What To Do In Salento Colombia (What This Town Is Most Known For)

Planning A Trip To Salento, Colombia And Wondering What There Is To Do Here?

Salento was the first place I visited on my own during my time living in Colombia, and although I visited more than 20 locations around the country, it still remains one of my favorites because of a few of the interesting and beautiful things to see and do here.

🌴 What Is There To Do In Salento, Colombia?

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.

Although Salento doesn’t have as high of a number of things to see and do compared to bigger destinations in Colombia like Medellin, Bogota, or Cartagena, what it does have is pretty special so I definitely think it’s still worth visiting.

Here are a few of the top things to see and do in or near Salento, Colombia:

Cocora Valley
- incredibly beautiful natural area with hiking, biking, and horseback riding options
- I did the hike alone, following the Valle de Cocora to Acaime loop trail counterclockwise (skipping the Hummingbird House), and loved it
- there are also guided hiking tours available if that makes you feel more comfortable, plus there are many other hiking trails in the area

Calle Real
- the cute and colorful main street running through the town of Salento
- it’s a fun place to just wander around, shop, or eat
- when I was here, there were a couple of older men sitting outside one of the shops playing the guitar and singing

Cerro Mirador & Mirador de Salento
- a couple of viewpoints that give you beautiful views of the town and the surrounding nature
- it was a little hard for me to get up the stairs because I did it after the Cocora hike, but the views were great

Coffee Tours
- I’m not a coffee drinker (everyone here thought I was crazy), but Salento is in the heart of the Coffee Region so it’s the perfect place to explore some coffee farms (although you can still find coffee tours in other parts of the country)

Adventurous Activities
- other than hiking, Salento also has some other adventurous activities like mountain biking and horseback riding
- I didn’t ride here but I saw lots of horses that did not look well taken care of so be sure to choose reputable companies

⛑️ Is Salento, Colombia Safe To Visit?

Getting an Uber or taxi to Salento, Colombia might be the most expensive way to get there but it is the quickest.

Small towns in Colombia are usually some of the safest places to visit, and all of them that I visited (including places like Villa de Leyva, San Agustin, Santa Rosa, Salento and Filandia) as a solo female traveler felt quite safe, especially compared to the bigger cities.

Popular small towns like Salento also usually have a fairly high number of visitors, so they really cater to the tourists, and you definitely won’t feel like you’re the only one traveling here.

📆 When’s The Best Time To Visit Salento, Colombia?

Salento is a great place to visit anytime of year, because the Coffee Region has pretty year round spring-like weather, but there are wetter, rainier seasons which can make hiking and other outdoor activities a little more difficult.

You might prefer to visit in the drier months (January, February, July, August, and December) although they do still have an average of 10-15 days of rain each month so it’s not technically very dry.

🏨 How Much Time Do You Need In Salento?

I think there is enough stuff to do in Salento, Colombia for the day, but some like to stay over for a few days.

I think you can easily spend a day in Salento and explore pretty much everything this town has to offer, including the Cocora Valley hike (which is why there are so many day trip tours available), but a lot of people prefer to spend a couple of nights so it just depends on how much time you have and what kinds of activities you’re interested in doing here.

If you do choose to spend the night, Salento is a small town so there really aren’t a ton of places to choose from, but I’d just recommend staying as close to the town center as possible or finding a cute farm-style retreat a little outside of town.

➡️ Salento isn’t the simplest place to visit compared to some other destinations, but it’s not actually that difficult of a place to get to, it just takes a little extra time

🔁 Sum Up: What To Do In Salento, Colombia

Salento might not have as many things to see and do as some of the bigger destinations in Colombia like Medellin, Bogota, or Cartagena, but the options it does have are pretty incredible (specifically the Cocora Valley) so I think it’s entirely worth visiting to experience them.