Los Saltos del Buey Ecoparque and Tour Entre Flores

Situated between La Ceja and Abejorral is one of the biggest waterfalls of Antioquia, with a 80m high free fall from Rio Buey and an impressive flow of water. There Rio Buey merges with Rio Piedras and they make together a multitude of cascades and waterfalls in a splendid canyon. Los Saltos Ecopark exploits the place in the most eco-friendly way. They built a huge flying fox, 700m long, with the highest point 300m above the bottom of the canyon. The return walk is a bit shorter and a bit lower, which allows you to cross over the canyon and have the best view over the numerous waterfalls before arriving at the biggest one. Once on the other side, different activities are possible: we can just go for a walk to the lower part of the big waterfall (about 1h30 round trip, with quite a steep); you can do a via-ferrata starting at the bottom of the waterfall and going up along it (about 1h30 added to the 30/40min to walk down first); or you can also hang in a hammock for 30min (up to 4 people) in the middle of the flying fox cable, while drinking a local beer, and watching the sunset over the canyon and the surrounding mountains. Late afternoon, lots of birds fly around. There is also a rock climbing spot, and a slack-line between 2 trees to test your balance. The park also produces 2 types of excellent coffee, 1 plantation on each side of the canyon, managed by different families. You can drink it filtered or espresso. There is also a tree climbing place, a pool and a sauna.

Close by, in the village of La Ceja, you can find numerous cultures of flowers to be exported, Columbia being one of the biggest exporters of flowers. Among them, white hydrangeas (they are then painted according to the clients’ wishes) are a big part of the exports, mainly to Europe and The United States. This flower farm is our first stop on our “Entre Flores” tour, generally followed by a meal on the spot surrounded by humming-birds. The owner of the place also owns the biggest collection of orchids in the world, with more than 5000 species out of the 17000 species known, in his personal botanic garden, through which runs a stream. Visiting this place is like the icing on the cake even for people not particularly fond of flowers; everybody is in owe in front of so many colours, shapes and scents… In between the botanic side and the owner’s residence, we go through a horse stud with French horses trained for obstacles…another passion of the owner who care for them and train them…and then sell them, just like the hydrangeas, to Europe or the States.

Altitude 2250m