Manizales City Tour: Historic Centre, Cable Car and Chipre

From $108 USD per person

Manizales is the coffee region city most visitors do not stop in, and it turns out to have more to it than its reputation suggests. It sits at 2,153 metres in the middle of the UNESCO Coffee Cultural Landscape, compact enough to walk, with a historic centre that rewards slow attention. Colombians call it the City of Open Doors.

The day moves vertically as much as horizontally: street level at Plaza Bolívar and the neo-Gothic cathedral-basilica, whose tower can be climbed and mostly is not; then up through the city on a working cable car that connects steep neighbourhoods the way buses connect flat ones; and finally Chipre, the highest accessible point in the city.

Check live availability and prices — or read on for how the day is built.

How the day works

• Pickup and briefing (about 30 minutes). Your private guide collects you at your hotel and sets up the day on the short drive in.
• The historic centre on foot (about 1.5 hours). Parque de los Fundadores, Plaza Bolívar, and the Bolívar Condor statue.
• The cathedral-basilica tower (about 1 hour). The climb gives you one of the best views in Manizales, and the commentary continues while you are up there.
• The cable car (about 1.5 hours). A working public transit line and one of the most scenic rides in the Eje Cafetero, with a continuous aerial view of the city.
• Chipre viewpoint (about 1 hour). The Torre de Chipre and, on a clear day, the full Andean spread.
• Back to your hotel (about 30 minutes).

What’s included

• A private English-speaking guide for the full six hours
• Hotel pickup and drop-off
• Cable car tickets
• Entrance to the Chipre tower
• Entrance to the basilica
• All-risk insurance

Not included

• Breakfast and lunch
• Extra purchases

Good to know

• This is a walking tour. Comfortable shoes for urban streets and for the tower stairs.
• Manizales sits at 2,153 metres and can be cool and misty. Bring a light jacket.
• Clear days give the best views from Chipre and the cathedral tower. If the cloud is in, your guide will tell you straight at pickup rather than pretend otherwise.
• The cable car is public transit. You ride it the way the city does, which is part of the point.
• Suits most fitness levels. Urban walking, moderate pace, nothing technical.

Frequently asked questions

What is in the price?

Your private English-speaking guide for the full six hours, hotel pickup and drop-off, cable car tickets, entrance to the Chipre tower, entrance to the cathedral, and all-risk insurance.

How much walking?

Around two hours of urban walking on paved streets in the historic centre, plus stairs inside the cathedral tower. The pace is relaxed and there are regular stops.

What can you see from Chipre tower?

On a clear day the Cauca and Risaralda river valleys, the surrounding ranges, and the snow-capped summits beyond them.

Is the cable car safe?

It is a fully operational public transit system that Manizales residents use daily.

What is the Coffee Cultural Landscape?

A UNESCO World Heritage designation covering parts of the Eje Cafetero, including areas around Manizales, recognising the landscape that a century and a half of coffee growing produced.

How do I get to and from Manizales?

We drive it. Bogotá, Medellín and Cali into the region, and Manizales to Pereira airport on the way out.

Ready? Check your date and lock it in