Colombia - Manizales and Parque los Nevados

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Early in the mornng after the eight hour night bus from Bogota I arrived in Manizales. The city looked to me like a cyclone has picked up a Nicaraguan town of brick and tin roofed boxes and dropped them over the succulent fertile valleys and mountains of the Zona Cafetera - planning legislation would have been a good idea. The ramshackle suburbs sprawl over the hills criss crossed with wires and interlaced by steep, bumpy, winding roads. Fortunately, the many earthquakes in the region - the culprit of the lack of aesthetics here and in other local towns - haven't destroyed the typical colonial squares and the atypical Gothic cathedral. Like many cities, the North is the most affluent and comfortable populated with bars, Colombian fast food chains and malls.

There in the North I stayed at a bargain hotel with exceedingly helpful and friendly staff - Hostal Palo Grande - with my own room and breakfast for COP25,000 ($13). Most backpackers seem to stay in the trendier backpacker hostel where dorm beds go for around COP19,000, so there were only Colombians staying in the hotel. Perfect for improving my Spanish.

I had a look around the city centre and quickly ran out of things to see. I was impressed by the cathedral and the abundance of sculptures around the city centre and all up the sides of the main road to the North of the city.

In the afternoon I went to an ecological park just outside of the city. Recinto de Pensamientos has a cable car, orchid gardens, ecological trails, Hummingbird feeding stations, a butterfly garden, and landscaped gardens to while away an afternoon.

My main purpose in coming to Manizales was to visit Parque los Nevados - an Andean national park about an hour outside of town. My hotel owner advised me that it's best to take a tour as the interior of the park is too large to walk, not accessible by public transport, and it is compulsory to take a guide. The tour was expensive at COP120,000 ($65) but was a full day and included park entrance with guide that costs $30, breakfast and lunch, and entrance to the hot springs afterwards.

I was picked up at 7am and we began the slow ascent into the Andes with windows open and frequent stops to aid acclimatisation. When at 4050m we reached the park entrance the air was cold and thin, and the vegetation had changed to spiky Frailejones and other high altitude plants. We climbed slowly past deep ravines and lakes towards the snow capped, cloud shrouded peak of Volcan Nevado del Ruiz - our destination. The largest and highest volcano in this Andean chain.

We made several stops for photos and explanations including at a rocky, foggy plain piled with mounds of stones. Our guide told us that these were placed here by indigenous people, for whom the area had energetic and spiritual significance. And looking out over that awesome landscape, light-headed from the altitude, and hearing its silent emptiness I could understand why. At our next stop we saw a Condor soaring high among the peaks. It appeared the size of an eagle, giving an idea of the scale of the park - its wingspan is actually five meters.

We arrived at the ranger station at 4800m to begin our ascent up the volcano to just past the snow line at 5125m. To make the final push to the summit at 5325m requires special permits and equipment and is outside the scope of a one day tour. Nevertheless, reaching 5125m was a worthy challenge. As we climbed the steep, rocky path our hearts throbbed frantically and our lungs scrabbled for oxygen - we stopped every 10m or so to appease them. As we approached the snow line it became very cold. I was glad that I had bought a hat and gloves in the town the day before, and that I had brought my fleece and jacket.

I didn't find the climb as challenging as some - thanks to spending six weeks at 2600m in Bogota. But I was relieved to reach the top, stood in snow for the first time on this trip, the fog trading places with the breathtaking views (literally and figuratively) as the wind shifted.

My headache started as I descended but lunch and a soak in the hot springs distracted me. I spent that evening in the hostel tired with a low level but persistent headache. However, vale la pena (worth it) as they say here: it was one of the best trips so far.

The following morning I took the cable car down to the bus terminal - the most interesting public transport I've found - and moved on to Pereira.

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Photos

Manizales cathedral
with famous sculpture in foreground

Hummingbird
at Parque Recinto de Pensamientos

Butterfly garden
at Parque Recinto de Pensamientos

Orchid garden
at Parque Recinto de Pensamientos

Volcan Nevado del Ruiz
Parque los Nevados

Comments

[Lesley Stableford]

Who is it by?

[Lesley Stableford]

amazing, you must be very fit!

[LukeStableford]

Don't know. It is part of a collection all over the city. I'll have a look on the internet

[bear]

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