Although most don't know it, it does actually snow high up in the mountains in Colombia.

Does It Snow In Colombia? (When & Where To Find Snowy Weather)

ByHaley Posted on
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Traveling To Colombia And Wondering If You Can Find Snow Anywhere In The Country?

Before moving to Colombia myself, I thought (and I think most people think) that Colombia was just a tropical rainforest, but after traveling around to almost every corner of the country, I found diverse landscapes, climates, and even a bit of snow up in the mountains.

❄️ Does It Snow In Colombia?

This is still one of my favorite adventures from my time in Colombia.

It’s doesn’t happen everywhere and it’s only high up in the mountains, but it does snow a little in Colombia.

When I lived in Colombia, I lived in the Coffee Region and one of my first major adventures was hiking up to the nearby Santa Isabel glacier. I got to see the snowy border of the glacier (at 15,396 feet or 4,693 meters high) and experience some snowfall while I was up there.

Most of the snow-capped mountains in Colombia stay that way year round because it’s about altitude not the season, but some do depend on the precipitation so the rainy season sometimes has better chances.

📍 Where Can You Find Snow In Colombia?

Although it's high up in the mountains, it does snow in Colombia.

Although it takes quite a bit of effort to see snow closeup in Colombia, if you like hiking and adventurous activities, here are a few places where you can experience some snow:

  • Sierra Nevada del Cocuy National Natural Park
    • located northeast of Bogota, not too far from the Venezuelan border
    • one of the most guaranteed snowy destinations in Colombia
    • the largest glacial mass in the country (more than 25 snowy/icy peaks with 2 mountain ranges)
    • local companies have more options or you can find some online like this one
  • Nevado del Huila
    • located in the southwest portion of Colombia, close to Cali, Popayan, and San Agustin
    • an active snow-capped volcano with glaciers and somewhat recent activity (it woke up after 500+ years in 2007)
    • it is the highest volcano in Colombia, peaking at 17,598 feet (5,364 meters)
    • despite it’s recent activity, you can still hike the Nevado del Huila but it is considered very difficult and there aren’t any available tours on popular booking sites like Viator or TripAdvisor

🏔️ The Los Nevados Santa Isabel Glacier

The Santa Isabel glacier in the Coffee Region of Colombia does have some snow.

Unfortunately, the Nevado Santa Isabel glacier is not expected to be around for much longer so if you want to see this glacier near the Coffee Region, time is of the essence.

When I went it was still very snowy and we had actual snowfall while I was up there so I definitely got lucky and had an amazing adventure, but it’s unpredictable nature so it could be different for you.

If you do still want to try hiking up to the Santa Isabel glacier, here are a few things I think are helpful to know:

How To Hike Up To The Glacier

You have to have a guide to hike most of these mountains.

This is not the kind of hike that you can drive to and do on your own, you definitely have to go on a guided tour.

And to be honest, I wouldn’t recommend going without certified guides because when I went, on the way back down the mountain it got really foggy and a few of us couldn’t tell where the right path was, so we had to stop and wait for the guides to come running down to communicate with each other and tell us exactly where to walk.

When To Hike Up To The Glacier

Most of these peaks in Colombia have snow year round.

Because the Santa Isabel glacier is expected to disappear from this volcano in Colombia, the best time to go to have a chance at some snow is during the rainy season (which is typically March to May and again from September to November in this region).

However, the rainy season can also cause closures, so most say that the best time to hike the Santa Isabel glacier is in the dry season from December to February and from June to August.

How To Be Prepared For The Glacier Hike

It is not an easy hike and the change in altitude can cause issues.

The Santa Isabel glacier hike, or any Colombia mountain hikes for that matter, is not an easy trek to make so it is important to be prepared. On my hike, multiple people couldn’t get past the first incline within the first 20 minutes so they basically paid to sit and wait for hours for everyone else to hike to the glacier.

Here are a few things I think are helpful to know before doing the Santa Isabel glacier hike:

  • to get to the start of the hike, it takes about 4 hours on an extremely bumpy road from the town of Santa Rosa de Cabal; it was very early in the morning (like 4:00am) so that combined with hours of a bumpy ride and the altitude change made my stomach pretty queasy
  • if you stop to eat breakfast like my tour did, try eating something and drink the hot chocolate even if you’re not hungry because it helps with the uneasiness and the altitude change
  • once you get to the base of the hike, there are no more restrooms so if you have to go, you have to use nature
  • the overall hike up to the glacier didn’t take too long (no more than two hours), but my group wasn’t able to spend much more than 10-15 minutes at the top because it started to snow
The hike up to this glacier can be pretty strenuous, especially because of the altitude.
  • if it’s the rainy season, the storms often come in the afternoon so getting back down the mountain before it starts to rain is important because it gets really muddy and slippery
  • if your guide lets you start heading back down the mountain on your own, do not keep walking if you’re at all unsure of the path; as I said before, a few in my group were heading down when it got really foggy and we had to wait for the guide to help us
  • although going up the mountain is strenuous, going down is not all that easy either because it’s pretty hard on your knees and you typically go down faster than you go up which can cause quite a bad headache due to the rapid altitude change

➡️ if these snowy hikes sound great to you, don’t miss the Salento Valle de Cocora hike (one of my favorites) or a few of these other adventurous Colombian activities

🔁 Sum Up: Does It Snow In Colombia?

Although most people might think that Colombia is just a tropical rainforest with a few coastline beaches, this country actually has a wide range of landscapes and climates, including a bit of snow high up in the mountains. It’s not something you can see everywhere in the country and it may not be here in the future, but for now, you can even hike up to some of these snowy areas to explore more of Colombia’s diverse nature.

Haley

Haley is the owner and author of Adventure Evermore, a travel blog that encourages users to explore, adventure, & bucket list around the world, no matter what anxieties or other difficulties they may have. When she's not writing blog posts about her favorite destinations, she's reading, playing soccer, or watching sports, movies, or TV (especially The X Files).