Flowers and Flavours of Colombia

Activity Level:

Summary

Colombia offers a dazzling array of lush landscapes, colourful cities and natural wonders, all bathed in the benign warmth of the tropics. We will see wonderful flowers but we will also experience rich flavours and, of course, the most flavoursome of coffees.

We begin in the capital Bogotá, closely associated with Simon Bolivar, the revered military leader who led Colombia and other neighbouring states to independence from the Spanish Empire. It is also home to the largest botanical garden in Colombia, with a diverse range of flora including a wide variety of Amazonian flowers and a notable collection of orchids. After visiting a National Park of bewildering biodiversity we move on to Pereira in the heart of the Colombian Coffee Region for a taste sensation.

We see more orchids, birds and butterflies before we move on to Medellín, a once notorious city which now revels in its soubriquet of the ‘City of Eternal Spring’. A highlight here will be a visit to a ‘silletera’, where extravagant wreaths of flowers are created and displayed. Our tour concludes in Cartagena, a colourful colonial city where the Spaniards once fought off attacks by the English. We also explore a nearby nature reserve and observe a wide range of flora and fauna, so typical of this extravagantly endowed country.

Excursions

Optional excursion to Galerazamba £45.00