There´s more to Colombia than just coffee and white powder

South America » Colombia » Boyacá
January 27th 2014

Published: April 1st 2014

Venturing to Salento in the Zona Cafetera was like landing in the green hills of Switzerland, but with palm trees and coffee farms. Did a fantastic 11km circuit hike in the Cocora Valley, surrounded by 60 to 70 metre tall wax palms (Colombia´s national tree), with a side trip to Acaime Natural Reserve to see hummingbirds. Then I hit the heady heights (2600m) of Bogota; exploring the various parts... Read Full Entry

Photos are below

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Museo del Oro

Famous Gold Museum in Bogota

Zipaquira Salt Cathedral

located in an underground salt mine, with a weekly service on Sundays

salt cascade

sobrebarriga

juicy beef flank stewed in tomatoes and onions

Villa de Leyva

main plaza

Monasterio Santo Ecce Homo

16th century Dominican monastery

kronosaurus

looks like a cross between a prehistoric crocodile and whale. the valley around Villa de Leyva is a palaeontological gold mine

shopping

Shopping for fruit and other supplies for my 4 day trek into El Cocuy National Park

Sierra Nevada del Cocuy National Park

Day 1 of the trek

Sisuma Lodge

After an uneventful first day´s easy walk to 4000 metres, this was our accommodation for the night

Laguna Cuadrada

We did an acclimatisation walk in the afternoon up to 4200 metres past this lake and also Laguna La Parada

frailejones

Known also as Colorado trees, these plants are endemic to paramo environments and grow at altitudes of over 4000 metres. Look like the giant senecias on Mount Kilimanjaro.

rock scrambling

Day 2 started with a gruelling ascent. Sometimes no paths, so did a lot of rock scrambling and bouldering which was tough with a full rucksack

Pan de Azucar

Literally means "Sugarloaf", and was our highest point of the trek at 4980 metres. The Pulpito del Diablo (Devils´s Pulpit) is in the background

Laguna Grande de la Sierra

Our glorious campsite for 2 nights. Fresh and drinkable lake water, plus a refreshingly brisk bath. Bloody freeze your nuts off cold at night.

not a bad tent view

looking towards Glaciar Concavo

glacier walk

On Day 3, we did a walk to 2 glaciers - Toti and Concavo

Glaciar Toti

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There´s more to Colombia than just coffee and white powder

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