Santa Rita Waterfall Hike and Salento Walking Tour

From $120 USD per person

Most of the Eje Cafetero circuit is worth doing exactly as advertised: coffee farms, wax palms, a Willys jeep. This one sits just off that circuit. You walk an old railway right-of-way that second-growth forest has taken back, pass through tunnels cut into the Quindío hillside that are dark, damp and completely silent, and come out at a 20-metre waterfall you meet at close range rather than from a viewpoint.

Six hours, with Salento in the second half. Your guide carries agua de panela con queso for the waterfall, which is the correct way to close a hike in this part of Colombia.

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

How the day works

• Pickup and the drive out (about 1.5 hours). From your hotel in Armenia, Pereira, Salento or Filandia. Your departure city decides the vehicle: a jeep out of Salento, a car or van from the others.
• The forest hike (about 1 hour). Train roads and mud paths, then the old railway tunnels — stretches of darkness cut straight through the hillside — before the trail opens out again.
• Santa Rita waterfall (about 1 hour). A 20-metre drop ringed by cloud forest. The snack stop is here.
• Salento on foot (about 1 hour). Adobe and mud houses, painted wooden balconies, flowers on the gates, and the streets that make the town what it is.
• Drive back (about 1.5 hours). To your hotel in your departure city. The return leg is inside the six hours.

What’s included

• A private guide for the full day
• Hotel pickup and drop-off in private transport
• Agua de panela con queso at the waterfall
• All-risk insurance

Not included

• Breakfast and lunch
• Extra purchases

Good to know

• Your departure city changes the rate and the vehicle. Salento departures go by jeep; Armenia, Pereira and Filandia by car or van. Pick the right option when you book.
• Closed-toe shoes with grip. Mud roads, train tracks and tunnels. Fashion sneakers and sandals are the wrong call here.
• Quindío weather turns fast. Mist and light rain are normal whatever the morning looks like. Bring a light waterproof layer.
• Eat before pickup. Breakfast and lunch are not included. The panela con queso is a snack, not a meal, and there are places to eat in Salento afterwards.
• Charge your phone. The tunnels, the forest and the waterfall are the reason you brought it.

Frequently asked questions

Where can I be picked up?

Armenia, Pereira, Salento or Filandia. The rate and the vehicle both depend on which one you choose, so select your departure city carefully at booking.

How hard is the hike?

Moderate on terrain rather than on fitness. It is train roads, mud paths and tunnel sections through Quindío forest, with about two hours of walking across the hike and the waterfall.

What is panela con queso?

A block of raw unrefined cane sugar served with fresh white cheese, eaten right across the coffee region. Here it comes as agua de panela at the waterfall.

Why Salento in the same day?

It is twenty minutes from the trail and it is the town the region is known for. Doing the hike first means you arrive in Salento having earned the coffee.

How do we get to the coffee region in the first place?

We drive that leg. Our Bogotá to the coffee region transfer is the long one, plus Medellín and Cali. Flying in, there is a Pereira airport transfer.

Does it run in the rain?

Yes. Mist is the normal state of the Quindío highlands and it suits the tunnels. Come with a waterproof layer and the day works.

Ready? Check your date and lock it in