From the vault: “Travel to Pereira in Colombia’s beautiful Coffee Triangle”

Pereira is one of the three cities that make up Colombia’s Coffee Triangle. Like neighbouring cities Armenia and Manizales, Pereira is surrounded by stunning, varied scenery and boasts incredible natural resources. The city is surrounded by the Otun an Consota Rivers and looming over the horizon are the snow-capped peaks of Los Nevados National Natural Park.

The surrounding region offers ample opportunities for hiking, horse-riding, wildlife spotting and much more. There are also opportunities to relax in the hot springs of Santa Rosa de Cabal, where you can spend the day/evening enjoying the natural waters and, if you fancy it, a couple of beers too.

Nearby are also plenty of coffee farms that you can visit. Here you can learn all about the history of Colombia’s coffee industry as well as the process by which some of the world’s best coffee is produced.

One of Pereira’s main attractions is the variety of local and international cuisine on offer, a result of the city being the region’s most commercially developed hub. Again the population of Pereira, like that of Armenia and Manizales, are warm, generous people with an industrious attitude.

The city’s major nightlife centres around the city’s main avenue: Avenida Simon Bolivar. A great club for a selection of salsa is Mango Biche, in the city’s Zona Rosa area. For a good selection of international food, try La Estancia. If you can travel a little outside the city, check out El Mirador, which serves a great selection of Argentinian cuisine and boasts incredible views.

Getting to Pereira from Bogotá takes roughly 9 hours and costs a little over $50,000. From the city you can visit Salento, Cocora Valley, and easily move on to Medellín.

Paul