Is It Worth Visiting Pereira Colombia (The Capital Of The Coffee Region)?

Planning A Trip To Colombia And Wondering If The Coffee Region Capital City Of Pereira Is Worth Visiting?

When I went to live in Colombia to teach English, the school I was given was located in the smaller town of Santa Rosa de Cabal, but I chose to live down the mountain in the bigger city of Pereira, and although it’s not the most exciting city itself, it’s the perfect place to stay to easily travel around the beautiful Coffee Region so I think it’s definitely worth visiting.

☕️ Is Pereira, Colombia Worth Visiting?

It's not the most popular city but it is close to the prettiest area.

Pereira gives itself the title of “the Capital of the Coffee Region”, so although some may not find the city the most interesting place to visit, the surrounding area is incredible (I think it’s the most beautiful place in Colombia) and Pereira is an easy place to reach to begin to explore it.

Compared to the more typical tourist destinations in Colombia like Medellin, Cartagena, Bogota, or even Cali, I think Pereira and the Coffee Region is way more interesting and definitely worth visiting for anyone that loves things like beautiful nature, challenging hikes, or gushing waterfalls.

The Main Downside

The city itself of Pereira, Colombia might not be worth visiting but the surrounding area is.

Although Pereira was my home and I got to know the city very well, I spent most of my free time exploring places outside of the city.

I did regularly shop and eat in the city, I went to a soccer game here, I saw the Colombian group Chocquibtown in the city center, and played FIFA a few times at a video game cafe, but other than that there really weren’t any other interesting things to do in the city of Pereira, Colombia.

Even looking at tour options for Pereira, Colombia you’ll see that most tours take you from Pereira to some other location, so the main downside for visiting is that there aren’t really any interesting things to do within the city, which might make it not seem worth the extra effort of getting to.

The Main Reason To Visit

Although Pereira itself doesn’t have the most interesting sights, the surrounding Coffee Region is one of the most amazing places to visit in Colombia, and staying in Pereira makes it super easy to explore all of it.

Pereira has a decent-sized airport with quick and easy flights from Bogota so it’s pretty easy to reach, and I think it’s the better choice for staying, over the city of Armenia, to easily go out and explore the rest of this region.

A Few Places You Can Reach From Pereira:

The nature surrounding this area is some of the most beautiful that I've ever seen.

Above is the beautiful Valle de Cocora (Palm Tree Valley) in Salento, Colombia just under an hour from Pereira. The town is that picturesque cute and quaint Colombian small town and there is an amazing hike here.

It’s really easy to reach on your own, or there are plenty of tours that will take you there from Pereira.

Pereira is the capital of the Coffee Region and the perfect place to explore many of the beautiful places in Colombia.

A little closer to Pereira you can still find some beautiful nature like at La Florida pictured above. On this hike, I saw a waterfall on the side of the road and even a monkey up in the trees.

In the town where I taught English just up the mountain from Pereira, there are multiple hot springs (the one pictured above is the main one).

You can easily and cheaply get to Santa Rosa from Pereira on your own in less than 40 minutes, or you can go on a guided tour.

Most of these peaks in Colombia have snow year round.

Although it’s a little more difficult to get to and requires a lot of effort, Pereira is the perfect place to be to reach the nearby glaciers at the Los Nevados park (the Santa Isabel glacier hike is pictured above) where you can actually find snow in Colombia.

The Santa Isabel glacier is rapidly losing its snow but it’s still a beautiful place to see, however there are more guided tour opportunities to the Ruiz glacier.

➡️ It’s also pretty easy to reach other locations from Pereira like Manizales, the Coffee Theme Park, and Cali

📆 How Much Time Do You Need In Pereira, Colombia?

Pereira, Colombia is worth visiting just to see the surrounding nature.

Since there isn’t much to do in Pereira, the amount of days you’ll need depends on how many places you want to explore in the Coffee Region.

I suggest not missing Salento or Santa Rosa de Cabal, so you could spend as little as three or four days in Pereira and still see the best.

🌧️ When’s The Best Time To Visit?

There is a lot of rain in the Coffee Region.

The Coffee Region gets a lot of rain, which is why it’s so lush and green, but that doesn’t necessarily stop any of the activities. It did seem to rain more often in the afternoons so when going out hiking, I suggest going as early as possible to try and avoid the thunderstorms.

If you want to try and avoid the height of the rainy seasons, I’d say visit December through March, but know that rain is still very common (average 12-16 days in these months). No matter what, I’d suggest coming prepared for the rain with proper shoes, rain jackets, etc.

🔁 Sum Up: Is It Worth Visiting Pereira, Colombia?

Although the city of Pereira itself isn’t the most interesting place to visit in Colombia (there’s not too much to do within the city limits), it’s location in the Coffee Region makes it definitely worth visiting to easily explore the incredibly beautiful natural surroundings (the city slogan is after all “the Capital of the Coffee Region”).