Is Cocora Valley Worth It?

Despite we are not a huge fan of touristic places we decided to go to Salento and discover if Cocora Valley is worth it.

We arrived in Salento unfortunately at the beginning of the rainy season (end of March) so wasn’ t the perfect timing to do the Cocora Valley hike. Anyway, we decided to defy the bad weather and face the 5 hours hike in this very tourist valley.

IS COCORA VALLEY WORTH IT?

We wake up at 7 and after our morning routine, we went to Salento main square.
Here we found a little booth where we bought our roundtrip ticket to go to Cocora valley. The cost of the ticket is 8.000 COP per person and the way to go there is by Willy, a colorful 4×4 car.
Every Willy can hold up to 15 people. The driver, two passengers in the front, 8 in the back and 3 holdings on to the roof rack. Guess who did all the 30 min road hanged outside?

• 

• 

• 

Once arrived at the drop off point we decided (as most of the people) to do the counterclockwise hoop hike. Even though this is the most difficult route, it is the best way to hike the Cocora Valley. It took us just about 5 hours to complete the loop. We had lots of stops for photos, videos and admiring the scenery. If you choose, like us, to do the hike counterclockwise. In this case, you will see the famous wax palms at the end of the loop.

• 

At the main entrance, we took our right and we enter through the blue gate. After a few meters, we found another entrance where we had to pay 2.000 COP each to enter into private propriety. Nobody told us anything about that but we didn’t want to complain so we paid and we kept walking.

Since the weather is unpredictable, after few meters we decided to snap a few pictures with a bit of sun. Check this out and decide yourself if Cocora Valley is worth it.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

At this time in the morning, the trail is almost empty. People start arriving more or less around 10 when the light is nicer and the weather warmer.

Halfway of the trail, we decided to take 1 km detour that led us at “Acaime La Casa de Los Colibris” (the house of the hummingbirds). Here we had a good cup of hot chocolate with a piece of cheese. To enter there is a fee of 5.000 COP but includes the hot chocolate. The name of the place is “the house of the hummingbirds” and the name speaks for itself. We saw so many hummingbirds then never before.

• 

• 

• 

• 

We made our way back to the sign and turn right. After a pretty steep trail, we finally reached the Finca La Montaña. The highest point of the hike. From here the famous wax palms are only 45 min away.

• 

• 

To have access to the wax palms look point we had to pay another toll, this time was 3.000 COP.

Here is where we realized that our trip to Cocora Valley was worth it. The palm themselves are just part of this magnificent experience. The blooming trees, the view of the entire valley, the dancing clouds in the sky, the suspension wooden bridges and the adorable hummingbirds made this hike way more exciting than we expected.

• 

• 

CONCLUSION

Even though Salento and the Cocora valley are very tourist places we strongly recommend this trip. Two or three days are enough to explore this lovely town and the valley. Yes, we think the hike to Cocora Valley is worth it.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

CHECK OUT OUR GALLERY ABOUT COCORA VALLEY

More Hikes: All You Have To Know About The Hike To The Acatenango

LOVE IT? PIN IT!