I have been in Latin America since the beginning of the year and one Frequently Asked Question has been; which is your favorite country so far? And the answer has to be Colombia. Colombia, the name itself is enough to strike unease into most people, while the names Medellin and Cali conjure up images of narco terrorists, drug barons and murder on the streets. It’s not the sort of place where most people would think of visiting unless they absolutely had too, certainly not the sort of place you would want to go as part of your trip, but despite the negative press and the dire warnings on the websites of most Western Governments, travelers are visiting Colombia and in increasing numbers; so many in fact that three hostels have opened in Medellin alone in the last year to cope with the demand.
What they discover is a modern country untouched by mass tourism with colonial towns, world class archeological sites and stunning scenery. One such area is La Zona Cafetera, between Cali and Medellin, where most of Colombia’s coffee is grown, which has rolling green hills and a pleasant climate but is within sight of the High Andes.
One base for exploring this area is the town of Salento which has long been a favorite destination for Colombian tourists, with it’s small town feel, lovely architecture, craft shops and proximity to the stunningly beautiful Cocora valley, home to Colombia’s national ‘flower’, the Wax Palm – which can grow up to 70 meters tall. Here there are also easy walks and pony trekking into the cloud forest, which lies on the slopes of the high mountains. For more adventurous travelers it is possible to go high level trekking into the Pamamo, the unique ecosystem of the Northern Andes, staying in primitive Finchas along the way. This is what I did, climbing up through the hummingbird filled cloud forest to the Paramo, an ecosystem unique to this part of the Andes, its rather like high level grassland but with its own family of plants called Espeletia, members of the Sunflower family and which range in size from a few cms to 5 meters high.
One Englishman who fell in love with the Salento area was Tim Harbor who with his Colombian wife Christina, opened a hostel for backpackers called the ‘Plantation House’ in a country house on the outskirts of Salento.
Says Tim “I came to Colombia meaning to stay a week but stayed three months. I could see the potential for a backpackers hostel in the coffee region and bought the Plantation House a week after first seeing it”
Since the hostel opened over a year ago, Tim has had travelers from almost 40 counties staying with him, with ages ranging from 18 to 60.
“ I would say we have a more mature traveler staying here, people who can look beyond their governments warnings”.
Apart from Catagena, which has visits from cruise ships, Colombians see very few tourists so there is none of the hassle and hard sell that is often seen in other Andean countries. Most Colombians are very friendly and genuinely interested in meeting foreigners and this good news is being passed on by travelers. Also security is taken very seriously everywhere you probably in less danger of petty crime than anywhere else on the continent.
South of the Coffee zone is Cali is a modern and sophisticated city with good restaurants and shops and not a narco terrorist in sight.. It also has an excellent zoo with an outstanding collection of Latin American animals.
From Cali the road passes through spectacular Andean scenery to the Colonial University town of Popayan, which has really nice buzz, and some great cafes to sit and hang out in. Popayan can be used as base for visiting the statues close to the small country town of San Augustine. These statues are similar to those on Easter Island and are just as mysterious, no one really knows how put them up. They are scattered around on sites surrounded by beautiful countryside.
Of course bad things do happen in Colombia, and it is a highly militarized country. But if you listen to advice from the locals and always travel by day you should have no problems. If you’re planning to travel in South America don’t dismiss Colombia. I had a great time.
