Introduction
SALENTO AND FILANDIA
As plentiful as each grain of the softest coffee worldwide is the attractive countryside on this small and flourishing Department ( Province ) of Quindio, one of the newest in Colombia, in addition to a notorious growing in the last years. Right here the mountains look like lopped by an expert gardener’s hands, on the edge of a squandered region full of possibilities for tourism. Whatever the visitor wants is possible right here, due to the small size of this Province and excellent roads to communicate each town among them in this region.
The Province of Quindío is a part of the Coffee Zone, one of the regions of the country having a large amount of visitors during the whole year. Those visitors want to know everything in regard to coffee culture. I mean growing and knowing everything until tasting its aroma from a smoky cup. Furthermore, Quindians have made good use of natural and diverse goodness of this region to sell tourism not only to Colombia, but also worldwide, so the tourist will always have something to do in his / her break times.
Right here we find everything: Thematic parks and natural reserves, sports on open skies, picturesque and historic towns, creative handcraft men, coffee farms, delicious food, and a great amount of kind people ready to guide and share their experiences in life about coffee, tasting it when just it is toasted, grinded and filtered.
From these options to choose from towns and different possibilities in this Province, these touristic inns were situated in Salento and Filandia holding unsophisticated log cabins easy to lodge and rest. Visitor will be able to go everywhere around the Province and enjoy its landscape and countryside.
Salento:
The country side before reaching this village prepares each tourist for a great event of good news because of the characterization of its beauty when approaching to it. Salento is both a rural and urban village, watered landscapes by Quindío River and its tributaries; many colorful houses, balconies and a plenty of flowers reflecting the antioquenian traces; green scenarios beyond the urban area as Cocora Valley facing the wax palm and one of the many ways to reach Los Nevados (snow covered volcanoes) Natural National Park.
In a natural way, Salento is a great surprise nailed in the Colombian Central Mountain in which one of the first impressions is the reception to tourists from its polite, experimented and throaty inhabitants engaging with their regional stories and touristic information.
Filandia:
People having a peaceful life among their own habits in coffee growers’ towns. Usually they meet in the Central Square of each town of beautiful women, restless children, and muleteers from coffee farms who recreate with their own stories about a continuous farm labor and they feel happy with these social gatherings while tasting a delicious brown coffee or milked.
By reaching Filandia, whose name means the Andes’ daughter, its paths are marked on two important natural reserves of the region, Barbas and Bremen, both of them a bank of oxygen and a perfect excuse to sometimes get away from the picturesque streets and look for those special rural landscapes where nature teaches us over its wild environment amazing and necessary moments.
How to reach the town:
From anywhere in the country anybody could drive or fly to the city of Armenia. Once the visitor is in the city is very easy to reach any village inside the Province because its roads are excellent and villages are very closer among all of them. Roads and infrastructure are optimum.
In order to reach Salento when driving from the city of Armenia, the visitor must drive on the road to Pereira up to taking a turn aside on the right side as it is indicated by the road sign. There is a slope on the road framed by the river.
Filandia is also on the very same road between Armenia and Pereira but the turn aside will be on the left side after passing the entrance to Salento and before the attractive toll made of bamboo guadua.
Attractives
Additionally to landscapes, the natural reserves, coffee culture, handcraft, extreme sports and even thematic parks, inhabitants in this Province of Quindío have made good use of boom aroused for worldwide tourists to make continuous plans and activities to squeeze their time.
In Armenia and each town of this Province there are so many possibilities for enjoying, entertainment and learning, because of some programs binding nature, man and his idiosyncrasy right here.
THE VILLAGE OF SALENTO
How good is to remain in the main square of the town and notice around the church a line of homes with multicolor balconies, a lot of flowers and engraved doors as a faithful picture of antioquenian past settlements and its peaceful inhabitants grappled to their good habits.
One of its streets is Calle Real, a log way of typical homes, handcraft stores and restaurants. This street ends in a large line of stairs up to the vantage point from which the tourist will be able to appreciate the country side of Cocora Valley.
Tourists must walk around Salento slowly and astonished because of the beauty, as many travelers do it with their knapsack on their backs and because they heard about this village, so they decided to short distance in order to prove by themselves how good it was. A lot of colorful, culture, beauty and kindness.
Onomatopoeia of a wild bird’s sound, natural reserve we watch just after getting out of the town through Calle Real. After admiring its extension from the vintage point driver continues on the road which is partially paved on some parts. On the passage travelers find trout breeding grounds, lodgings and camping zones; in the meantime driver approaches to the emblematic wax palm tree (CEROXYLON QUINDIUENSE) where still there are so many of them.
Even the wax palm tree could be seen on the way, there are many sectors of the Valley in which those trees are concentrated and the visual impact is amazing due to their height up to 60 meters ( 190 feet ) and it’s the unique specie of palm growing up in a cold thermal weather; that is why it is called the national Colombian tree.
Higher on this Valley we find the named mist forest, which is a place with permanent mistiness having a minimum visibility, however, the beauty of this rural landscape is amazing. In order to reach this forest tourists must begin walking or horsing for several hours that implies at the very same time a way to reach the National Natural Park "Los Nevados".
National Natural Park "Los Nevados"
Through the Valley of Cocora is very easy to reach this national natural reserve after some days walking and watching the amazing natural landscape, but in the very same way tourists left behind them beautiful scenes as is the mist forest and Morrogacho hill which in ancient times was a tribal cemetery due to their beliefs to keep their ancestors closer to their God, the sun.
FILANDIA AND ITS ACTTRACTIVE PLACES
After leaving the main road this village is reached through natural reserves of Bremen and Barbas, whose tranquility reaches the urban area in which life goes so peaceful without any rushing. Their habits remain untouchable as the respect for other people and extreme kindness. Whoever arrives to this town feels fine not only because of the beauty of the town, but also a warm welcome.
The town of Filandia:
Old jeeps parked on the central square suggest this is a coffee grower town; when its engines start also start trade, passengers and countrymen or farmers. Those machines move every day on a speed as a classic car, meanwhile constructions in Filandia show roots of past times. For instance, Mary Immaculate Church and Craftsmen Home, they are in the main square.
The very same way of the church drives to the street of Unmovable Time, a name that does not allow so many descriptions, exception of the great care shaped on doors, balconies, flower pots and windows hold by those who live right there and keep their vivacity on colors and good taste for traditions. There are other sites in this town like the sidewalk made of small stones and High School Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Mirador Illuminated Hill of the Quindío:
The place takes the same adjective with which one knows to the municipality whose strategic location on a slope facilitates the panoramic observation of the near municipalities and of the cities of Armenia and Pereira.
The mirador is an astonishing construction in wood mangrove transported from San Bernardo of the Wind in the Atlantic coast, he/she has 27 meters high and a spectacular butterfly in ceramic remnants adorning its floor. In the high part fresh coffee is gotten and they are sighted in the distance the adjacent regions with Filandia. It is open the weekends and the festival of 10:00 a.m. at 9:00 p.m. bigger reports. Office of Tourism of Filandia. Tel. (6) 7582195 Cel. 311 3981351
Forest Bremen:
Also well-known as Natural Reservation Bremen The Stern is a place with natural paths with more than 140 classes of trees and seven of liana. In the reservation they have been near 200 species of birds and 34 of mammals.
Natural Reserve of the river Beards:
To know it implies to undertake walks that take for cascades of great height and the canyon of the river Beards. In this area they inhabit the red, considered howling monkeys the biggest primates in America.
Biological corridors:
They know this way each other to the roads that connect the natural reservations of Bremen and Beards, this way he/she has stayed the conservation of the flora and the endemic fauna. These corridors are known as The Monkeys, The Pavas, The Laurels and The Colibríes.
Ecological paths:
They are traveled that are made to distinguish the natural inventory of the area through days of environmental interpretation in which birds are also sighted, they know each other cascades and it is enjoyed a bathroom in them. Some of these paths are those of Sierra Moraine, of the Otobo and Bambuco. Bigger reports: Environmental corporation Tibouchina (Diego Fernando Ramírez Restrepo) Cel. 314 6164178 / 317 6430875
ATTRACTIONS IN THE REGION
The condition of being a small territory implies many advantages since for the department of the Quindío and its inhabitants to any traveler he/she is facilitated to arrive to a place like base and from there to undertake every day a journey toward the many tourist alternatives. All depends of the time you have for the ride.
ARMENIA
It is known as the miraculous city of Colombia because of its fast evolution or growth instead of being the capital city of one of the youngest provinces in Colombia. Its infrastructure and organization show the drive of its population and capacity to work in order to get day by day the best living place for future generations. From Armenia anybody goes from anywhere and comes from anywhere in the Province. There are so many roads connecting everything and nobody gets lost.
By walking through the capital city any tourist will be able to find any natural and architectonical space deserved by a good walking. Right starting from Bolivar Square downtown the city, the Park of Life and Ecologic Park "La Secreta" the train station, the Cultural Center, Quimbaya Museum and monument to "Barranquismo" (the art of working on gullies) are some obligated sites to know when walking through the city.
PANACA
Animals right here are protagonists for entertainment and admiration from thousands of people who watching how to do get closer to farm activities and shows presented at National Park of Farming and Stockbreeding Culture (PANACA) in which assistants enjoy some lessons about respect, conservation of animals and natural resources.
There is a slogan in PANACA that states: "Without country side there is not any city" and this applies to the common sense; and the park is a very creative strategy to bring everybody near this park and make them feel fine and thankful for whatever nature provides us. Exhibition of trained horses and dogs to perform different acts, pig races in its facilities "Juan Chancho Montoya" These three shows capture attention from visitors.
When visiting the coffee zone, please reserve exclusively a full day for visiting PANACA; additionally navigate on canopy of 200 meters long (about 630 feet) , ecologic walking on eight senders and interact with more than 4.500 domestic zoological species. There is not any doubt that this activity reaffirm our compromise of a silent vital management farmers do in rural areas in order to increase life in the city.
NATIONAL COFFEE PARK
As the propaganda on the media states: "Right here people from everywhere come looking for adventure and emotion" This thematic park, one of the pioneers of this kind is the referent to touristic attractive in this Province of Quindío since there is a high association between culture and regional traditions mainly when talking about coffee and enclosed elements in regard to this matter.
An important vantage point made in guadua bamboo has been just built after the main door from which visitor will be able to look deep as far as his or her eyes reach. It is located about 20 minutes from the town of Montenegro on the west side of the city of Armenia, the capital city. Climbing up the stairs is something essential either just after entering the park or just after finishing the tour through the same, all in order to keep in mind a special image of this place. On both cases, our eyes will drive us to a spectacular view of the coffee landscape.
In order to walk throughout the park and enjoy its attractive is important to be waiting at the door just before it opens, mainly in vacation times. Once tourists are inside there are some walks through the coffee path, the suspension bridge and craftsmen stores. In order to speed the walk there are some téléphérique or cableway wagons directing to the quindian town. There is also a replica of the train station in Armenia, right inside there is a restaurant. There are also mechanic attractions as an amusement park, e.g. Roaller coaster, the coffee train, and karts track. There are also horsing, an Indian cemetery, fancy foods, area to taste foods or candies, bamboo guadua area, the Coffee Show and so many attractive spectacles. That is why time is too short.
Information:
National Coffee Park, kilometer 6th., on the way Montenegro- Pueblo Tapao.
Phone: + 57 (6) 741 7417
E-mail: info@parquenacionaldelcafe.com
Website: www.parquenacionaldelcafe.com
CALARCA, BOTANIC GARDEN
Since some years ago the name of the town, the second largest city of the Province, has been related to the Botanic Garden and Butterfly Sanctuary which is located on the way to the Province of Valle del Cauca. There is a long walk inside this dynamic coffee and trade location, the continuous procession of Jeeps Willis and in the month of June the National contest of coffee.
NATIONAL BAMBOO AND GUADUA RESEARCH
It is located 22 kilometers (about 13 miles) on the way Armenia – Córdoba. This spot was build in order to drive research and investigation and new technologies about how to use artisanal and industrially the guadua.
There are also some enabling directed to farmers, students and ecological groups and some others, in order to indoctrinate about how to use guadua, which is also known as American bamboo. These facilities offers a didactic walking journey with specialized guides and guadua experts which is the symbol of the Province and the coffee grow region.
Any information could be reached by contacting.
Corporación autónoma Regional de Quindío
Phone + 57 ( 6 ) 746 0600 / 746 0662
E-mail: centroguadua@crq.gov.co
Website: www.crq.gov.co
PIJAO
This village was settled 31 kilometers (about 20 miles) south of the city of Armenia in which is evident the heritage of antioquenian settlement its customs and architectonical bases. It is in the middle of a large wood close to Barragan River in which canoeing is practices commonly.
Respecting life and health feeding, consumption of regional and natural products and a proclaim of a routine not depending on new technologies, this town was acknowledged as the first one in Latin America to get the prize granted by Foundation cittaslow established in Italy in 1.999
Information:
Mónica Liliana Flórez
Phone: + 57 (6) 754 4112
Cell Phone: (312) 825 5613
E-mail: flormonica@gmail.com
BUENAVISTA
This town was named by somebody who climbed is streets and mountains to appreciate the green landscape and sightseeing on the Maravelez Valley. One of the greatest attractive is the cable rail with capacity for eight people and an extension of 1.250 meters (about 3800 feet) and 450 meter high (about 1.300 feet) This kind of transportation will be part of a slogan that says “Re-born” which is a thematic park planned in this region.
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