Most beautiful towns in Tolima to visit near Ibagué

Honda is two hours from Ibagué, to get there you must take the road to the airport and then take the Alvarado road to Mariquita. Also from the terminal, you can take a bus that takes you to the center of town. Coomotor is the only transport company that has a route there, it leaves at 7:00 am and the bus ticket costs 21,000 Colombian pesos (6 dollars). Honda is considered a Colombian heritage town thanks to its architectural and cultural treasures. It is enough to walk its streets to appreciate its colonial architecture since many were made of stone. This town is also recognized for its fishermen, its bridges that cross the Magdalena River, and for La Calle de las Trampas, a famous site in Honda where the Viceroys of Spain lived.

Melgar is an hour and twenty minutes from Ibagué. To get there you must go by the variant of the exit to the west, continue through Girardot and 15 minutes away is the entrance to the town of Melgar. It is known for its swimming pools, due to a large number of spas and large hotels that are located within the municipality. In addition, its climate is tropical, where you will find an average temperature of 29.0 ° C, which makes it very desirable for both Tolimenses and Bogotanos due to its proximity to each one. Melgar also has areas for extreme sports.

Fresno is two and a half hours from Ibagué taking the same road to Honda but in Mariquita taking the opposite road. It is a town located on a large mountain which means that its temperature is an average of 20.0 ° C. Previously it was surrounded by Fresno tree and many inhabitants say that is the reason for its name. Fresno is known for its festivals in honor of Tolimense music.

El Espinal is one of the closest towns to Ibagué, it is an hour away and to get there you must take the railroad avenue to the east. It is a town that celebrates many festivals throughout the year and its main festival is that of San Pedro. Being close to Girardot makes it a highly visited destination by both Ibaguereños and Bogotanos. If you have time, before going to this town, we recommend that you take a detour for a few hours to the Payandé Waterfalls; In the variant, take the route to San Luis to reach the town of Payandé and for the return, you must return along this road because that road only takes you to a town called Guamo.

Due to its geographical location, you can find different destinations and tourist attractions in Tolima such as landscapes and ecosystems for ecotourism, where you can also practice some high-risk sports. There are also museums, churches, and streets that are Colombian heritage tourist places; that is why I leave you a list of the most important tourist sites in Tolima to visit:

• Toche Tolima. It is where the largest reserve of wax palms in Colombia is located.
• The 7 waterfalls of Payandé. It is one of the most visited tourist sites in Tolima due to the height of its waterfalls.
• Cerro Machín.
• The Combeima canyon.
• San Jorge Botanical Garden.
• La Cabaña Hot Springs in Murillo
• The Tolima Orchids Nature Reserve.
• La Cabaña Hot Springs in Murillo. One of the entrances to Los Nevados National Park.
• The Street of Traps. It is a colonial stone street where the viceroys of Spain lived.
• The Prado dam in Prado.

In the department of Tolima there are 8 natural areas protected by the National Natural Parks of Colombia that are ideal for ecotourism such as bird watching and hiking.

It is important that to enter these areas you do it with a guide certified by the same entity:

• The Beautiful.
• The snowy one.
• Animé.
• Chillie.
• Hills of the North of Ibagué.
• Hacienda el Triunfo.
• Cerrobravo.
• The Drum.
• Vallelargo.

Although Tolima is not one of the departments with the greatest biodiversity, you can find 655 wetlands between lakes and lagoons, mainly in the páramo area. There are also some 523 species of birds that are 27% of which can be found in Colombia, 98 species of mammals among which is the Andean Bear, and some 104 species of reptiles are equivalent to 17% of those that can be found. throughout the country.

The Tolimense gastronomy It shares typical dishes from other departments but with different ingredients and preparation methods, which gives them a flavor typical of this area. When you visit any of the municipalities of Tolima you must try the suckling pig from Tolimense, the tamale from Tolimense, the sancocho de gallina, the oatmeal, and the achiras.

The culture in Tolima is closely linked to the autochthonous music of Colombia, which is why every year you can go to different festivals that take place in the towns of Tolima during different times of the year. Among the most famous are the Colombian Folk Festival, National Tribute, the Garzón Collazos national duet contest, and the San Pedro Festival in Ibagué during June.