Villages of Quindio, Colombia

Quindio is a department in Colombia's lush coffee growing region, along with Caldas and Risaralda. It is known for it's mountain landscapes, coffee farms, the national coffee park and the Cocora valley with its towering wax palm trees.

The department is a tourist destination offering several charming villages known for their architecture, coffee culture and stunning landscapes.

Salento, Filandia, Pijao, Buenavista, Genova are small towns emersed in stunning natural landscapes and are part of the UNESCO World Heritage site known as the Coffee Culture Landscape of Colombia.

                                      A jeep heading from Salento to the Cocora Valley

Salento, a picturesque colonial town, is the main tourist destination of Quindio known for its traditional architecture, cobblestone streets and as a gateway to the Cocora Valley. It is the most visited village in the coffee triangle. Visitors can explore the town's charming streets and local coffee shops and handicrafts and take a day trip to the Cocora Valley for an unforgetable hiking and stunning natural scenery.

In  the town one must visit the street called Calle Real which is the main street lined with colorful colonial buildings, arts and craft shops an local restaurants. Climb to the Mirador for a panoramic view of the town and the surrounding countryside.

Cocoro Valley is a stunning natural area just outside of Salento. It is home to the tallest wax palm trees in the world reaching heights of 60-70 meters. These towering palms  are Colomia's national tree.

The valley is just a  30 minute jeep ride from the village with jeeps leaving from the main square.  The Cocora Valley loop is considered a hard hike that covers 6 miles with an elevation gain of 2,312 feet. It's a good trail and  takes about 5 hours to complete but one could hike up the mountain for an hour or two and return. There is a park near the entrance of the valley called El Bosque de las Palmas with good views of the palm trees for those who don't want to do the hike. The first two entrances are for the park and the third is for the valley. Entrance to the park is 20,000 COP or $5.

                                                   The main square of Filandia

‍Filandia is a charming town and much less touristy and more peaceful  than Salento.  The town is known for its well-preserved colonial architecture, colorful buildings and a very vibrant arts and crafts scene with dozens of craft stores selling handmade products, textiles, potterry and jewelry.

The arts and crafts explosion in Finlandia happened in just the last few years. Previously the village  was was just another sleepy village near Salento. It became an alternative destination to Salento for people seeking a quiet town to visit minus  the tourist onslaught of Salento.  Artesans started opening shops there and today there are dozens of art and craft shops. The town has become a tourist destination in its own right with the holidays and weekends being almost as busy as Salento proper.

Filandia is located about 26 kilometers from Armenia and buses are available from major cities like Pereira.

‍

Pijao a small town of 10,000 people  an hour's bus ride south of Armenia. It is considered one of the most beautiful villages in Quindio.  It's a relaxing town with a cool climate. There are several hostels in town around the main square, a number of coffee shops, a wine shops and lots of artisan stores lining the village streets.  

There are hiking, biking and horseback riding excursion departing from the village with a number of waterfalls and cofffee farms to visit.

‍
Pijao is known for being the first town in Colombia and the first in all of Latin America to join the Citta Slow (Slow City) movement which was founded in Italy. A small town of 10,000 people  an hour's bus ride south of Armenia. It is considered one of the most beautiful villages in Quindio.

It's a relaxing town with a cool climate.  There are several hostels in town around the main plaza, a number of coffee shops, a wine shops and lots of artisan stores lining the village streets.  There are hiking, biking and horseback riding excursion departing from the village with a number of waterfalls and cofffee farms to visit.

‍
Buenavista is small town located on a hilltop and  known for its spectacular panoramic views of the surrounding mountains and valleys. The area's natural beauty is perfect for nature lovers and photographers with opportunities of hiking and exploring the heart of Colombia's coffee region.
There are a number of hotels and restaurants in town.  But the town itself  can be enjoyed during a quick morning of afternoon visit.

Montengro is a town in the western part of Quindio near the Parque del Cafe (Coffee Park).  It's a coffee town best known as a base to explore the Coffee Park which is a popular coffee themed amusement park.  There is a nice museum at the entrance to the park with exhibits explaining the history and development of Colombia's coffee industry. A trail down the valley through coffee and bamboo fields leads to the amusement park with cable cars taking one back up to the entrance.

‍
I explored other villages in Quindio that are promoted as tourists destinations like Quimbaya, Circasia and Cordoba but just found them  to be big little towns.  They were all safe and had nice town squares with plenty of hotels and restaurants but nothing really of compelling interest  to make them a must-see destination.

‍
Genova is  another fascinating little village  up in the mountains of southern Quindio. It is a tranquil, off-the-beaten-path experience. It is a coffee producing town known for its stunning landscape and high quality coffee beans.  There are buses leaving from Armenia but the trip takes 2.5 hours up a small, windy road. There are a couple little hotels in town and unless one wants to spend most of the day on a bus traveling windy roads  it would be best to spend a night in the town.

‍

‍