CALI TO MEDELLIN : 10 DAYS ITINERARY

10 DAYS FROM CALI TO MEDELLIN

Discover the inside of Colombia, the Eje Cafetero, a beautiful landscape and authentic culture you will love. It's a trip we did in 10 days using only buses to move around the cities and carrying backpacks. It wasn't easy to organize this trip because sometimes there are no bus timetables. But we made it as planned! We leave you here our itinerary and tips!

Day 1: Cali

We landed in Cali around midday. In the afternoon, we visited the neighborhood of San Antonio. We ate at a trendy place called Criollan Lovers, then we discovered a cool print shop, “Carteles La Linterna.” We continued to walk around and went to the Parque de San Antonio. From the top, you have a really nice view of the city.

We went back to the hotel, rested a bit, and got ready for the night. Cali is known as a party city. We were invited to La Pérgola by our friend from Cali. This club is incredible; there are different rooms, it's an open space, there's a toboggan, a popcorn machine… a trendy club with a good vibe! We left around 2-3 am, time to go to bed because we have an intense trip ahead.

Day 2: Cali to Salento

It was hard to wake up this morning, but we had to visit a bit more of Cali before leaving. We walked along the Bulevar del Río, discovered the Parque de Simón Bolívar and the beautiful Iglesia La Ermita. Then, we walked towards Plaza de Cayzedo, stopped at a supermarket to buy food for the trip, and went back to the hotel.

Around midday, we took a taxi to the bus station. We took a first bus to Armenia. It’s around 3 hours by bus, and the ticket is around 40,000 COP. Then, we took a minibus to Salento; it’s about 45 minutes and costs 5,000 COP.

We arrived in Salento around 5 pm. We checked in at Mahalo Hostel and walked along Calle Real to the main square. We stopped to have a beer at a typical bar called Café Danubio, where you can also play pool. Then, we ate at a super good restaurant called Etnia Arte y Sabor. The set menu is 22,000 COP and includes a drink, a homemade soup, a main course (we chose the trucha because it’s typical of the region), and a little dessert. Highly recommended. You should arrive at the opening because it fills up quickly. We went to bed early because a big day was waiting for us tomorrow!

Day 3: Salento & Valle de Cocora

From the main square, we took a jeep towards the Valle de Cocora. We took the first one of the day at 6:30 am; the drive is about 25 minutes and costs 4,000 COP. There are two walks in the Valle de Cocora, the short one or the long one. We decided to do the long one, which is about 5 hours but so worth it because you see many different landscapes. We advise you to start from the entrance where there is a blue barrier; this way, you will have the landscape with the palm trees at the end.

When you enter from the blue barrier entrance, stay on the left path. You will arrive in front of a little cabin where you will pay 5,500 COP. You will see landscapes with cows and a jungle with a river that you will have to cross using hanging or bamboo bridges. At one point, you can go right to see a finca, but we decided to continue left to follow the loop. That was the hardest part because it was going up and up and up, but we made it to the Finca Montaña, where we stopped to have a café and a hot chocolate. Then the path goes down, so it was easier. We paid the second entrance fee of this loop, 10,000 COP, and just after, you have the different Miradores to see those incredible wax palms. The landscape is breathtaking. After many photos, we continued to go down, we saw animals like horses and llamas, took a picture with a jeep, and went out to take the jeep back to Salento. I believe we arrived in Salento around 12:30 pm, took a shower, and went to eat.

In the afternoon, it was raining a lot, so we had to wait for it to calm down. Then, we went up to the Mirador that is at the end of Calle Real. We walked in the town and went to have dinner on the main square. There are lots of food trucks and street food stands. You need to try chontaduro (it’s a fruit, a kind of chestnut in taste, that they eat with honey and salt) and also the typical sausage called Chorizo Santarrosanos.

Day 4: Filandia

This morning, we are going to Filandia. We took the jeep from the main square at 8:40 am. If you can, book it in advance because it was full when we arrived, but we negotiated to both fit. The drive was about 45 minutes. We first went to our hostel called El Bidea to leave our bags. Then, we walked around the town, visited the Museo del Canasto for 5,000 COP, and had lunch at La Traviesa. They have a cheap set menu for lunch with good food, big portions, and a good price.

In the afternoon, we booked a special activity. We wanted to do something different, so we booked a horseback riding tour around the fields of coffee and bananas. We booked with Steel Horse Colombia, and it cost us 160,000 COP. We saw beautiful landscapes and farmers; it was nice and relaxing.

Back in town, we took a shower, went out for a beer, and had dinner. We were quite tired from the day, so we went to bed early.

Day 5: Termales Santa Rosa de Cabal

Today, we are going to the Termales Santa Rosa de Cabal. We first took the 9 am bus from Filandia to Pereira. It’s about 45 minutes and costs around 5,000 COP. Then, we took a bus to Santa Rosa de Cabal that cost us around 5,000 COP and was a 30-minute drive. In Santa Rosa de Cabal, we needed to go to the Termales Santa Rosa. The next bus was in an hour, so we decided to take a taxi; it cost us 25,000 COP.

We booked a hotel just a few meters before the Termales Santa Rosa because it was cheaper. The hotel is called Cabaña JC; it was a cute hotel with a river, a 5-minute walk from the thermal baths, and there was a restaurant next door, so it was perfect. It started to rain, so first, we went to have lunch at the restaurant, then we waited for the rain to stop. Around 2:30 pm, we went out and walked towards the thermal baths. First, we wanted to see the Cascada San Miguel, which is at the end of the path, but there was an entrance fee. Because we planned to go to Termales Santa Rosa, we saw the Cascada San Miguel from afar.

Around 3 pm, we arrived at the Termales Santa Rosa de Cabal. The entrance fee is 38,000 COP during the week. We really advise you to go during the week because the entrance is cheaper, it’s less crowded, and there’s no time limit; you can stay as long as you want (it closes at 11 pm). We enjoyed the hot springs and the landscape with the beautiful waterfall. It was a relaxing afternoon.

We went back to the hotel around 6:30 pm, took a shower, and went to dinner at the restaurant next door.

Day 6: Bus day: Santa Rosa de Cabal - Manizales - Riosucio - Jardín

Today was going to be a long day of bus travel. The goal was to go to Jardín and catch the last bus, which is at 3 pm. We first took the 9 am bus from the hotel to the town of Santa Rosa de Cabal. The bus cost 2,000 COP. From the town, we needed to walk to the main road a bit outside the town to catch a bus to Manizales. The pick-up point is next to a gas station, but we really advise you to ask around to be sure you are waiting for the bus in the right place because there is no sign. We waited 15 minutes before a bus stopped; I don’t know if we were lucky or if they run frequently. We paid 10,000 COP, and it was about a 45-minute drive.

From Manizales, we needed to take a bus to Riosucio. Only one bus does this route, more or less every hour. In reality, it leaves when the bus is full. When we arrived, we were missing two more people to leave, so we had to wait a bit. We left Manizales around 11 am. The drive was about 2.5 hours and cost 23,000 COP.

We arrived around 1:30 pm in Riosucio. We were early for the next and last bus, but at least we weren't going to miss it. It wasn’t easy to organize this trip without a bus timetable, but we made it, so you can make it too! It was lunchtime, so we ate at a restaurant in front of the bus station.

It’s 3 pm, time to get the last bus. Riosucio is the only city in the south that connects to Jardín; there are only 2 buses per day: at 8 am and 3 pm. And it’s not a classic bus; it’s a chiva. The chiva is a traditional and colorful bus from Colombia. It was quite an experience. We took a long mountain path, stopping regularly at different farm properties to drop off people. It was the authentic Colombia. The trip was 4 long hours and cost 25,000 COP. We were really happy to arrive.

We arrived in Jardín around 7 pm, checked in at our hotel called Balcony, then went to the main square to have a beer and eat at a street food stand. Then we went to bed early.

Day 7: Jardín

We woke up around 7 am and went to have breakfast at Macana. It’s a super cool breakfast restaurant on the main square. Good quantity and really good food. Highly recommended! Then we did two walks.

We started the first walk around 9 am, took the Camino Charco Corazón towards La Cascada del Amor. Then we crossed the Río Volcanes, saw the entrance to Cueva de los Murciélagos (but it was closed), and walked to the Mirador La Herrerita, where we stopped to have a coffee and take pictures. The landscape was super beautiful with the fields of bananas and coffee. And we finished this walk by going down with La Garrucha to reach the village.

After this first walk, we were still full of energy for a second walk. So, we went to the other side towards the Cascada La Escalera. There, you can do some canyoning; if we were staying longer, we would have booked it. Then, we did the loop to reach the Mirador Cristo Rey. When we were going back down to the village by the Sendero Cristo Rey, we crossed fields of bananas and coffee; that part was the best and the hardest part of this walk. Then, we crossed this cute little bridge and arrived back in the village.

We took a shower and rested a bit. Then, we went to the main square to have a beer and had dinner at a meat restaurant called La Parrilla de mi Pueblo. The meat was super good.

Day 8: Jardín to Medellín

We woke up around 7 am as always. We first went to book our bus ticket for Medellín. We took the 10:30 am bus. Then, we went to have breakfast at Dulces Del Jardín, a really cute place that sells homemade biscuits and jams.

At 10:30 am, we departed for Medellín. The bus trip was about 3.5-4 hours and cost 34,000 COP. We took a taxi to our hotel, which was in the neighborhood of El Poblado. In the afternoon, we visited this trendy neighborhood and had a beer on the rooftop bar Mosquito.

At night, we went to the 3 Cordilleras brewery. On Saturday night, the entrance fee is 58,000 COP, and you get 5 draught beers and live rock music. It was nice to be in a different atmosphere.

Day 9: Medellín

Today, we were going to visit the famous Comuna 13. We booked a free tour with Zippy Tour and gave 25,000 COP each as a tip. Our guide was Andrés, who was from Comuna 13, so it was super interesting. We went on a Sunday, and it was super crowded; it has become so touristy that it’s not dangerous, at least during the day.

When we went down to the station, we took the Metrocable to see the city from above. You can do the loop from the San Javier station; it’s about 30 minutes and costs the price of a metro ticket.

Then, we took the metro to the city center to see Plaza Botero and the Palacio de la Cultura. There is also a museum, but it was closed. The city center felt a bit dodgy, so we didn’t stay that long.

We came back to our hotel in El Poblado, rested a bit before having dinner at Mamasita Medallo, a trendy restaurant where we enjoyed happy hour and sharing platters.

Day 10: Guatapé

Today, we were going to Guatapé. We took a taxi to the Terminal del Norte bus station, bought tickets for the 9 am bus, and arrived around 11 am. We checked into our beautiful hotel with an incredible view and close to the town, called La Madriguera. Then, we went down to the town to visit and have lunch before climbing the Piedra del Peñol.

We took a moto-chiva to go to the Piedra del Peñol; it cost us 12,000 COP. The entrance fee for the Piedra is 20,000 COP. And after that, you need to go up more than 700 steps. We thought it would be much more difficult than it was, so in the end, it’s quite accessible. From the top, you have a super nice view; the landscape is breathtaking. On top, we tried a beer michelada with mango; it wasn’t the best, but it was the best seller, so we had to try it.

Then, we went back to Guatapé, got lost in its beautiful and colorful streets, and had dinner.

Day 11: Guatapé

Today, it’s time to go back home. Unfortunately, there is no public transport to go to the airport, so we had two possibilities: go back to Medellín and then to the airport, which is more than a 3-hour trip, or take a taxi that cost us 150,000 COP but is only a 1-hour trip, allowing us to enjoy our beautiful hotel more. We decided to stay longer and enjoy this incredible hotel we had.

Around midday, we went to the airport and took the plane to Cartagena.