bosques de cocora

Squeeze in a jeep and then hike in a beautiful forest, wow so goodSome maos on the trail would be good but rhere are some signs as long as you know beforehand.Really good with views and fresh air

This hike was one of the highlights of our trip to Colombia. It was a little strenuous (we're in our late 60's) but so worth it. The views were incredible and the wax palms amazing. Don't miss this hike. Take plenty of snacks to keep you going. Bonus - There's a beer stop at the top!

Great hike in a gorgeous environment with impressive waxpalms. Don't skip on the 'casa del colibri'!

To go to Valle de Cocora, you must take a ride in a jeep with 8 or 9 others trekkies. I chose Jeep Willy's which is located in the Salento Parque. Valle de Cocora is an amazing location full of giant palm trees. The day I went the sky was cloudy and those clouds hung over the nearby mountains. As a photographer, I would have appreciated a blue sky because many of my shots produced hazy looking conditions. As I look back, I wish I'd have taken my hike on a horse because the trails are filled with very large rocks making walking difficult. I missed the hummingbirds on the lower trail but was rewarded with stunning views on the upper trail. Oh and if you go, make sure to rent boots from the rental place as you will be walking through streams and mud most likely.

The place is very beatiful, but the dropoff point of the willys is not the entry of the park or the Vale do Cocora. There isn't much information, after walking a lit bit futher we manage to find guides and have a very good short trekking, The Palms are amazing and the guides very helpful and full of knowlodge. There option of trekking and horseback riding, For us the the trekking is better you can reach some places the horse doesn't climb and some beautiful views.

A very energising walk and a great way to spend a day in Salento. As others have mentioned it is worth getting an early jeep from the town square out to the Valley as it is a lot busier later in the day, although we were there between Xmas and NY so there were lots of holidaying Colombians in the area too making it even more busier than normal.Note that to do complete the circuit going via the Hummingbird cafe, you do have to double back a little bit and pick up the sign to Finca las Montanas to continue the route. Its easy to follow and you don't need a guide.The views across the Valley of the Palms at the end is just breathtaking - nature at its finest!

Beautiful scenery from open valley surrounded by the tallest wax palm trees to forested trails with creeks running along side. Bring good shoes waterproof if possible a small towel if you have warm weather to go for a cooling swim. Can be a long day if you want to go to the top. A good challenge is to get to the hummingbird level and back or you can always take a horse then walk back.

Jeep ride from Solento square and up to Cocora. The walk starts along a valley and the route is hemmed in with barbed sire fences, hence only 4 stars. Then into the jungle, very reminiscent of low altitude Nepali trekking to the humming bird sanctuary. Back down the trail for a k to the junction. Good graded zig zags up to a house at the road end, very quick vac to Cocora..Views on the journey back were delightful.Not a wet weather attraction.

Colombia has lots of places with nature but Valle de Cocora is a great place to visit and to get great walks and views. I went there solo and also you'll meet for sure lots of young backpackers and good people. It is very safe and you'll not get lost there.

Amazing views, clean air, Colombian approach to drive you to on the old Willy's jeeps. Not much information on the route made us go wrong to the deep forest and 2900 metes above sea level. Valle de Cocora definitely is a must see in Colombia.

This is a really special place and you cannot miss out if you are in Salento. I think even the most world-weary traveller would find this valley and the stunning scenery really spectacular, the wax plams in particular are astounding and even after viewing several photos I wasn't prepared for how massive they are! We caught the 9.30am jeep from the main plaza in Salento, there are tons of jeeps leaving at this time. When you get there, there are some cafes and restaurants if you hadn't had time for breakfast. As you start the hike, the road branches to the right, we took this path and it took about 2 to 2.5 hours hiking through the valley, over rickety wooden bridges and streams and then steeply uphill through the woods to come out at Finca de la Montana. The view up here was spectacular with the clouds coming in. From there it's a really easy downhill hike into the valley with the amazing wax palms. We started at around 10.15 and took 45min break at the top of the mountain, spent ages taking photos and still made it back to the carpark at 2.45 for the 3pm jeep back. There are also jeeps at 5pm. If you want to skip the hike and just see the palms, walk straight ahead instead of taking the road branching to the right and you will come out in the middle of the palms in about ten minutes.

This place has the most beautiful views, very magical! Go for a horse back riding ride and enjoy the peace.

The hike is a must if you stay in the area. You don't need a guide, it's no problem doing this on your own. If you do the whole trek you need approx 5 to 6 hrs. The scenery is amazing and very diverse.It's not exhausting, anybody can do it. There is one part for approx. 30 minutes which is quite challenging (to Finca las Montanas).

We initially planned on only viewing the palm grove at the end of the village of Cocora but ended up doing the full trek which took us the whole day. This was because the change of scenery, from the palm grove, to beautiful view of the valley from high up the pass near La Montana, trekking through cloud forest on the way to the Hummingbird Sanctuary were simply marvelous.I highly recommend doing this trek anti-clockwise, that is, instead of turning right at the 'blue gate' and passing through the private trout farm, visiting the Hummingbird Sanctuary, etc., and saving the palm grove for last, go straight instead and visit the palm grove first, then walk up to La Montana, etc. This way, the trek up is much less strenuous because the incline is gradual. I think 90% of trekkers do this trek clockwise and we saw a lot of them struggling on the way up to La Montana which was very, very steep. Strangely though, if you enter the trek via the Palm Grove, you have to pay a fee of 3,000 COP. A visit to the Hummingbird Sanctuary is a nice detour. You also have to trek up a bit to reach the place which is why it is better to do this after La Montana instead of before (which is what will happen if you trek in the clockwise direction). The entrance fee of 5,000 COP gets you a free drink and piece of cheese. You can also order some small snacks here. However, I did not like the fact that you have to pay extra to use the toilets. They could easily have incorporated the fee with the entrance fee.

Everything was fantastic. An unforgettable trip. I want to come back. The guide was very well prepared and a great person.