Colombia (February-March 2018): Across PNN Los Nevados, from Salento to Santa Isabel de Tolima
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I had initially planned a 5-day trek across Parque Nacional Natural Los Nevados, including a one-day ascent of Nevado del Tolima (5215m). However, due to heavy rain, I had to postpone the start of the trek by one day, which led to cancelling this ascent. Some of the main attractions along this trek are the stunning ″forests″ of frailejones (cactus-looking plants), the park′s volcanoes, the life style in the isolated fincas (farms/ranches), and the cowboy town of Santa Isabel. The arrangements for the trek made by Diego, the owner of Salento Trekking, were perfect.
Maps:
- North Colombia.
Area map.
Image of Google Earth map with waypoints. Click here (.kmz file) to access the waypoints in Google Earth (only waypoints 00 to 23 were GPS recorded).
The trek lasted 4 days:
- Day 1: Drive from Salento to waypoint 00 (at the eastern end of the Cocora valley) and hike from waypoint 00 to waypoint 05 (Finca La Argentina).
- Day 2: Hike from waypoint 05 to waypoint 08 (Finca La Playa).
- Day 3: Hike from waypoint 08 to waypoint 15 (Finca El Aguila).
- Day 4: Hike from waypoint 15 to waypoint 21. Then horse ride to waypoint 23, followed by motorcycle ride to Santa Isabel de Tolima.
To give a sense of distances the straight-line distance between Salento and Santa Isabel is 53km; it is 32km between waypoints 00 and 21. But, of course, the path makes many twists and includes long ups and downs, with 3 passes above 4000m.
I saw about two dozen trekkers on the first day, two on the second, and none on the last two.
Christian, a native of Salento, my excellent guide on this trek.
To see pictures of the trek, click the two links below:
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