Salento is one of the Colombian Heritage towns that you must visit. Start by arriving at the Plaza de Bolívar, which is the main part of the town. Around there are establishments of all kinds such as the mayor's office, restaurants, hotels, hostels, places to drink coffee, and the church.
Next to the park, you find Calle Real, it is an exclusively pedestrian street (on weekends) where you will find different shops of artisans, artists, or collectors of all kinds. It is ideal to buy a souvenir, have a red wine or enjoy the different products that have been made based on coffee, and at the end of the street are the stairs to the Mirador.
Another plan is to visit El Valle del Cocora, is a natural reserve where the wax palm grows and the entrance is 15 minutes from the town center. The walk to the valley from the entrance can last about 4 hours, so we recommend you wear comfortable shoes and bring good hydration.
The nights in the town or its surroundings are very cold and the sky is clear, so another of the plans to do in Salento is camping. There are country farms before the town or at the entrance to Valle de Cocora, which have special areas with bathrooms and showers. Within the Valle de Cocora camping is prohibited.
Salento tourist places
In this list, you will find the main tourist sites to visit in Salento. Click on the name of the place or the image for more information. Within each one we leave you a guide on how to get to them, we also share a map with the exact location of each one, what to do, and the average costs.
Cocora Valley
The Valle de Cocora is a natural national park located 25 minutes from Salento. We tell you how to get there, its climate and what to do in the park.Leer más del sitioLa Patasola Nature Reserve
The La Patasola Nature Reserve is a humid forest ecosystem, located on the La Betulia farm, 10 km from the Boquía village in Salento.Leer más del sitioTierra Prometida Agroecological Park
The Tierra Prometida Agroecological Park is a theme park in the middle of a tropical forest. We tell you how to get there, the hours and the entrance prices.Leer más del sitioSanta Rita waterfall
La cascada de Santa Rita está ubicada a 4.8 km de Salento en la vereda Boquía. Les compartimos cómo llegar desde Salento, tiempos y preciosLeer más del sitioCalle Real Salento
Calle Real is the name by which the sixth race in Salento is known. Its section begins from the center of the town with the Plaza de Bolívar and ends at the foot of the Alto de la Cruz hill.Leer más del sitioHow to get to Salento?
To get to Salento Quindío from Armenia you can only do it by land and you must go to the road to the north of Armenia with the road to Pereira, continue on this road for about 20 minutes, and turn right at the crossroads towards the town, there is a large sign that says "Salento" before the fifth return.
After this detour, the town is 20 minutes away, it is a single road that takes you to the entrance of the town and that same road also takes you to Valle del Cocora. From Armenia to Salento there are no tolls and the approximate travel time is 40 minutes to the town center.
If you want to get to Salento from Cali by car or from cities in the south of Colombia, you must first reach Armenia and cross it to get to the northern highway, since no variant allows you not to enter the city. If you want to get to Salento from Ibagué, you can take the Ibagué-Armenia variant but you must take it before reaching Calarcá, so you don't have to enter the city.
To get to Salento from Pereira by car, you must take the exit of the city that is located by the Pereira transport terminal and get to the return of Boquia which is about 45 minutes away, there you will find the crossroads to go to Salento. If you want to visit Salento from cities to the north such as Medellín or Bogotá, you must get to Pereira and cross it since there is no variant for the route to Boquia. From Pereira to Salento there is 1 toll and it has an average cost of 14,300 Colombian pesos (it would be a little more than 4 dollars).
How to get to Salento by bus?
If you want to arrive by bus, you can do it from the transport terminal in Armenia. Two transportation companies go directly to Salento, Expreso Alcalá, and Cootracir. The value of the ticket is 4,700 Colombian pesos (it would be a little more than a dollar) and buses leave every 40 minutes from 6:00 am to 8:00 pm.
If you want to go from Medellín to Salento by bus, you must first get to Pereira and then from the Pereira transport terminal take a bus from the Expreso Alcalá company, it is the only transport company that goes directly to the town from Pereira. The value of the ticket is 7,500 Colombian pesos (it would be about 2 dollars), buses leave every 30 minutes from 6:30 am to 7:30 pm and the arrival time is approximately one hour from Pereira.
How to get to Salento from the Coffee Park?
If you are in Parque del Café you do not have to go back to La Tebaida and then go to Armenia and cross it, you can take another route that we tell you below. When you leave the park, do not turn back, continue straight in the same direction you came in, this road takes you to the municipality of Montenegro.
When you arrive you must cross it, it only has one exit, then continue on that same road towards the municipality of Circasia, the road is a bit narrow and if you go at night it is not very illuminated but it will save you a lot of time. They cross Circasia and arrive at the main road Armenia - Pereira where the detour to Salento is only 5 minutes away once they take the road. The arrival time to Salento from Parque del Café is 50 minutes by this route.
Country hotels in Salento
In Salento and its surroundings, you can find different types of accommodation. Before reaching the town there are hostels and country estates with exotic lodgings in cabins and camping areas. Within the town, you will find hotels that preserve the colonial aspect of the town and offer individual rooms. Also towards the Valle del Cocora you can stay in farms that offer rooms, camping areas, and restaurant service. In this area near the valley, you can camp but it is not allowed to make bonfires due to an initiative to protect the wax palm.
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