Colombias Zona Cafetera

Coffee in Colombia

Stretching through the regions of Quindío, Caldas, Risaralda and Tolima, Colombia’s Zona Cafetera, also known as the ‘Coffee Triangle’, encompasses tracts of cloud forest, the mountainous Los Nevados National Park and the richly fertile Andean foothills. Lush vegetation, including undulating banana and citrus plantations as well as the ubiquitous coffee, characterise the area, which is dotted with over 24,000 small farms.

Five active volcanoes - the highest of which, Nevado del Ruiz, erupted in 1985 killing 25,000 people - are ironically the lifeblood of this region, creating a richly fertile soil perfect for sustaining the cloud forest and plantations of coffee trees. Often shrouded in cloud, the snow-covered tips of the volcanoes can be seen from Manizales, Salento and many of the small Zona Cafetera towns.

The rich landscape and fertile soil have led Colombian coffee to be considered by many as some of the highest quality in the world, still picked by hand, bean by bean. The Coffee Cultural Landscape in Colombia has been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, recognising the human adaptation needed to grow coffee on the difficult geographical terrain – and the importance it has had for the region economically, socially and culturally for generations. It is estimated that around 80,000 people here dedicate their lives to the cultivation of coffee.

Salento

As well as being the perfect base for excursions into the surrounding cloud forest, the Cocora Valley and coffee plantations, pretty Salento is worth a visit in its own right. This small pueblo – full of colourful houses sporting wooden balconies overloaded with blooming flowers – offers spectacular views of the Cordillera Central mountain range, the slopes of which rise steeply out of the town itself, and is a pleasantly peaceful place to relax and soak up the tropical ambience. Make sure you try regional speciality trucha - a fish usually served up with plantain, rice and pinto beans.