Crossing from Juntas to Cocora Valley in Los Nevados National Park
Hiking and Trekking
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Los Nevados National Park is located in Colombia’s coffee-growing region, in the northern volcanic complex formed by Nevado del Ruiz, Nevado de Santa Isabel, Nevado del Tolima, and the paramillos of Cisne, Santa Rosa and Quindío. It was created to contribute to the conservation of ecosystems such as the glaciers, super páramo and páramo ecosystems, high Andean wetlands and Andean and high Andean forests.
This particular trekking rout starts in the canyon of Combeima in Tolima department and ends in the valley of Cocora in Quindio department. During this tour the traveller con appreciate Andean forests, fields of “frailejones” – a typical plant of “paramo” ecosystem and the snow peak of Tolima Volcano. This is a perfect itinerary to be combined with different cultural activities in the Colombian Coffee Triangle.
Day 1: The tour starts in Ibague city in Tolima department. Your guide will meet you in the hotel, airport or bus terminal in order to take you to Combeima canyon. If you arrive early, you will do a small acclimatizing hike in order to get prepared for the upcoming trek.
Night in a hostel in Juntas.
Day 2: This will be a challenging day, you will need to hike 14 km uphill to the small school El Sato where we will get a shelter and a hot meal. You will ascend from 1.900 till 3.700 m.a.s.l. Rest in multiple beds.
Day 3: Today we will continue our trek towards the next camping place called Termales de Cañón located at 4.000m m.a.s.l. We expect to hike 12 km slightly ascending. On clear days it is possible to appreciate the beauty of the Tolima Snow peak just from a short distance.
Arrival to the campsite and a relaxing bath in the small thermal spring pool. Night camping.
Day 4: Today’s trail takes us through the Pleasure Valley and Laguna del Encanto. Eventually we will arrive to the place called Romerales (3.600 m.a.s.l.). Accommodation in a farmers house (extremely basic multiple accommodation) or camping. Hiking distance: 15 km on undulating terrain mostly at about 4.000 m.a.s.l.
Day 5: Descent from Romerales till Cocora Valley (2.400 m.s.n.m). Hiking distance: 12 km. We will have a well-deserved typical lunch with trout in of the restaurants in the valley. Transfer by jeep from the valley to the pictures Salento town. End of the tour.
- Take some time to acclimatize prior to this hike. Sleep well before you start trekking
- Make sure you also bring a small day pack where you can carry your personal items like money, documents, camera, lunch and water. The rest of the equipment should be packed in a back pack not bigger than 60 L and will be carried by mules
- Try to bring as few things as possible
- The driest season in high mountains in Colombia is from December to February; still, the trail is open all year round.
- Take in mind that weather conditions in the mountains might be changing, you can expect from 5 to 18 C during the trek
- The camping places during this hike do not offer any infrastructure. There are no showers nor bathrooms
- Sleeping in beds in the small school and Romerales (Day 2 and Day 4) offer very basic service, still, it is more comfortable then sleeping in tents (those who want to camp, can do so)
- Ensure that you are in good physical shape to do this trek (no heart problems, no breathing issues, and no knee injuries)
- You can request with us additional private transfer services like Bogota – Ibague or Armenia/Pereira – Ibague or similar. Ideally, you would stay in the coffee area before the hike, where you can leave most of your travelling things and you travel to Ibague only with the strictly necessary hiking equipment.
- Transfer Bogota – Ibague might take 5-6 hours and Armenia – Ibague might take 3 hours (depending on the traffic)