On the way to the Mirador del Cóndor in the Cocora Valley.

The Cocora Valley is one of the best-known tourist attractions and a destination that you cannot miss when you visit Quindío. In addition to being one of the most visited destinations by foreigners, who do not hesitate to venture to walk through the Valley, heading to the Casa de Los Colibrí or to the National Park of Los Nevados. However, it is not the only wonder you will find there.

At 8:45 am, our guests begin to arrive at the reception of the hostel in order to wait for the departure to our destination. On this occasion a family of foreigners are those who accompany us, you can see in their faces how eager they are to start the tour.

Before leaving, our guide gives each one a snack: a bottle of water, a banana that helps prevent muscle cramps that we can have after exercising, a sandwich that helps maintain energy level, and a chocolate bar . Now if it is time to leave.

We walk a few blocks from the hostel to the main square of Salento, a walk that allows you to enjoy the architecture full of color and shapes, which characterizes this municipality and all the municipalities of Quindío. The square is the place where you will find all the willys (as jeeps are known in this region), which in the middle of this fascinating experience of traveling in one of these vehicles, leads us to the Valle de Cócora, from where we will continue walking heading to our destination.

Already in the Cocora Valley it is inevitable to feel that air of tranquility and amazement when seeing how the imposing wax palm rises. The walk is a round trip of 4 hours, which begins by walking on the main road by which we get there and instead of following the path of many visitors, a few meters later we take a somewhat hidden route that you find to the left of the road.

In the middle of nature, the river passing, we soon began to feel the rise. The wax palm is present and the desire to hug it, look up and take a photo is inevitable, and with each step it becomes more present. Some are running out of air on the way, so it is always good to take a break to drink water and why not eat the banana.

The final destination is now visible and although it is apparently far away, only 10 minutes of walking remains, the birds are heard more frequently and the landscape improves.

Finally, we arrive at the Mirador del Cóndor. A place from which you can see the entire Cocora Valley and its Cera palms, where you see how the clouds run quickly to settle on the mountain and Morrogacho, that hill that appears as a guard of the Cocora Valley and that looks like a wonderful decline.

It is a tour that you cannot miss!

The extra bonus of our tour is to enjoy, along with that view, a canelazo, which the guide very kindly gave us.

For the return, the descent is faster. It's already close to 12 noon and the body begins to order lunch. So back at the starting point of the walk, there is nothing left but to enjoy a vegetarian lunch or the traditional trout, as you wish. Finally, it remains to return to Salento to enjoy its architecture.