Day
1
ARMENIA
Upon arrival in Colombia, you will be transferred to your hotel. Enjoy the remainder of the day at leisure to explore and acclimate to the altitude.
Day
2
ARMENIA I FILANDIA I SALENTO I COCORA VALLEY I ARMENIA
Start the day with breakfast at your hotel then depart for Filandia, a colorful and traditional Colombian village. Then it’s on to Salento, scarcely changed since its founding in 1842. These countryside villages of adobe houses and clay-tiled roofs offer a stage-like setting complete with cowboys on horseback. After Salento, we continue to nearby Cocora Valley for lunch at a local restaurant. Savor a delicious meal before a leisurely walk in the lush valley where you will see beautiful orchids and bromeliads, as well as the remains of pre-Columbian tombs and dwellings. Along the way, check out the Wax Palm, Colombia’s national symbol known for growing to nearly 200 feet in height. (B,L)
Day
3
ARMENIA
Rise and shine with breakfast at your hotel and get ready to venture out into nature. An astonishing variety of colorful flora and fauna thrive in the Coffee Region, and a visit to the beautiful Botanical gardens in Calarca is a must. The Quindío department presents a wide collection of trees, plants, and insects. Here the butterfly house within the garden is home to thousands of stunning iridescently colored butterflies. Outside the butterfly house you will find many kinds of heliconias and ferns, as well as a great variety of the 235 different palm species that grow in Colombia. Walk through the thick bamboo forest and admire the tall Guadua species of Bamboo. (B,L)
Day
4
ARMENIA
Power-up with breakfast at your hotel before embarking on a zip-line canopy tour adventure, an exhilarating way to see Colombia’s landscape and agriculture from high above. Safely fastened into a harness, you cast off an elevated launching deck and let the cables whisk you over the deep, lush gullies of coffee and banana trees to the next elevated deck. On landing, your guide will remove you from the zip line, and you proceed to the next launching deck for more action. (B,L)
Day
5
ARMENIA I CORDOBA I PIJAO I BUENA VISTA I ARMENIA
After breakfast, visit the settlements of Córdoba, Pijao, and Buena Vista. Drive through lush green hills and valleys to arrive first in Córdoba. Here, many of the locals work on the steep slopes of the coffee plantations. The club is a great place to enjoy a coffee while watching the elders play billiards. Next it’s on to Pijao. Enjoy a leisurely walk in the main square that serves as the local “hot spot.” Next, break for lunch at a restaurant in town before heading to a nearby hacienda. Coffee haciendas build their entire existence around the germination, classification, and preparation of coffee. Here, you will learn about the art of cupping, the tasting and classification of flavors, as well as aromas, and bodies of different types of coffee beans. You will also be able walk around the plantation and nursery and learn how the plants are grown and cultivated before reaching the cup. At the end of the day you will be an expert in Colombian coffee. (B,L)
Day
6
