Colombia

Starting Price:	$4,781.00
Trip Length:	12 days
Includes airfare allowance from Miami (US)

Interests:

Culinary/Wine

Cathedral in Bogotá

Coffee Plantations

Tayrona Ecohabs

The land of Coffee and Sunny Tayrona - Bogotá, Coffee Triangle, Cartagena and Tayrona National Park

Description Pricing Itinerary Hotels

Colombia’s the second most diverse country in the world. Take this Colombia tour, and you’ll have the chance to explore Tayrona, a national park with a notably high concentration of biodiversity and 37,000 acres to its name; Bogotá, a capital city rife with culture; the Coffee Triangle, where you’ll tour a plantation and taste some of the world’s finest coffee; and Cartagena, a city filled with historic streets, alley ways and stories.

This Colombia tour begins in Bogotá, Colombia’s capital city. Set high in the Andes (at more than 8,000 feet), Bogotá is replete with culture and rich colonial heritage. You’ll see main squares, churches and museums, such as the Museum of Botero (home to the artwork of Picasso, Renoir, Matisse and Monet, to name a few).

From there, you’ll head to The Coffee Triangle, or the coffee farming region (comprised of three Colombian departments, or states: Caldas, Risaralda and Quindio). You’ll have the chance to see colorful, colonial houses and tour plantations, where some of the world’s finest coffee is produced.

Next up: Cartagena, a city filled with historic streets, alley ways and stories. Take in the old, walled city’s tiled roofs, balconies and courtyard gardens, and be sure to pack your camera. Words don’t seem to do Cartagena justice.

You’ll wrap up your tour Tayrona (a national park with a notably high concentration of biodiversity), where you’ll explore 37,000 acres of white Caribbean beaches and the foothills of the Sierra Nevada.

We offer a choice of 3-, 4-, 5-star and deluxe hotels. In Bogotá the deluxe option is the Sofitel Bogota Victoria Regia, and in Cartagena the deluxe option is the Casa del Arzobispado or the Quadrifolio Hotel. Accommodation in Tayrona National Park is in Ecohabs, round, ecologically-friendly, two-floor cabins with thatched roofs (in the style of Tayrona Indian architecture). Note: All Ecohabs have private bathrooms and are set on a stone base. Please inquire about these options with one of our travel consultants.

This tour includes airfare allowance from Miami (US), on non-holiday dates. You do not need to fly via Miami; Yampu will fly you the most direct way to your city of destination. Depending on your travel dates and proximity of travel, we will quote you the most economical surcharge from your city or country of origin.

Additional information on this trip:

Days of Week the Trip can Start:
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday
Dates this trip is NOT available for online booking (please submit a regular request):
06 April - 12 April

20 December - 02 January
Visited Cities:
Bogota, Armenia (Quindio), Pereira, Cartagena, Tayrona National Park

Day 1

Bogotá
Upon arrival transfer to your hotel. Bogotá is a modern capital city with stand-out cultural, intellectual and social draws as well as rich colonial heritage.

Day 2

Bogotá City Tour
After breakfast start in on our private tour to the historic center known as La Candelaria. Old “casonas” (grand houses marked Spanish influence) with iron windows, thick wooden doors, balconies and internal patios and gardens line the ancient streets. La Candelaria unfolds around the Plaza Bolívar, named after Simón Bolívar, El Libertador. Originally called Plaza Mayor, it was used for civil and military events and as a marketplace, bull ring and execution platform.

The cathedral beside the square (on the land where Bogotá’s first church was built in 1539) holds weighty collection of liturgical, textile and ornamental objects collected over four centuries. Next to it is the Capilla del Sagrario, known for its superior architecture, and nearby is the Capitolio, built between 1847 and 1926. Influenced by Ionic, Neoclassical and Renaissance styles, it is made of white stone built by several generations of stonemasons. The central area is occupied by the Salón Elíptico, where the meetings of congress take place. The wings house the current Cámara de Representantes and Senate. Busts of former presidents as well as General Tomás Cipriano de Mosquera and Rafael Núńez (the composer of the national hymn) line the internal patio. The tour finishes up in the Palace of Justice.

From there, you'll go to the Museo Botero home to the artwork of Picasso, Renoir, Dalí, Matisse, Monet and Giacometti, to name a few (donated by the artist Fernando Botero and others). After that, you'll head to the Museo del Oro whose collection features nearly 34,000 gold objects and 20,000 in stone, ceramic, textiles and precious stones from the Quimbaya, Calima, Tayrona, Sinu, Muisca, Tolima, Tumaco and Magdalena cultures. The Museo de Oro's collection is considered one of the most meaningful and substantial collections of its kind—worldwide.

Afternoon at leisure. (We recommend checking out another city museum if you're up to it.)

Day 3

Bogotá – Armenia
Transfer to the airport to take the flight to Armenia. Upon arrival transfer to your hotel. After check-in you'll take a private tour of the Quimbaya Museum, where you'll see a collection of gold, ceramic and wooden objects that date back to the first, local settlements.

Day 4

Filandia – Valle del Cocora – Salento – Pereira
After breakfast you'll take a private tour of Filandia (known for basket weaving and its “antioqueńo” architecture) and the Cocora Valley. Located within the central mountain range, the Cocora Valley is part of Los Nevados National Park, home to the wax palm (Ceroxylon quindiuense), a tree that can grow to be as tall as 60 meters. The park also boasts many species of birds—such as the hummingbird, the orejiamarillo and the endangered, palmero parrot. The local roads are lined with colonial farm houses with architecture typical of Colombian coffee growing regions. The colonizers, mainly from Antioquia, built houses with wooden columns, tile roofs, and bamboo and mud walls painted in bright colors during the period of the so-called Antioquian colonization. You'll take a short walk to see the palms before you continue to Salento, characterized by colorful, colonial houses. Transfer to Pereira.

Day 5

Pereira – Chinchina – Coffee Process Farming Region – Pereira
Full-day private tour through coffee plantations set on steep hills. You'll go to one of the area’s coffee producing farms to see the plantation and production system (harvesting, sun drying and processing). (Harvesting in Colombia takes place year round though the principal harvesting months are: October, May and June.) Colombian plants (mainly of the Arabica variety) yield a delicate, light (and well-appreciated) coffee. The coffee process starts after the beans are placed in a germination facility (for about 75 days) and then put in plastic bags (partially exposed to the sun) until they germinate. The small trees are then planted, and they yield their first fruit in about two years. The fruit is harvested once turns bright red (the indication that it has matured). Once the fruit is picked, the pulp is removed, and the beans are washed and sun dried. (Now, most big producers use machinery to clean and dry the beans.) The beans are roasted on-site, sold in grains, ground and exported (ready for consumption). Visit to a “trilladora” after lunch to observe the manual selection of the coffee grains and take part in a tasting.

Day 6

Pereira – Cartagena
Transfer to the airport to take your flight to Cartagena. Upon arrival transfer to your hotel.

Day 7

Cartagena City Tour
After breakfast you'll set off on a private tour with a panoramic view of the city from the monastery and church of La Popa. You'll have the chance to check out the church of La Popa. Built in 1606 and perched on the area’s only noteworthy elevation, the church used to be known as “La Popa del Galeón” on account of its strong resemblance to the stern of a galleon.

Next up: a visit to the fortress of San Felipe de Barajas, built on the San Lázaro hill in order to defend the city from pirate attacks.

From there, you'll head to the old town to visit the convent of San Pedro Claver and the artisan center in Las Bóvedas.

Day 8

Cartagena
Day at leisure. We recommend an excursion to Islas del Rosario.

Day 9

Cartagena – Tayrona Park
After breakfast you'll start in on a 4 to 5 hour trip towards Tayrona National Park in a private car. Arrival and check-in at Ecohabs.

Day 10

Tayrona National Park
Day at leisure. Lie out on the beach, try snorkeling, go horseback riding, rent a bike or just kick back.

Day 11

Tayrona National Park
Another day at leisure.

Day 12

Tayrona Park – Santa Marta
After breakfast transfer to Santa Marta’s airport to take your flight to Bogotá. Upon arrival international flight back home or overlap with an add-on of your choice.

Suggested Hotels by City and Category *

Bogota
3-star	Dann Norte
4-star	Morrison
5-star	Sofitel Victoria Regia
Deluxe	Charleston Bogota
Armenia (Quindio)
3-star	Hotel del Campo o Villa Nora
4-star	Casa de Campo El Delirio
5-star	Bambusa
Cartagena
3-star	Hotel Caribe, Almirante Estelar, Hotel La India Catalina, or similar.
4-star	Hotel Hilton Cartagena (Bocagrande area), Hotel Bovedas de Santa Clara (Old Town), or similar.
5-star	Sofitel Santa Clara (Old Town), La Merced Hotel Boutique (Old Town), or similar.
Deluxe	Casa del Arzobispado Hotel Boutique (Old Town), Quadrifolio Hotel Boutique (Old Town), La Passion Hotel, or similar.
Tayrona National Park
3-star	Ecohabs

* Subject to confirmation at time of booking

Occupancy Type	3-star	4-star	5-star	Deluxe
Double	$4781	$5109	$5634	$5965
Single	$7713	$8803	$9675	$10336

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