To get to Valle de Cocora from Salento you must go to the main park of the town or also called Plaza Bolívar de Salento. There you must get on one of the Jeeps that work as microbuses, this transport leaves every hour, it takes you to the entrance of the Reserve and the ticket has a cost of 3.600 COP per person. The journey to Valle del Cocora is twenty-five minutes for a distance of 25 kilometers.
If you want to get to Valle del Cocora by car you must take the second road in Salento, this is the only way to the entrance to the wax palm reserve. The road is a single carriageway but it is completely paved so if you go by small car you will not have a problem. When you get to the "Y" you must continue along the path to the left where the slope begins. The perfect guide to know that you arrived at the entrance to Valle del Cocora is at the end of the paved road, there you will find hotels that also serve as parking lots where they charge you 4,000 Colombian pesos (1 dollar) for staying all day, although if you eat in their restaurants they do not charge you for parking.
The Cocora Valley is considered one of the most representative tourist sites in the coffee region because it is the main home of Colombia's national tree, the wax palm, and also because of its great diversity of flora and fauna. The best thing you can do in the Cocora Valley is to walk through its mountains where the Wax Palm abounds.
At the entrance to the valley, you will find restaurants, country hotels, and horse rental service in case you do not want to walk through the valley.
You must keep in mind that the Valley is part of the Los Nevados National Natural Park, therefore there is no cost to visit it and you can also enter with your pets. Camping, bonfires, and the entry of drones are prohibited to preserve the Condor of the Andes. Its climate is very varied, there are moments in the day when the sun is very strong and suddenly it starts to rain inclemently, but at night if it is very cold, for this reason, we recommend you go warmly dressed.
There are two roads to the Valle de Cocora where the Palmas de Cera reserve is located. The first is to continue in the direction of the road to lead directly into the valley and the second is to turn right after passing the Acaime Natural Reserve - Casa de Los Colibríes and start a circuit through nearby paths along a path of trees, bridges, and rivers to reach the valley through the upper part of the mountains.
In the Casa de Los Colibríes, you can do bird watching and drink delicious panela water with cheese (admission costs $5,000 per person).
The complete tour of the valley can take you all morning, it lasts between 6 to 7 hours more or less and it is best to do it with one of the guides that you find at the entrance. But if you want to make a shorter plan and see an incredible landscape; There is a private farm that charges access to one of its mountains where there are 3 viewpoints to see the giant wax palms of Valle de Cocora. The walk through this place is only 60 minutes, the mountain is not that big and it is where the famous swinging wings are located where travelers usually take a picture. The entrance cost 5,000 Colombian pesos and it is 5 minutes from the end of the paved road.
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