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Municipality and town in Colombia
Photo: Suplecol, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Nestled in the hills of Colombia’s Zona Cafetera, Salento is a charming and tranquil town in the Quindío department. While its cobbled streets and colorful colonial architecture offer a peaceful escape during the week, weekends and holidays transform it into a lively hub, as visitors from nearby cities like Armenia and Pereira pour in to soak up its scenic beauty and local culture.
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Decent mountain bikes are available for hire here, from COP$8,000 for an hour to COP$35,000 for a full day. There are a whole range of trails around the area, providing something for everyone from relative beginners to those who want something a bit more technical. Some of the trails afford some spectacular views across the area and the coffee plantations.
Take a beer at Bar Danubio with the local people, always friendly and open to meet new people.
A very nice, artisty place with a small but delicious menu. It is highly recommended for dinner or coffee or drink after dark. There is even a fireplace with benches to sit around.
Excellent, cozy coffee house, with - obviously - locally grown coffee. The cappuccinos are especially great, and the chocolate cake is incredible. If you like to chill out in a comfy bar, this is the place to be.
Traditional Patacón con Trucha (Trout with a kind of Fried Banana), Set lunches (As for the "Menú del día", cheap option for lunch), Other types of typical food.
This place has a long history, for over 100 years it has remained practically the same. You can even see the owner, a 93-year-old man, who sits every day at the table close to the entrance and is still in charge of the Bar. A great place to have a beer or a coffee, with traditional music and meet local people. The Bar is equipped as well with Pool and Billiard tables.
Run by Colombian man named Ruben Escobar.
Quiet place 500 m away from the town center. Spacious, couches and hammocks, outside space, computer. Quality breakfast served from 7 to 10, free coffee and tea available all day long. Tourists advice.
Don Elias is the owner of a coffee plantation. It offers only one bedroom that fits up to 4-5 people, with clean facilities and a private bathroom. Price is COP$15,000 per person per night. Don Elias offers coffee tours in Spanish for COP$5,000 per person, with a cup of truly homemade coffee (from grain to cup) at the end. Ask around Salento for Alexis, the gentleman with the mototaxi, and he can take you there for COP$8,000 (up to three people for this price). You can always just go to Don Elias' plantation for the coffee tour, which is COP$5,000.
A quiet place, not yet discovered by the backpacker crowd. Run by a friendly Spanish-Colombian team, this hostel provides cozy, wooden floor rooms with clean bathrooms and steaming hot showers. The owners have good knowledge about the region. Breakfast is included and is, for once, not a synonym for cheap cereals or eggs and arepa.
Warm welcomes. Colombian owned. Great tourist advice. Free coffee.
Hostal Tralala Salento is in a typical Paisa house that has been completely renovated up to modern standards. There is room for 21 guests in 5 double rooms, a dorm for 3, and a dorm for 8 persons. Has two well equipped kitchens, a garden with sun terrace, a TV lounge with lots of quality DVDs and showers with steaming hot water. The beds have quality mattresses, soft pillows, white linen and comfortable duvets. All guests get a towel and there are personal lockers in the dorm. The atmosphere is warm and personal.
Finca that is located 1.5km outside of Salento. This place breaths quietness amidst slopes of farmland. The hostel is beautifully decorated, has a cozy living room with couches and the owner has an excellent music selection playing through the old speakers. There is also a large movie and book (English and Spanish) selection. Call the owner on his cellphone for a pick-up from Salento or let them pay the Jeep (COP$6,000 from the main square) when you first arrive there.
Nice hostels with big gardens - one dormitory style, one with private rooms. The hostels offer kitchen use, fireplace, free coffee, laundry facilities, bookswap, mountain bike rental and have good trekking maps of the nearby parque Los Nevados and a map of Salento showing restaurants, supermarkets, etc.
3 km on the way to la Finca de Don Elias this colorful, Columbian run hostel has a spacy dorm with 5 beds and two private rooms, a quiet surrounding and wonderful views. Dorm COP$18,000, private COP$26,000.
Two bus companies—Expreso Alcalá and Cootracir—provide service to Salento, with arrivals and departures on Carrera 2 between Calle 4 and Calle 5.
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