How to Get to Valle de Cocora

Getting to Valle de Cocora from the United States is easy. You can fly into the Pereira airport directly from the United States from hubs like New York City or Miami. Expect a layover in Bogota or Miami, depending on your origin. The closest cities to the valley are Pereira and Salento.

Where to Stay:

Hotel Boutique Sazagua: This lovely hotel is the best place to stay in the region. With a lush lawn full of comfy lounge chairs, firepits, and hanging lanterns, a pool, spa, and a restaurant, you will be hard-pressed to leave the hotel. Rooms are large and rustic, with Colombian artwork and furnishings. The villa has a hot tub and fire pit; some suites have hammocks and other amenities. The hotel has plenty of places for lounging with snacks and wine.

What to Do:

Hiking: A visit to the Valle de Cocora will be the highlight of your trip! The hotel can assist you in arranging a guide, which I highly recommend. A guide will drive you to the Los Nevados National Park and lead you on a challenging hike through the stunning cloud forest in the valley, studded with the famous wax palm trees, the highest and most visually impressive palm trees in the world. A guide can also point out all the amazing flora and fauna of the valley and show you birds native to the area, including certain hummingbirds and parrots.

Visit the Plaza de Bolívar: On your way to the Valle de Cocora you will pass through this plaza in the Colombia town of Salento. Take a break here to admire the colorful buildings, peruse the small shops, and have a coffee or scoop of ice cream at one of the local cafes.

Coffee Tasting: No visit to this region of Colombia would be complete without a coffee-tasting session. Your hotel can arrange for you to do a coffee tasting at the hotel or can plan a day trip for you to visit a local coffee farm. Colombian coffees are medium-bodied and fragrant, with a hint of sweetness and nuttiness so that you can enjoy them black or with milk and sugar.

Spa Day: A day at the spa at the hotel is essential for your vacation. Enjoy massages and facials in the hotel’s spacious, peaceful spa, and afterward spend the afternoon at the pool. Staff will be more than happy to bring you cocktails and plantain chips with house-made tomato and avocado dips to enjoy while you relax.

Where to Eat at Valle de Cocora

Hotel Boutique Sazagua Restaurant: The hotel’s restaurant offers a wonderful outdoor dining experience with excellent service, delicious fare, and local cocktails. Breakfast was a dream, with fresh fruit, Colombia breads like buñuelos, cheese fritters made of cassava, and rice and beans topped with scrambled eggs. For dinner, enjoy empanadas, local soups, and grilled dishes.

Restaurante El Portal de Cocora: Close to the valley, this restaurant has epic views of the valley and tasty fare to give you sustenance after your hike. Enjoy patacones or fried green plantains with fresh salsa, stews, bread, salads full of local produce, freshly squeezed juices, coffee drinks, and desserts.

The Verdict:

The Valle de Cocora is a dreamy, wonderful place to visit. You will marvel at the wax palm trees, indulge in local treats like freshly fries patacones, enjoy local coffees, and appreciate Colombian culture.

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WHERE TO EAT

Let’s start with what’s important – the food! As you can tell from the list below, I spent my few days in Bogota eating and drinking. The tropical climate in Colombia lends itself to loads of fresh produce, which chefs utilize in their cooking throughout the country. Fresh fruit, corn, bread, and arepas are also sold in food carts and food stalls in local markets. 

Restaurant Black Bear: This trendy restaurant shows up on all the best restaurants in Bogotá lists and for good reason. With a light-strung patio and bistro dining room, the atmosphere is vibrant and exciting, the kind of place where you want to linger over a glass of wine for hours. And the food is nothing short of fantastic. For a starter, we opened with a brie fondue, spooned over meaty local mushrooms, and drizzled with truffle oil, sweet carrots, and beets garnished with goat cheese, almonds, and honey. Then, we moved on to cheese ravioli in a chunky tomato sauce and orzo coated in a creamy mole sauce. The only challenge was dessert: choosing between sticky toffee pudding, goat cheese cheesecake, and chocolate cake with a butterscotch sauce. My advice? Get them all.  

Prudencia: Truth be told, my lunch at Prudencia was my favorite meal while I spent a few days in Bogotá. The sun-kissed dining room, which was once a colonial-style home, is rustic and filled with the scent of freshly baking bread. The food is fresh, local, and vegetable-forward, with dishes like charred asparagus with poached pears and a strawberry curd, wood-smoked cauliflower served in a puddle of spinach puree, and melt-in-your-mouth homemade cheesecake with a silky dark chocolate sauce. The menu changes daily, depending on what is in season. You can find each day’s menu on their Facebook page. Located in the La Candelaria neighborhood, it’s the perfect place to have a leisurely lunch in between sightseeing. Just be sure to make a reservation – it gets booked up!

Restaurante Leo: Leo is one of Bogotá’s most famous restaurants, featured in San Pellegrino’s 50Best restaurants in Latin America list. The meal is not for the faint-hearted, as it involves all kinds of exotic local Colombian plants and ingredients (crocodile anyone?) but as a vegetarian, my tasting menu didn’t involve anything too weird and almost all of the dishes were divine. With hearts of palm, local cheeses, greens, and fruits it was a delightful gastronomic experience. 

Oficial: This elegant restaurant has all the hallmarks of a fine dining experience – excellent services, a great wine list, and a menu full of beautifully composed dishes. The cuisine is international; we sampled carrots with tahini and pistachio dukkha, grilled hearts of palm with pecorino cheese, and burrata stuffed agnolotti. A must while spending a few days in Bogotá.

Apache: Located on the top of the Click Clack Hotel in Bogotá, this glass-enclosed rooftop bar is the ideal spot for a pre-dinner, post-dinner, or even mid-afternoon beverage. Cocktails, wine, and beer are in abundance, and if you need a quick snack there are tacos, burgers, and fries.

Amor Perfecto: Colombia is known for its coffee, and Amor Perfecto is serving up mugfuls of it all day long. Not only does this coffee shop have amazing coffee and a cozy atmosphere, but it also serves delicious, cheesy arepas that are the perfect mid-afternoon snack. There are three locations of Amor Perfecto, so at least one should be close to wherever you are staying! 

What To Do While Spending a Few Days in Bogotá

Plaza de Mercado de Paloquemao: When spending a few days in Bogotá, you have to add the Plaza de Mercado to your list. This fruit and flower market is an absolute gem. Stroll through the market and peruse the stunning array of flowers and a wide variety of fruit. From guanabana to guavas to maracuya, plums, mangos, and more, you will go crazy sampling all of the exotic fruits. There are also stands selling buñuelos, which are small savory cheese balls, pan con queso, and arepas of all different flavors.  

La Candelaria: A visit to the historic district in Bogotá is a must. The cobblestone streets, Spanish colonial architecture, gorgeous street art, and art shops make the district an enchanting place to visit. You can also wander through Plaza Bolivar, where the city’s Palace of Justice, the National Capitol building, and the Cathedral of Bogotá are located. The Museo Iglesia Santa Clara is also worth a visit, it is one of Bogota’s oldest churches.

Botero Museum: Home to the artwork of famed Colombian artist Fernando Botero, this museum is free and a fun spot to visit. Botero’s artwork is interesting and at times comical, featuring women and animals in larger-than-life proportions.

Spending a few days in Bogotá: The Verdict

Bogotá is a delight! The city is rich in culture, hospitality, and vitality.

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About Isla del Encanto

Isla del Encanto is located in the Rosario National Park and it’s a 45-minute speed boat ride from the city. It makes a perfect day trip from Cartagena as you get to escape to a beautiful island surrounded by crystalline turquoise waters. The island serves as a private resort as well. Beyond the day trip, guests have the option to stay overnight in cute little cabanas. If we would’ve had more days in Cartagena, we would’ve looked into staying overnight. For the day trip, we paid around $70 per person (the baby was free). The fee included transportation from the hotel to the dock, lunch, boat ride, and other amenities at Isla del Encanto. More about the amenities here. Make note that there’s no transportation provided upon return. Return transport is a point for improvement, given the price point.

Getting to Isla del Encanto

We booked the tour with our concierge and were picked up early in the morning by van to go to the docks. Make note to bring cash to pay for a small port fee before getting into the boat. Our speedboat had around 30 people. We were traveling with la piccola so we decided just to bring baby carrier because the stroller would be to cumbersome. That was a great call. She was four months at the time but she did fantastic on the boat. We also appreciated the lady who was the leader of the tour group. She was very accommodating, even saving us a seat on the boat which provided the most shade for the baby.

The Experience

We loved the relaxed vibe of Isla del Encanto. There are options to go diving and snorkeling but since we had the baby we just lounged by the beach and pool. There are plenty of cabanas available that provide shade. A must if traveling with a baby! The beach was pristine with clear waters and very fine sand. After the baby had a very brief first dip in Caribbean waters, we moved to the pool area. We enjoyed frozen limonadas de coco (a very popular drink in Cartagena) and played with our picola in the pool.

This day trip from Cartagena offers a buffet lunch and some water sports for free. You can buy alcoholic beverages and other premium food items like lobster for an extra charge. Cocktails run around $3 per person. A steal if you’re coming from a city like Washington, DC. The service was impeccable: our waiter came often to check up on us, the tour leader was very accommodating, and nobody soliciting at the beach. It was the perfect environment for a relaxing day. The lunch was solid for a buffet. I particularly enjoyed the arroz con coco (rice with coconut) and fresh fried fish.

Day Trip from Cartagena: The Verdict

If you’re looking for a day trip from Cartagena with a gorgeous beach, great service, and plenty of activities, Isla del Encanto is the place for you. Isla del Encanto is appropriate for families, groups of friends, and even couples. We saw a bit of everything and it seemed like everybody was having a great time. Overall, great experience. The only point for improvement would be for the resort to arrange transportation back from the dock to the hotel.

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The Vibe

Four Seasons Casa Medina is located in the eastern city limits of Bogotá in the upscale neighborhood of Zona G (gastronomic zone). Although there are several other hotels nearby, it does not feel touristy. The streets behind the property are filled with modern homes, cozy cafes, and plenty of restaurants to choose from. Upon arrival, our front desk gave us suggestions for dinner. I was thrilled when I found out that Gaston Acurio’s Astrid y Gastón was located just a block away from the hotel. We had a fantastic dinner there our first night in Bogota. The location is quite accessible with short taxi rides to popular spots in Bogotá such as La Candelaria and Cerro de Monserrate.

The Service

The service at Four Seasons Casa Medina is unparalleled. I let them know ahead of time that we were traveling with a baby. When we got to our room, we were moved by the detail of the baby’s crib with beautiful bunny print sheets, baby toiletries and a teddy bear. This service is complimentary to all guests traveling with children. Our concierge also asked us if we needed any additional assistance for milk and food storage. It’s always great to see how a hotel goes above and beyond, especially when traveling with a baby. Besides how they treated our family, we were impressed on how attentive the staff was and how everybody addressed us by our names.

The Rooms

We stayed at a Grand Premier room. A gorgeously spacious room, it merges the classic with the functional. The touches are dark and woodsy, in tune with the colonial décor of the property. The room has a large luxurious couch that we loved to sit on in the morning and have a cafesito. The only point for improvement would be the lack of bathtub in this particular room. I was craving a soak after a long day of sightseeing.

The Food

We had breakfast at Castanyoles, the Spanish restaurant at Four Seasons Casa Medina. First of all, even if you’re not staying at the hotel, I suggest you stop by Castanyoles for a coffee or a meal, the space is stunning! The room is light and airy, lined with green vertical gardens. There, we had fresh Colombian fruit such as papaya, pineapple, and dragonfruit. All paired with a cafesito, of course!

Four Seasons Casa Medina: The Verdict

If you’re looking for a luxurious experience with unparalleled service, Four Seasons Casa Medina is the place for you. From the stunning architecture to the friendly service, it’s a hotel experience we will not forget.

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