Ahem. I have a confession to make…I have never actually seen the movie ‘Encanto’. It’s on my list, and I will get round to it at some point (I promise). However, I have been to the town that is said to have been one of the inspirations for the movie, Salento.
Salento is a sleepy little town, surrounded by misty mountains and rolling valleys, and bursting with quaint and colourful traditional buildings that line its pretty streets. It is one of the oldest towns in the Quindio department of Colombia (famed for its coffee production). It is also the gateway to the spectacular Valle de Cocora, ‘Cocora Valley’, home to the Quindio wax palm trees (more on this later). For these reasons, Salento is one of the top destinations in Colombia.
I arrived in Salento on a bright and sunny Sunday morning, after an 8-hour overnight bus trip from Bogota, via Armenia. The streets were quiet and the town was just starting to stir. I knew very little about Salento before I arrived but as I walked along its streets towards my hotel, taking in its distinctive and colourful architecture and the expanse of gorgeous views beyond, I fell in love with the town.
The town’s main square (Plaza de Bolivar) is unpretentious. There is a small park with a cluster of palm trees, surrounded by two storey white buildings that have their doors, balconies, windows and shutters painted in all of the colours of the rainbow. I have to warn you that the area in and around the main square, two streets deep, is mostly lined with souvenir shops, hotels and restaurants. However the town retains its charm; there is still a feeling that time moves a little slower there, and one has the luxury to ‘be’.
Pro tip #1: This feeling evaporates at the weekend when hordes of tourists (local and foreign) descend on the town, so I would advise you to avoid it on the weekends and national holidays.
A walk along the main street, Calle Real, leads you towards a bank of steps and to Mirador Alto de la Cruz. Although perfectly lovely, its views are dominated by the roofs of the buildings in the town below. The much more spectacular view is a few minutes walk away, to Mirador de Salento. Here you are blessed with stunning panoramic views of the verdant green mountains and valleys that go on for miles. There is a viewing platform that gives you shade from the sun and allows you to linger at that spot all day. And of course, vendors nearby selling refreshments. I enjoyed having the place mostly to myself that early morning, and intended to return at sunset, when the views are said to be even more breathtaking. Unfortunately I never did.
Salento is small enough that you can wander around the town in one day but pretty enough that you want to take your time exploring the nooks and cranny of every street and enjoying the views and local cuisine over the course of a couple of days. The region is known for trout and the specialty dish is grilled trout with a creamy garlic sauce with a side of rice and giant patacones (flattened fried green plantains). I would also recommend walking to La Aldea Del Artesano, an artisan community less than a mile away from town. The community houses artisans and local artists who create unique pieces of arts, crafts, jewellery, furniture etc. You have the opportunity to explore the grounds, watch the artists while they work, attend classes or even volunteer.This is the place to get truly original souvenirs.
On my third day in Salento, I made the trip to Valle de Cocora. The day started with the promise of blue skies and sunshine, as we set off in a ‘willy’ (colourful jeep taxi) from the main square. The twenty to thirty minute drive to the park was very scenic. You are dropped off at a car park and there is a further twenty-minute walk to the entrance of the Bosque de Palmas, where you pay an entrance fee (10000 COP or 2 USD). There are lots of articles written about the best way to explore Cocora valley – hiking clockwise or counterclockwise, doing the full trail or only hiking to the palm grove etc. I completed the 2-hr clockwise hike, starting the route on the left, which is a nice, gentle uphill hike that offers you views of the palm trees right at the start.
The Quindio wax palm trees are the star attraction. The national tree of Colombia, they are also the tallest palm trees in the world! These giant willowy trees soar up to 200 feet and are topped by a starburst of palm fronds. I had perhaps a couple of hours to appreciate the trees framed by clear blue skies, and swaying in the gentle breeze, before the weather turned.
Pro tip #2: If you happen to visit South or Central America in the rainy season, it is best to get up early and do planned activities in the mornings as the sunny mornings tend to give way to overcast or rainy afternoons.
There are two miradors (viewpoints) along the trail. I hiked up to the second mirador first because it is at a higher vantage point. I arrived just in time for low hanging clouds to pass over the valley and shroud me, and everything else, in a grey fog; I felt like I was up in the heavens. And then it began to rain. I did not let the weather deter me, and sat on a grassy bank for the next hour, waiting for the rain to let up.
I was rewarded for my patience. Those first glimpses of the landscape, as the clouds and fog dissipated from right to left, unveiling vistas of the valley in the distance, then the slopes in front of me and then the peaks of the mountains was enthralling. Over the next couple of hours, there were more cycles of the fog blowing in, enshrouding the mountains and valleys, and then sweeping away to reveal the views. It was like a movie that never got old.
Finally, I made my way back down to the first mirador. I do think the views from the first mirador lets you appreciate the height of the trees more fully. More rain put to bed any thoughts I had of completing the full 5-hr hike, but I returned to my hotel a very happy bunny.
Pro tip #3: There are a host of other activities to do in Salento such as visiting Carbonera Valley (the largest wax palm forest in the world and more off the beaten path than Cocora Valley), going on a coffee tour, horseback riding or cycling various trails or hiking to Santa Rita waterfall.
The residents of Salento are inordinately proud of their town. There is a huge poster of the movie in front of the tourist information centre and every tourist seems to stop to take a picture with it. As someone said to me as she posed in front of the poster, ‘I had to get here before hordes of tourists descend on the town’. And so should you!
Visited May 2022