Review Of The Nevado De Santa Isabel Glacier Hike Near Pereira, Colombia

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When I was living in Pereira, Colombia I spent most of my weekends out exploring the country, including doing one of my most adventurous tours hiking up to the glacier of Nevado de Santa Isabel. Although there were a few complications, the hike was strenuous, there was a scare on the descent, and I got a headache, this hiking tour up to the glacier still remains one of my favorite bucket list adventures.

❌ The Downsides Of The Nevado de Santa Isabel Glacier Hike

Although there are a few downsides to the Nevado de Santa Isabel glacier hike, none of them make this hiking tour not worth it in my opinion, but here are some things to consider before booking yourself a tour while visiting Colombia:

The Hike Can Be Hard

The hike up to this glacier can be pretty strenuous, especially because of the altitude.

The hike up to the glacier isn’t the longest hike I’ve ever done, but it was pretty steep almost the entire time, plus the altitude is very high, so it may be too difficult for some.

When I arrived at the base of the hike, there was a large group of us waiting to take the first steps up the mountain, but in that very first incline, quite a few weren’t able to keep going so they basically paid to sit in the car and wait for everyone else to hike.

Rapid Altitude Changes

Not only is there a rapid altitude change when you hike, but the drive up there also goes up quite a bit.

From Santa Rosa de Cabal (the last little town on the way up from Pereira), the very bumpy drive takes around three or four hours, so before you even start the hike, you go up in altitude quite a bit just getting to the start.

Besides the steepness of the hike, I think many weren’t able to continue because of how much more difficult the high altitude made things (once you reach the base of the glacier, pictured above, the altitude is more than 15,000 feet).

Tough Weather Conditions

The weather conditions aren't always the best during certain times of year at the Nevado de Santa Isabel in Colombia.

I took my guided hiking tour up to the glacier of Nevado de Santa Isabel in the late winter/early spring time so I got to experience rain, sleet, snow, and fog on my expedition.

We weren’t able to stick around at the base of the glacier for very long because it started to snow and the guides wanted to get us back down the mountain safely. A smaller group of us set off on our descent, but it got so foggy that we couldn’t tell which way to continue.

Thankfully, the guides were on full alert and one came running down to us to help guide us so we didn’t fall off the mountain. It was a little scary, but great to know that the guides were very knowledgable and prepared.

A Tour Guide Is Recommended

Because navigating the glacier/mountain can be difficult especially in poor weather, it's recommended to only hike Nevado de Santa Isabel on a guided tour.

Because of the conditions of the mountain, a guided hike is recommended, but there are quite a few different companies that offer this kind of one day tour.

Because I was living in Pereira, Colombia, I stopped by a local tour company (Cattleya) in town to arrange my tour, and almost everything went great, but they did forget to pick me up on the way to the glacier so someone had to rush over and get me to take me to Santa Rosa de Cabal to meet the others and get in one of the jeeps (at least they came back for me 😬).

✅ Why The Nevado de Santa Isabel Glacier Hike Is One Of The Best Experiences In Colombia

Although hiking up to the base of the Nevado de Santa Isabel glacier can be difficult, this hike is one of my top recommendations for adventurous activities in Colombia.

Super Adventurous

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

From the three to four hour off road ride to the steep foggy hike and the snowy glacier summit, everything about this experience is super adventurous. I’d never done anything like this before and it still remains one of my top adventurous activities.

Great Workout

The hike up the glacier of Nevado de Santa Isabel is a pretty good workout.

Although the length of the hike isn’t super long, the steep incline combined with the high altitude makes this trek a fantastic work out. I was sore the whole weekend from this hike!

Awesome Nature Experience

Colombia has some of the best and most diverse nature that's very much worth exploring.

Colombia’s incredible nature is one of the main reasons I always recommend visiting this country, and the Los Nevados area is a beautifully untouched piece of it.

Unlike a lot of nature sites that turn touristy, the Los Nevados area remains very wild (like going to the bathroom on the side of the mountain kind of wild).

One Of Colombia’s Most Unique Hikes

Before moving to Colombia, I had no idea there were places with snow like this glacier.

While there are tons of reasons I think Colombia is worth visiting, the incredibly diverse landscapes and unique experiences you can have here are at the top of my list.

Before moving to Colombia, I had no idea you could find glaciers and snow here, but the Nevado de Santa Isabel hike gives you both of those (during certain times of year) and provides one of the most unique experiences Colombia has to offer.

➡️ If you really want to see snow but don’t want to hike to this glacier, there are a few other places in Colombia where you can hike to glaciers

🏔 My Experience Hiking The Nevado de Santa Isabel Glacier

My experience on the tour to hike up the glacier of Nevado de Santa Isabel started off a little rough in Pereira, but it ended up fantastic and one of my favorite adventures in Colombia.

As I mentioned earlier, I was forgotten by my tour so I had to wait on the side of the street very early in the morning (4:00am-ish) for a little while before someone came and got me

After meeting up in Santa Rosa de Cabal with the ones that forgot me, I jumped in one of the jeeps and we headed towards the mountains

The overall jeep ride was around three to four hours and it was incredibly bumpy most of the way which, combined with the early morning and continual altitude climb, upset my stomach a bit (usually I never have motion sickness issues)

We stopped for breakfast and hot chocolate, which they strongly encouraged to help with upset stomachs

Once we got to the base of the hike I had to use the bathroom really bad, but there were no more bathrooms or buildings around so I had to use the side of the mountain 🙃

A fairly large group of us started the ascent, but after just a few minutes, quite a few people couldn’t continue anymore

The overall hike up to the glacier didn’t take too long (no more than two hours), but we weren’t able to spend much more than 10-15 minutes at the top because it started to snow

To avoid a super muddy and rainy descent, the guides asked us to start moving down the mountain

After barely leaving the summit, it got really foggy and the group of us heading down couldn’t see where to go so we had to wait for the guide to run down and help us; they were really good about communicating with each other and making sure everyone stayed safe

As I got further down the mountain it did start raining and a lot of the ground started to get muddy so I hurried a little more (which probably didn’t help with the altitude changing headache I got)

➡️ Tip: If you love the way this adventurous hike sounds, don’t miss the Salento Valle de Cocora hike (also located in the Coffee Region), which I think is one of the most beautiful parts of Colombia and it’s not quite as strenuous

🔁 Sum Up: The Nevado de Santa Isabel Glacier Hike Near Pereira, Colombia

Despite being forgotten by my tour (thankfully they came back for me), getting a bad headache (from the rapid altitude changes), being incredibly sore afterwards (from the strenuous hike), and the slightly scary moment of fog and snow on our descent confusing the path (the guides were great about keeping everyone safe), the glacier hiking tour up to the Nevado de Santa Isabel remains one of my top favorite experiences (not just in Colombia, but anywhere), and I highly recommend it for anyone with an adventurous spirit.