steps, you should be fine.(Side note: my guide kept telling our group not to consume artificial sugar. One person in our group didn't heed that advice, and ended up with the worst headache out of all of us).

A nice excursion taken from my hotel to a lovely day 6:45 a.m. until 6 p.m. worth the money paid. First breakfast, lots of nice views, learned a lot, different scenery, lunch, and later the Hot springs del Otoño. Love them all!

Let's start by saying that I have visited some nice places, I would like to say that Nevado del Ruiz really took my breath away, literally took my breath away. Sitting at an altitude of 13200 feet at the base, then a two hour drive then a 4 hr walk it's worth it. Please afterwards when done and start to drive out, when you get to the end of the rocky road look towards your right and look at the waterfall. It's worth it.

My friend and I went on an all-day tour with guides from a company called Ecosistemas which was arranged through the staff at Mountain Hostels in Manizales. We drove for about 3 hours to the start of the trek at about 4200m and then started hiking uphill. We loved this hike and the guides (Felipe and Gabriel) were really wonderful. Felipe is very knowledgeable about the ecosystems in this region. It was not an easy hike for me due to the altitude but at all times I felt like I was being well-looked after. Several people in our group made it to the glacier at the top and although I didn't make it that far, I still had an amazing time during this tour. I love the landscape of the high paramo and it's definitely worth a visit to see this beautiful place. I highly recommend Felipe as a guide, for his professionalism, knowledge and caring nature. As others suggest, it's a good idea to be acclimatized as much as possible. MelG

the road was open then into the park and there was a hostel we stayed at overnight at about the snowline,however there was no heat other than the pilot light for the cooking stove which was never turned on to spare the expenses.

We travelled here quite early in the morning and it was very cold, so make sure you wrap up very warm. The volcano is beautiful though at 4050 m (and above) attitude is likely to effect at least your ability to walk, so try and get aclimatised before hiking anywhere. We then drove up to the walking base building, which had a shop and good toilets. If you are in this part of Colombia, make sure you visit Los Nevada National Park for the expansive scenery, even if you don't want to hike anywhere.

We did a tour which was 3 hours drive to a track that took 4 hours (round trip) to the bottom of the glacier. The views are incredible and the landscape is unique but no one warned us about altitude sickness. Apparently it's recommended to go to 3000m then ascend 600m a day so your body can acclimatise. We were driven to 4200m then climbed to 4800m up steep slopes so it's not surprising everyone was really suffering with nausea, dizziness and headaches.it's definitely a trip worth doing but be forewarned.

great place, wonderful views, and you feel closer to GOD. Is very cheap and people there is lovely. You must ask in Manizales for best ways to go upthere (remember, almost 5.000 mts of altitud... is eternal snow on the tropics!!!!) AMAZING isn't?

So the northern section of Parque Nacional Natural Los Nevados is shut at the moment - officially due to volcanic activity, although a Colombian mountain guide told me the real reason has more to do with politics... what this translates to in reality is the inability to visit the area around the Nevado del Ruiz volcano. You can still organise trekking / camping trips into the southern part of the park with mountain guides, and you can do this from Manizales. If you don't want to do this / can't be bothered / only want a day trip, then the alternative is go on the milk truck that skirts the very border of the park. The trip can be organised through the Mountain Hostel in Manizales. You get a taxi at 4.15am which costs about 4000 pesos. This takes you to a carpark from where the milk truck leaves. You get on the milk truck and stay on it until it returns to Manizales at about midday, giving the drivers 20000 pesos for your passage. The truck goes up to 4000 metres, and follows a road along the very edge of the park. Along the way the truck stops at many farms to pick up milk from farmers. It's very cold and wet up there, the vegetation is unique, the cows and horses are fat and happy (although extremely damp) and the farmers look like they live a pretty tough and inhospitable existence. Also along the way you can see old lava flows, white sulphur laden streams flowing down the mountains, hot springs, and from the last farm, a perfect view of the cone of Nevado del Ruiz itself - covered in white snow which is sprinkled with black ash. Therefore, via the milk truck you can appreciate high altitude scenery similar to the park, and see the volcanos / snow / ash all without having to pay entry to the park or really put in any effort with your legs. Nothing is perfect however. The milk truck is clapped out chiva type thing with it's exhaust pipe rigged on the top of the front passenger side cabin (there are no windows). Due to the slow speeds of the truck, hard grind up hills and fickle breezes, you will be breathing in thick, nauseating and likely cancer causing diesel fumes for the more than 7 hours of the trip. The superb view of Colombia's most deadly volcano kind of offsets the misery of sucking on one of Colombia's most deadly exhaust pipes though!