Salento Colombia
SALENTO COLOMBIA
I fell in love with Salento
hard
The people were lovely
The scenery was beautiful
I loved our hostel
The coffee was top-notch
Ate some delicious food
I got to stare up at the worlds tallest palm trees
AND I learned how to play a game with explosions and beer
...what's not to love?
Salento is one of many colonial towns scattered throughout Latin America. It has the church, the large town square, the colorful buildings and cobblestone streets. To be honest, at a certain point they are all one in the same.
Salento was no different, BUT.. it boasted a unique landscape and charm that I couldn't get enough of. Between all of the things to do there, and the green hillside I could have stayed there much longer than the 6 or so nights I spent!
Looking back now, I seem to have very minimal pictures of the actual town and landscape, I think I was busy having such a good time!
Hostel
We stayed at the BEAUTIFUL and wonderful La Serrana Eco Farm & Hostel. It is a 20 minute walk outside of the city, which was so worth the view and peace and quiet. We chose to stay in the annex house, which had the most spectacular view of the surrounding coffee and avocado farm through the glass walls of the house.
Food
The owners of La Serrana own another hostel closer to town called Luciérnaga. I stayed there as well (had the most comfortable pillows and beds). But more importantly, attached is the most delicious restaurant (by the same name) in town. If you are in Salento a dinner stop here is a must!!
All of the Luciernaga restaurants ingredients come from the farm at La Serrana! We had a lovely dinner there. Zach, the bartender crafted us numerous amazing different cocktails. The cocktails, mixed with our steaks, dessert, and the wonderful service definitely made it one of the best meals I have had on the road. It was nice to treat ourselves after all of the pasta, bread and eggs I have been eating! We met up with Zach the next day at La Serrena and he gave us a tour of the greenhouse and farm. So fun!
Speaking of food...
PANCAKES!!!
Most delicious pancakes and look how cuteee! I got these pancakes TWICE, from a restaurant in town called BRUNCH, another must eat in Salento.
Other things we did around town..
Coffee tour! About an hour walk from our hostel there is a cute coffee farm. We headed there for a tour and some coffee, yum!
Visit the Tejo hall called Los Amigos. Head to one of these to learn how to play this traditional Colombian game!
It was kind of like Corn Hole.. but instead of throwing bean bags you threw lead weights, and instead of getting through a hole you tried to hit triangles filled with gunpowder making them explode.
Freaking awesome
My opponent was very much excited about making things explode while consuming beer and was the most gracious of all winners..
We also found a pretty cool pool hall in town. It was huge and definitely a boys club, out of the 30ish people there I was the only girl and I think we were the only tourists.
Cocora Valley
The highlight though was definitely that of the Cocora Valley! An awesome hike there leads you to the tallest palm trees in the world! They can reach up to 60 metres (200 ft) tall. It took us about 6 hours to complete the loop. It was a great hike, I did not anticipate it to be so diverse in landscape!! We hiked through forest, across rivers, bridges, up mountains, through fields and flowers, until we finally reached the palm tree valley. It's not a difficult hike, but it's not the easiest! There was something about this place that I just feel in love with. Not only was it a highlight of Salento, but a highlight of my South American travels in general.
About half way through the hike there is a hummingbird sanctuary you can visit and get some coffee, hot chocolate or food. The sanctuary doesn't have a lot to it, and its an extra charge but I enjoyed it. There were plenty of hummingbirds fluttering about!
In Salento town center you can find jeeps that will around the clock transport you to the valley!
Salento is definitely worth a visit!
There are plenty of cute coffee shops, bakeries, souvenir shops, and local restaurants to eat at. Some nights the town square had about a dozen food trucks too that were my favorite! Salento had lovely people who welcomed us with open arms. My favorite night was a night spent meeting a group of 4 Colombian friends who had us up and dancing in the streets with them, another bucket list item for me! Salento definitely made its mark as one of my favorite towns I have visited.
Thanks for the mems Salento, stay tuned for my next stop.. Ecuador ✌️
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