Salento Colombia Travel Guide & Map
TL;DR
Salento is one of Colombia’s must-visit towns – think epic hikes, fresh coffee, and colourful streets. Curious? Our Salento travel guide has everything you need to plan your trip.
We recently spent a few days exploring Salento, and it quickly became one of our favourite places in Colombia. From lush green valleys and vibrant colonial streets to some of the best coffee we've ever tasted, Salento offers a perfect mix of adventure and relaxation. In our Salento guide, we’ll share everything we learned – from how to get there and what to do, to where to eat, sleep, and sip delicious coffee. Whether you’re into hiking, biking, or just strolling colourful colonial towns, Salento has something for you.
Salento Colombia Travel Guide
Salento Map
Is Salento Worth Visiting?
Yes! Especially if you like
- coffee
- hiking
- cute colonial towns
- adventures like mountain biking or horse riding
How to Get to Salento
Salento is conveniently located between the three biggest cities in Colombia – Bogota, Medellin, and Cali – and is easily connected by bus to all three of them:
- Bogota to Salento by bus, 8h
- Medellin to Salento by bus, 6h
- Cali to Salento by bus, 4h
Every hour, a cheap local bus leaves for the nearest big city, Armenia, as well.
How to Get Around Salento
The city centre of Salento is walkable.
If you want to go a bit further like to one of the coffee fincas or Valle de Cocora, you can catch a jeep (called Willy in Salento), at the Main Park. You can check the schedule and prices and buy tickets at the little stall at the Main Park. During our visit, we found that more Willys were leaving on demand.
Where We Stayed in Salento
If you want a social vibe and optional activities, we can fully recommend Viajero Salento Hostel. The location is central and the staff is lovely!
By the way: The Viajero in Salento is not a party hostel.
If you’re looking for something quieter, Posada Dónde Cupeto might be worth looking into.
Best Things to Do in Salento
Here’s what to do and what to see in Salento:
1. Mountain Biking La Carbonera
La Carbonera is like Cocora Valley on steroids – you can admire 100 times as many palm trees! We strongly recommend a visit. Don’t worry: If mountain biking is too adventurous for you, you can also hike or go on horseback.
2. Hike Cocora Valley
No list of things to do in Salento would be complete without Cocora Valley. You have two options:
- Walk directly to the viewpoints.
- Hike a multi-hour loop.
3. Visit a Coffee Finca
Salento is located in the Eje Cafetero, Colombia’s coffee region. We strongly recommend visiting a coffee farm. There are loads and the majority is located on the same road – you can either take a Willy or walk. We opted for El Recuerdo because the owners are local and the coffee is organic.
4. Try Coffee
In case you can’t be bothered to visit a coffee farm or you want even more coffee, Café Jesús Martín is the best place in town to try speciality coffee.
5. Stroll Down Calle Real
The streets of Salento are super cute and colourful. The highlight is the pedestrian Calle Real with its many shops and restaurants.
6. Climb to Mirador Alto de la Cruz
At the end of Calle Real, you can make the short climb to Mirador Alto de la Cruz from where you have a nice view of Salento and its surroundings.
7. Activities We Didn’t Have Time for in 3 Days
- Day trip to Filandia: Filandia is the twin of Salento. If you can’t get enough of white and colourful colonial towns, this less touristy version of Salento is the place for you.
- Go horseback riding: We went horseback riding in San Agustin and loved it. There are several routes around Saltento but the one to Santa Rita waterfall is the most popular.
- Santa Rita waterfall: In case you don’t want to ride a horse, you can also hike to Santa Rita waterfall.
How Many Days in Salento Do You Need
We recommend spending at least two full days in Salento so you can visit:
- Cocora Valley on day 1
- a coffee finca and the city centre on day 2
There are so many activities in Salento – plan one day extra for each of the things you’d like to do:
- mountain biking in La Carbonera
- visit Filandia
- go horseback riding
- check out Santa Rita waterfall
Personally, we spent 3 days in Salento and had to skip some of these activities.
Where to Eat in Salento
For breakfast, we loved Brunch de Salento.
If you eat fish, your best meal in Salento will the the trout at El Rincon de Lucy.
You can drink the best coffee in town at Café Jesús Martín.
Infrastructure in Salento
ATMs in Salento
You’ll find several ATMs from different banks around Main Park.
Supermarkets in Salento
You’ll also find some medium-sized markets around Main Park. Don’t expect the cheapest prices or the biggest selection.
Internet in Salento
Our internet was great during our stay – both the WiFi at Viajero Salento Hostel and our mobile data.
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