The Cocora Valley wax palm walk on a Coffee Region tour
The Cocora Valley is the reason most people come to Salento. Its wax palms rise from green pasture into the cloud, and a guided walk there fills about three hours. This page follows a shared tour from the square to the trail and back, with the mud and mist included.
What the Cocora Valley is
The Cocora Valley lies a short drive above Salento, at roughly 2,400 m (7,900 ft) where the trail starts. It is one of the entrances to Los Nevados National Natural Park and part of the UNESCO Coffee Cultural Landscape.
Its fame comes from the Quindío wax palm, Colombia's national tree and the tallest palm in the world. Some reach about 60 m (200 ft), thin grey trunks with a tuft of leaves far above the cows grazing below.
Salento itself sits at about 1,900 m (6,200 ft), so the drive up gains several hundred meters. Most people feel the height a little on the first climbs, then settle into it.
A shared morning, stage by stage
Gran Colombia Tours' shared Cocora tour at ~$78 spells out its plan more clearly than most. It rates 4.8 from 300+ reviews on GetYourGuide and 4.9 from 51 on Viator.
- A 15-minute safety briefing at Plaza de Bolívar in Salento, where the guide holds a yellow umbrella
- About 30 minutes by car up to the valley
- Roughly 3 hours guided on foot among the palms
- About 30 minutes back to Salento
The ticket includes the ride, the park entry, the guide and all-risk insurance. GetYourGuide gives the length as 4 to 8 hours and Viator as about 4 hours 15 minutes, so most groups are back in town for a late lunch.
The walk itself
The listing says the tour requires a moderate amount of walking. In practice that means up and down on uneven farm paths, with a few short climbs that leave you breathing hard at this altitude.
Gran Colombia Tours describes the same ground on its private day as rugged trails, asks for hiking shoes and suggests a cane if you need one. No one needs to be an athlete, but a fair level of fitness makes the three hours far more pleasant.
A shared group walks at one pace for everyone, with stops for photos and for the guide to talk about the palms and the cloud forest. If you know you are slow on hills, a private day lets the guide match your speed instead.
Walk the palms with a guide
Gran Colombia Tours' shared Cocora Valley tour from Plaza de Bolívar, with the ride up, the park ticket and a guide. A coffee farm can be added on the listing.
Mud, mist and the palms
Rain is possible in any month, and the valley holds on to it. After a wet night the paths turn to thick mud, which is why many travelers rent rubber boots in Salento before the tour.
Mist can also hide the tops of the palms for long stretches. It often lifts and drops again within minutes, so a patient group usually gets a clearer view at some point, though no tour can promise one.
The valley feels cooler than Salento, where days run roughly 18–22 °C (64–72 °F). A warm layer and a rain jacket belong in your bag, and our packing list for mud and rain covers the rest.
Which tours go to the valley
Four of the six tours on this site include the Cocora Valley. The shared tour above is the plainest, while the others pair the palms with coffee or a horse.
- The private Gran Colombia Tours day at ~$176, with about 3 hours in the valley and a coffee farm afterwards
- Ruta Xplorer's trek at ~$107, about 3 hours guided in the valley, then a farm and a look around Salento
- The shared Cocora tour at ~$78, about 3 hours in the valley with an optional farm
- The horseback day at ~$192, with only about an hour of walking in the valley
The ride on that last one happens around Salento, not inside the valley. Our horseback guide explains why, and the private or group page helps if you are torn on the first three.
All four take care of the park entry, so you do not need cash at the gate. The private day and Ruta Xplorer also handle the drive, which saves the wait for a jeep on the square on a busy morning.
Adding coffee to the same day
The shared Cocora tour has a listing option that adds a coffee farm on the same day. That turns a morning walk into a fuller day for less than a private tour costs.
Ask about it when you book, since the add-on changes the length of the day and the price on the listing. Lunch still falls outside the fare, so plan to pay for a meal in Salento between the two halves or at the end.
If you would rather keep them apart, the shared farm tour at ~$60 runs on its own. Our coffee farm guide compares it with the cheaper farm visit at Finca El Ocaso.
Going further on foot
Independent hikers often walk a longer loop that climbs deeper into the forest before coming back down through the palms. The guided tours here keep to their own route of about three hours.
Some trips go further than others, so check the itinerary on the listing if a longer hike matters to you. A drier month makes any extra distance far easier on the legs.