Valle De Cocora, Colombia

“The Earth has its music for those who listen close enough.”

If you were to ask me to describe to you a paradise whose beauty is so strong it makes your heart hurt, to describe a place where serenity meets mystic fog, where coffee is born and brewed, and where the river runs so swiftly you forget what city noise sounds like…Valle de Cocora would be it. Located in La Zona Cafetera just 15 minutes outside of Salento, Valle de Cocora is home to the skinniest and tallest palm trees in the world.

You can choose to hike or ride a horse through the valley and there are several trails that can last anywhere up to 7 hours long. We chose to hike on a misty cloudy day in May through muddy trails and derelict bridge crossings.

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This looked like something straight out of Dr. Seuss.

Sketchy bridge crossing #1.

Bark so orangish-red it looked like blood. What a contrast against the dark Earth.

Are we in a fairy tale?

We stayed at Mocambo Hostel, located just ten minutes from Salento down a windy road into the valley. We had a rental car, but it was still a very bumpy, muddy, rocky dirt road leading up to the secluded property, which was far away from any other civilization. The majority of people who stay here are backpackers and hike in from Salento using a steep trail that starts right in the backyard of the property, which sits on several hectares of land with free-roaming cows, chickens, horses, dogs, cats and butterflies. We were the only people staying in the entire hostel on the first night, so it was extra quiet. We were later joined by other travelers from Germany and Bellingham, WA (what a small world since we lived in Seattle!) Here are some photos of the property:

Our hostel in Salento, Colombia

Our room, #7.

Our room. Trying to sleep in a double bed with a two-meter tall man is quite the tight squeeze! Sasha’s feet hung off the end of the bed by about a whole foot.

Brekkie…simple but good! Farm fresh eggs.

Nightly bonfires are held in the tee-pee every night; just ask a staff to light the fire for you!

The meditation and hammock veranda.

Nap spot #1

Nap spot #2

Reflection pool with fresh (and cold!) water from the mountain springs.

Brekkie…simple but good! Farm fresh eggs.

The shared area at reception.

I booked Mocambo Hostel based on reading plenty of outstanding reviews on Hostel World, Airbnb and Trip Advisor. I saw another reviewer write “it will break your heart to leave this place” and she was absolutely correct. Sasha and I spent three weeks in Colombia and two weeks in Ecuador in some pretty rad places, and this was by far, our favorite accommodation.

Mocambo Hostel Highlights

– Breakfast is included! Most mornings we had leftovers from dinner the night before, so we just gave the cook our leftovers and she made us an omelette or scramble using fresh eggs

– Hammocks – there are three; one near the main reception area and two by the pool

– Natural pool (expect it to be brown and murky because it comes from mountain spring water and is therefore cold but refreshing on a warm day)

– The pool is by a lovely cabana further away from the main areas and feels more secluded. This was our favorite place to read a book and take a mid-day nap after eating a giant Mexican burrito or Holy Guacamole Burger at Brunch Diner in Salento

– There are dogs, cats, butterflies, cows and horses roaming freely on or around the property

– The sounds of nature are so calming

And for the biggest highlight….EDDIE THE HOSTEL DOG!!! Eddie is an adorable black and white pup who will absolutely lick you to death and love you immediately (he doesn’t pick and choose favorites, he just loves everyone.)

Eddie would cuddle up next to me with his head on my lap every evening while the crickets chirped and rain pitter-pattered on the tin roof. Eddie would greet us every time we came home as if he hadn’t seen us in a week, tail wagging, smile on his face, and paws up on our thighs…he was a super good hugger.

One day we hiked up the trail to go to Ocaso Finca for a coffee tour. Eddie led us the entire way up the hiking trail to the main dirt road. I thought he would turn around and come back at the end of the hike, but he led us the entire 3 kilometers to the front doorstep of the coffee farm past aggressive dogs guarding their territory trying to chase him away.

Eddie patiently waited the 1.5 hours curled up by the entrance while we did our tour. When it was clear that we were finished with our tour and headed back to the hostel, Eddie excitedly jumped up and walked back with us the entire way, running ahead and then waiting for us to catch up. I secretly tried to figure out how I could smuggle him home with us (joking)…but not really joking.

Dogs are viewed differently in South America because strays are so prevalent. Dogs hump each other all the time and make inadvertent baby dogs, and kids find the puppies in the street, take them home and beg their parents to keep them. The parents agree until the dog gets older (and not as cute), then they get fed up with having to feed the dog because they can barely afford to feed their human families first. So the dogs end up out on the street, skinny and starving. It breaks my heart but I have to remember that it’s the way of life there.

Little Eddie, our tour guide.

Eddie leading the way!

Eddie waiting patiently.

Learning about the planting process of growing coffee.

Coffee “cherries” growing on the plant. They are not ripe for picking until they are completely red.

Sasha the coffee cherry-picker!

It appears that other hostel dogs accompany their tourist humans as well! Eddie definitely walked the longest distance though.

Translucent wings!

This photo gives you an idea of how remote this property is.

An aerial view of the property from its backyard hiking trail.

The hike up from our hostel (pictured down below)

Banana tree trunk

We were each given a basket and five minutes to pick as many ripe red cherries as we could. This was my loot.

This is what a raw coffee bean looks like when it is squeezed out of the cherry. The juice is sweet and you can suck it out.

Cherries going into a machine to be separated.

A hand-cranked machine removes the coffee bean from the cherry.

Once the raw beans are removed, they go into a plant for processing.

The four stages of a coffee bean. All first grade coffee is exported out of Colombia (with the exception of high-end coffee stores and Juan Valdez Cafe, the Colombia equivalent of Starbucks.)

Beautiful vistas on the walk back to the hostel.

Sasha is so adorable; whenever we hike, he always has some sort of twig or nature element in his hand. He said, “I like this, it’s like a mini tree!”

Carrying the Pacific Northwest with us wherever we go.

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