Coffee Region

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  Coffee Region landscape near Armenia

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  Wax palm trees

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  A worker on a coffee plantation

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  Coffee beans

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  Sacks of Coffee beans ready for export

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  Typical scenery from a coffee plantation

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  The church in Filandia

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  Admiring a high altitude wax palm 'forest'

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  Coffee plantation

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  The main street in Salento

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  Coffee plant

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  Cacao plant

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  Coffee tasting

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  Cocora valley

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  Salento

The beautiful hills that produce some of the world’s finest coffee are the heart and soul of Colombia

The Coffee Region is a delightful part of the country with quaint colonial villages, charming haciendas and valleys where thousands of lanky wax palm trees thrive in the cool mountain air.

A few days in Cali before or after visiting the Coffee Region, provides a good urban contrast, and a visit to a city which is also changing.

No one leaves Colombia without sampling a cup of the excellent local coffee. Here it is a lot more than a drink; a visit to a coffee plantation provides a great insight into the labour-intensive process of making some of the finest coffees in the world. From the bright green bushes see how the best beans are selected by hand before being processed, dried and roasted. It is not far short of a religion. Coffee tasting is an art similar to wine tasting and is a fascinating experience.

World Heritage landscape

Coffee plant But the Coffee Region is not just about coffee. The Coffee Triangle is not a city or a particular place. It is a beautiful blend of lush mountains, rich culture, and incredibly kind people. The triangle consists of three states: Quindío, Caldas, and Risaralda. This region sits high up on the western Andes mountain range, where the altitude, climatic conditions, and fertile terrain induce the production of what many consider to be the best coffee in the world.

Great walking, along with biking and horse-riding is on offer. Parts of the region were given UNESCO World Heritage status for their traditional coffee landscape. The area’s distinctive culture is alive in two charming colonial villages. Finlania is a very quiet sleepy village which has changed little over the years, while Salento has developed into a small touristic centre with no shortage of shops selling local handicrafts. Both are interesting in different ways.

Salento is on the edge of the Cocora Valley where you can see giant wax palms, the national tree and symbol of Colombia. These curious trees are only found in this region and are the tallest palm trees in the world, growing to a height of 50-60 metres (180 ft). Unlike most palm species, which live in warm lowland conditions, these trees prefer a cool climate and thrive at an altitude of 2,000 – 3,000 metres, or even higher.

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