Visiting the Parque Nacional del Cafe (Quindio, Colombia)

I added a song to this post because I can't think of Colombia without the appropriate music. This is Jorge Celedon a famous vallenato singer. The song is about the many great things about Colombia and it is called "la invitacion" which means the invitation.

Parque Nacional del Cafe

(Km 6 vía Montenegro Pueblo Tapao, Quindío, Colombia)

During my last trip to Cali in December I knew that one of the things to show my boyfriend about my Country was the National Coffee Park. He is not from Colombia, and since he loves Colombian coffee this trip was a must in our itinerary. 

The trip in December had been planned for months and even years with my family. We had all been back to Cali during the holidays after we moved to the US, but we never planned the trip together as a family. One of the reasons that we wanted to go back was "La feria de Cali". La feria is the end of the year celebration that happens every year from December 25th to December 30th. There are concerts, parades, the best full fighters from the world come to Cali, the country clubs have parties with the most popular singers and bands, and the whole City participates in a massive party.

We arrived December 25th and stayed until January 6th. I had planned the whole Feria week but for January we could just relax and recharge from the parties. On January 2nd, together with my family we rented a van to go to the Coffee park. Two and a half hours away from Cali is the Colombian Coffee Region. The Coffee Park is right at the heart of this region. This park is about the history and production of Colombian coffee and the culture, la cultura del cafe. I'm a coffee lover and I can drink it at any time of the day without problems with caffeine. I highly recommend this park for any Colombian and not Colombian. 

The land where the park is located is beautiful as well as the scenery on the way there. I visited the park first when it first opened over 15 years ago. It has changed a lot since then. My favorite part is the "Sendero del cafe" this is were they teach you how the coffee bean is grown and you get to walk though thousands of coffee trees. I also liked the replica of the coffee region town. This is a beautiful part of the park, there is replica of the Plaza de Bolívar from the City of Armenia in 1926, a colonial church, and many houses modeled after the typical architecture of the small towns in the area. There is one show that nobody should miss. This is called el show del cafe and it is a folk dance show about Colombia and in a way they also explain how coffee is part of our culture. The end of the show is very moving for those that live out of the Country. The song ends with a line that says something like: this is my Country and why will I live somewhere else? and of course there were tears in our side. Pictures and video were not allowed during this show. Make sure that your ticket includes the show because this is extra. 

The food court is in the middle of  a replica of a coffee town

the plaza with the food court in the back

small coffee trees

raw coffee beans. This is how they are sold and exported

The view

Taking a break at Juan Valdez

Enjoying a cup of the best coffee in the world

The coffee museum was also a highlight of the day. The only thing I don't like about the park is the kids zone where they try to imitate an amusement park. I understand kids getting bored, but I think the beauty of this park is to learn about coffee not to go to the bumper cars. I do not see a reason for having mechanical rides for the kids when they can ride horses, train rides, walk the trail with all the myths from the country side, and many other things. I am not complaining, I just had to do a complete review including the things I don't like. I just stayed away from that side of the park and enjoyed my day!

Typical coffee region house in miniature 

The jeep Willy's was an important part in the development of the Colombian coffee boom

This is how the coffee is stored and exported

The cost of this trip is approximately $100 dollars per person (including transportation, park entrance, and food). For more information visit: http://www.parquenacionaldelcafe.com/newpage/