What Is The Salento Colombia Cocora Valley & Is It Even Worth Seeing?

Have You Heard About The Cocora Valley In Salento, Colombia, But Aren’t Quite Sure Exactly What It Is, What There Is To Do Here, Or If It’s Even Worth Seeing?

When I was living in Colombia, the first trip I took on my own was to the town of Salento because it wasn’t far from where I lived and because it was the place I’d heard the most about with it’s incredibly beautiful natural area, the Cocora Valley, so I can share everything I know about this amazing part of Colombia to help you decide if it’s worth adding to your itinerary.

🌴 What Is The Salento, Colombia Cocora Valley?

This was one of the most beautiful parts of the entire country in my opinion.

The Cocora Valley (Valle de Cocora in Spanish) is one of the most famous natural areas in Colombia because of the breathtaking Palm Tree Valley (pictured above) and the strenuous but rewarding hike you can take to get there.

I traveled to places all over Colombia (more than 20 locations), but the Cocora Valley was and still is the most beautiful natural area I’ve ever seen, and it’s what really makes Salento worth visiting.

📍 Where Is It Exactly & What’s The Best Way To Get There?

Salento is worth visiting to see what a typical small town in Colombia looks like.

Salento is a small town in the Coffee Region of Colombia, south of Medellin and west of Bogota. It isn’t the simplest place to reach compared to other destinations, but it’s not actually that difficult to get to, it just takes a little extra time.

The closest airports are in either Armenia or Pereira (I recommend Pereira since it’s the capital of the Coffee Region), and then you can choose one of these options for getting into Salento:

by far the easiest and most stress-free way to visit Salento from Pereira is to take one of the many available guided tours

Ubers, taxis, and private transfers are quick ways to get to Salento, but not the cheapest

if you’re comfortable with Spanish, using the currency, and navigating yourself, the cheapest and most local way to get there is to take the public bus; it’s really quite simple, all you have to do is go to the transportation terminal, find the booth selling tickets to Salento, buy one, and get on the bus

If you get to Salento on your own, to get to the Cocora Valley, you’ll have to take one of the Willy Jeep rides to get out there which you can find in the main town center.

🏞️ Is It Even Worth Seeing?

Salento is a cute small town in Colombia that's worth seeing on its own, but the Cocora Valley is what really makes this area worth visiting.

The Cocora Valley is one of the main reasons why I think Salento, and Colombia as a whole, are worth visiting, but I really love beautiful nature, rewarding hikes, and adventurous activities.

If you don’t think a palm tree valley, a long strenuous hike, or a small touristy Colombian town sound very interesting, then the extra time and effort it takes to get to Salento definitely won’t be worth it for you.

🥾 Everything To Know About The Salento Cocora Valley Hike

Salento, Colombia is a great place for adventurous activities and definitely worth visiting for nature and outdoor lovers.

I didn’t know much when I set out to explore Salento and the Cocora Valley, plus I didn’t have any cell service, so I really went in blind and had to ask my way around, which still ended up being great, but here are a few details that might help you prepare better for visiting this beautiful part of Colombia.

What Kind Of Hike Is It?

The Cocora Valley hike isn't easy, but it's beautiful and the best thing to do in Salento, Colombia.

There are a few different hiking trails out here and they’re not super well defined like most trails in the US, but the main Cocora Valley hike is a loop trail that I recommend doing counterclockwise so you end with the Palm Tree Valley.

I went on my own, did the hike counterclockwise, skipped the hummingbird house, and ended with the Palm Tree Valley, and I absolutely loved it, but I was super exhausted by the end.

What Is the Cocora Valley Hike Difficulty?

It is not an easy hike, but it's definitely worth it.

Compared to all the hikes I’ve done, I would say that overall the Cocora Valley loop hike is a hard to extremely difficult hike, because it is long and has a good amount of straight uphill hiking that can really make your legs noodley.

All of the views are entirely worth it in my opinion, but just be prepared for a strenuous amount of exercise.

What’s The Length Of The Valle de Cocora Hike?

Aside from stopping to catch your breath or look at the amazing views, the Salento, Colombia Cocora Valley hike takes a couple of hours.

Officially, the Cocora Valley loop trail in Salento, Colombia with the hummingbird house included is just over 7 miles (11+ km) in length, but I didn’t do the hummingbird house so for me it was a little less.

With the 6 to 7 miles (9-12 km) of hiking there is also an elevation gain of more than 2,500 feet (760+ m), so it’s not just the length that makes the Cocora Valley hike so difficult but also the steepness.

Is There A Cocora Valley Short Hike Option?

There is a way to get straight to the valley without hiking.

If you want to see the Cocora Valley and the Bosque de Palmas (Palm Tree Forest) but don’t have the ability or the time to do a strenuous hike like that, you can go straight (clockwise) from the main starting point of the hike, and you’ll run right into the Palm Tree Valley in about 10 minutes (just under 2,000 ft or 600 km).

📸 A Few More Cocora Valley Photos (that’ll make you want to visit)

The Salento, Colombia Cocora Valley is the most beautiful place in the country.

After taking one of the Willy Jeep rides outside of the town of Salento, Colombia and beginning the Cocora Valley hike, going counterclockwise, one of the first most amazing views you’ll see is this line of mountains and palm trees pictured above.

Salento is one of the most beautiful places in Colombia that's definitely worth visiting for nature and hiking lovers.

After crossing over the river and and spending a good amount of time hiking, you’ll eventually have to start making the really steep uphill incline, this is where my legs got really noodley, but at the top you’ll have views like this old dormant volcano pictured above.

➡️ Trying to decide where to visit in the Coffee Region? here is a comparison between Salento and Filandia to help you pick the best option for your trip

Once you reach the highest point, you’ll start heading back downhill towards the Palm Tree Valley and have incredible views like this one pictured above.

Aside from the Cocora Valley hike itself, the town of Salento, Colombia is really cute and worth seeing.

After you’ve finished the Cocora Valley hike, the town of Salento itself is one of those really cute and quaint small towns of Colombia so it’s definitely worth checking, wandering around, and seeing what else there is to do here.

🔁 Sum Up: The Salento, Colombia Cocora Valley

The Cocora Valley is one of the most beautiful places in Colombia (and I’ve visited more than 20 locations around the country), and it’s the main reason Salento is worth visiting if you love breathtaking nature, strenuous but rewarding hikes, and cute and quaint small towns.