Colombia's most photogenic coffee town runs a nightly salsa bar scene in its wooden colonial streets, with Wax Palms in the Cocora Valley as the morning reward.
Year-round. Colombian school holidays (December-January and July) bring the largest domestic crowds.
Salento sits in the Zona Cafetera (Coffee Region) of Colombia's Andean interior, at 1,895m in the Valle de Cocora. The town of roughly 10,000 people has a perfectly preserved colonial grid of brightly painted wooden buildings, a main square (Plaza de Bolívar) with a wooden church, and one of the most consistently photographed streets in Colombia (Calle Real). The bar scene is concentrated in three or four establishments on and around Calle Real: El Punto de Encuentro and La Eliana are the main salsa bars. Both are small, indoor, and run live music on Friday and Saturday nights. Guarapo (sugar cane rum) costs COP 3,000-5,000 per shot. A Club Colombia beer is COP 4,000-6,000.
The coffee connection is the reason most people come: a coffee farm tour (COP 15,000-25,000 per person at fincas like Las Acacias) takes 2 hours and covers the full process from cherry to cup. The Cocora Valley, 12km from the town, has the world's tallest palm trees (the Quindío Wax Palm, Colombia's national tree, reaching 60m) and a 4-hour hiking circuit through cloud forest. The combination of landscape by day and salsa by night is why Salento has developed into one of the most popular stops on the Colombia backpacker circuit.
Party hostels within reach of Salento's main celebrations. Ranked by guest rating.
Day-by-day breakdown
Jeeps to the Cocora Valley depart from Plaza de Bolívar from 7.30am to 2pm; cost COP 5,000-8,000 each way. The full hiking circuit (Valle de Cocora loop via Acaime cloud forest hummingbird sanctuary) takes 4-5 hours. Return jeeps from the valley run until 5pm. Coffee farm tours at Las Acacias or other fincas around the town take 2 hours and cost COP 15,000-25,000; book directly or through your hostel.
Calle Real (the main pedestrianised tourist street) has bars from 6pm. Pre-drinking at the hostel with aguardiente (COP 15,000 for a small bottle from a tienda) before moving to El Punto de Encuentro or La Eliana is standard. Live salsa starts around 9-10pm on Fridays and Saturdays. The bars are small and fill quickly: arrive by 9pm for a seat. Guarapo shots COP 3,000-5,000; Club Colombia beer COP 4,000-6,000.
Pre-booked private transfers and shared shuttles for your arrival.
