Colombia Coffee Region Cycling

Salento · Colombia

Challenging8 daysSouth America~£600 est.

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Overview

Colombia's Eje Cafetero -- the UNESCO-listed Coffee Cultural Landscape across Quindio, Risaralda and Caldas -- is cycling country of a very particular kind: every road either climbs or plunges through a patchwork of coffee, plantain and bamboo on the flanks of the Cordillera Central. Riding finca to finca on rough byroads, you sleep in working farmhouses, learn cupping from growers whose families have farmed the same slopes for generations, and freewheel into Salento or Filandia for trout and colour-drenched colonial balconies. The detour into the Valle de Cocora, where 60-metre wax palms stand in drifting cloud, is unmissable. Do not underestimate the gradients: this is eight days of 10-15 per cent ramps between 1,200 and 2,400 metres, and afternoon downpours arrive most days around three -- ride mornings. A gravel or mountain bike is the right tool. October-November brings the main harvest if you want to pick; December-February and July are the drier riding windows. Around 600 pounds covers finca stays and food, and Willys jeep transfers rescue tired legs.