Friday, November 11, 2016

Eje Cafetero: Pereira and Santa Rosa

Parque El Largo, Pereira

The Eje Cafetero region is a famous coffee growing region in Colombia. One of the largest cities in the zone is Pereira. The city itself is a large regional hub for visiting the more tourist oriented towns in the zone which usually makes Pereira just a quick stop off.

Pereira church

The town of Florida on the outskirts of Pereira is easily reachable by local bus and contains several short walks along the river and through a nature reserve.

The trail through the nature reserve

The trail is very flat and mostly along a dirt road through pretty farmland.

Farmland in Florida

Birds on a fence

Until you reach the river.
The river

Looking upstream

Another short trip from Pereira is the little town of Santa Rosa.

Santa Rosa is famous for its natural hot springs which are easily accessible by shared taxi (you catch them from outside the main market) and are open until late in tge night. Which is perfect for relaxing after seeing Santa Rosa's other attraction - San Vicente Falls.

The trail to the falls starts just outside of town (10 mins by taxi) beside the Don Lol restaurant.

View from the top of the trail

The trail heads down a steep valley through farmland until it reaches the bottom of the valley.

The trail heading down

And crosses the river over a rickety bridge.

Sturdier than it looks

The trail then heads up the other side of the valley

Trail heading up the valley

And through a canyon

The river flowing through the canyon

Until it finally reaches the waterfall

The waterfall

Top of the falls


The pool at the bottom

And after the 3 hr round trip, it's perfect to head up to the thermal pools to relax.

Santa Rosa hot springs

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