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ITINERARY

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DAY 1 SAT ARRIVE BOGOTÁ, COLOMBIA
We arrive early morning in the Colombian capital and meet our guide and transfer to Bogota.

Start our discovery with a Colombian Coffee Tasting at Amor Perfecto in the neighbourhood of Chapinero before setting out to explore Bogota.

Visit colourful Paloquemao, Bogota’s major market visited by restaurant chefs as well as locals shopping for meat, fish, and exotic produce from around the world. The we continue on our walking tour through the nearby colonial district of La Candelaria, founded in 1538 and became the core of Bogota as the city grew up around it.

Take the cable car up Monserrate Hill for spectacular views of one of the largest cities in Latin America.

Check in to the hotel and the rest of the day at leisure.

Accommodation: Hotel Retiro 84 by MIJ or similar

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DAY 2 SUN BOGOTÁ – ZIPAQUIRA (B)
We begin this morning in the Usaquén neighbourhood, whose colonial buildings, trendy restaurants, and flea market draw Sunday morning visitors.

Then we travel north through the center of Colombia’s flower-growing industry to the town of Zipaquira, where we tour the “Salt Cathedral” – an underground church built inside a salt deposit. A functioning Roman Catholic church, the Salt Cathedral is considered an architectural and engineering marvel, having been carved from the halite rock of subterranean tunnels.

Then we stop for lunch at a local restaurant and have time to admire the historic city center.

Return to Bogota mid-afternoon, we visit the Gold Museum, featuring the world’s largest collection of pre-Hispanic gold work and the Botero Museum, housing paintings and sculpture by Fernando Botero, Colombia’s foremost living artist, along with his collection of mid-19th-century works by such artists as Corot, Renoir, and Monet.

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DAY 3 DAY 3 MON BOGOTÁ – PEREIRA (B)
Early today we fly to Pereira, Colombia’s Coffee Triangle, where some of the world’s best coffee grows in the fertile valleys surrounded by snow-topped mountains.

Upon arrival we visit a coffee plantation for a tour and to learn about Colombia’s role as a top producer of some of the finest java on Earth. We savour a coffee tasting, learning first-hand how to analyse the aroma, flavour, and body of good coffee.

Accommodation: Sonesta Hotel Pereira or similar

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DAY 4 TUE COCORA VALLEY – MEDELLIN (B)
Begin the day with a visit to Finca El Ocaso Salento to learn about the coffee industry in Colombia. Colombia is the world’s third largest producer of coffee and the only country that grows Arabic beans exclusively. The land around Pereira is perfect for the coffee bushes: rolling overgrown hills between two great mountain ranges with rich volcanic soils and great rivers like the Quindío. We will sample coffee brewed in different methods while gazing out on a blanket of coffee groves.

Afterwards, drive to Salento, a quaint town with colonial architecture. Enjoy lunch at El Portal de Cocora with its sweeping views.

Drive to the Valle de Cocora in the Central Cordillera of the Colombian Andes and enjoy a hike in the valley resplendent with native wax palms (palmas de cera), the largest palm in the world.

Return to Pereira airport and fly to Medellin, and on arrival, we are met and transferred to the hotel.

Accommodation: Hotel Poblado Alejandría or similar

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DAY 5 WED MEDELLIN (B/D)
This morning, awaken your senses to the sparkling colour and enticing scents on a flower farm tour in La Ceja. We ride a bike and stroll through the vibrant finca to discover an abundance of tropical plant species. The flower farm has hundreds of flowers bloom year around, we will admire the natural kaleidoscope and interact with the local flower farmers.

Return to the city and walk around Botero Square, the inviting sculpture plaza melding art, nature, culture, with 23 works by Fernando Botero.

Take the Metrocable – a gondola lift and soar over Santo Domingo. From here we drive to Comuna 13, the neighborhood is associated with street art performances, graffiti, bright colors, and an energetic environment that showcases its resilience. We will enjoy a Graffiti Tour features local street artists as guides.

Tonight we dine together at Colosal Restaurant.

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DAY 6 THU MEDELLIN – GUATAPÉ – BUCARAMANGA (B/L)
After check out, we take an excursion to Guatapé, a scenic lake formed by the reservoir ‘Embalse El Peñol-Guatapé’ with an immense rock that dominates the Guatape Lagoon and colonial village.

‘El Peñol’ is also known as ‘La Piedra’ (The Stone). This 200 meters high rock towering over the surrounding area and a stairway of more than 600 steps allow secure access to the top where offers a spectacular view.

The town of Guatapé is quiet. Its small square featured with church and beautiful houses with colorful facades, painted with representations of life that adorn the bottom of them.

When tour finished, we will transfer directly to Medellin airport for our flight to Bucaramanga, the capital of the Santander, known as the “City of Parks.” On arrival at Palonegro International Airport, transfer to the hotel for overnight.

Accommodation:Sonesta Hotel Bucaramanga or similar

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DAY 7 FRI BUCARAMANGA – BARICHARA (B)
This morning depart from Bucaramanga to Barichara and we stop en route at Curiti, means “town of weavers” in Guane dialect where we visit a workshop and learn about the process of weaving Fique, a natural fiber these indigenous people used.

Continue to Barichara, a colonial jewel and Colombia’s prettiest town, where tranquillity and architectural beauty define the ambiance. The town’s cobblestone streets and white-washed buildings create a timeless allure, providing a perfect setting for a cultural retreat.

On arrival, check in to the hotel and followed by lunch at Mija restaurant.

We take a walk on peaceful cobbled roads and explore its architecture, adobe houses, arts & crafts shops within. Barichara is among our favourites in Colombia, certainly one the most beautiful and best preserved in all of South America!

In town centre, there is a Church and a cemetery with the beautiful stone sculptures of every epitaph that worth to see.

Before the sun goes down, we reach to the sacred Tobares Lookout for a meditation and watch Sunset. Take in magnificent view over Suarez Canyon and the National Park Serrania de los Yariguies.

Afterwards, a food tour of Barichara. You’ll enjoy the sampling of a number of dishes that are genuinely distinctive to this region of Santander.Visiting several representative restaurants where you will try a variety of different products of the local autochthonous gastronomy.

Dinner at Elvia restaurant, we walk through the town center to see the locals and observe their life.

Accommodation: Hotel Boutique & Spa Terra Barichara or similar

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DAY 8 SAT CHICAMOCHA CANYON (B)
Chicamocha means “Silver River in Full Moon Night” in Guane dialect. It is the world second largest with a maximum depth of 2,000 metres, an area of 108,000 hectares and a length of 227 kilometres.

Early this morning, we travel by car and then hike 1.5km to the Chicamocha Canyon Lookout where we will admire the breathtaking landscape of the canyon, where we can connect oneself with the nature, feel calm amidst the mountains and enjoy the sounds of wind and glory sunrise.

A picnic breakfast will be provided.
Return to town and enjoy a Spa Session with massage, water Circuit Therapy and Flotarium therapy.

Afterwards, we come to Yogasana wellness center (La Loma) to attend a Yoga and Vibrocustic session for relaxation of body and soul.

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DAY 9 SUN BARICHARA–BUCARAMANGA–CARTAGENA(B)
This morning is free at leisure.

Optional hike along the Camino Real from Barichara to Guane (6.5Km).
The Camino Real is an age-old stone-paved road that was originally built by Guane, peoples indigenous to the area of Santander. The path from Barichara to Guane is 6.5 km long and the well-trodden part that includes easy uphill and downhill walking with some epic scenery. It meanders past traditional houses and farms and gives one an insight into life in rural Colombia.

Transfer from Guane to Barichara and then to Bucaramanga.

Enjoy a dinner at a local restaurant that features Bucaramanga’s culinary specialities before transffering to the airport for your flight to Cartagena.

On arrival. Meet and transfer to the hotel.

Accommodation: Casa estrella or similar

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DAY 10 MON CARTAGENA (B)
Cartagena is perhaps Colombia’s most famous city. It has been the setting for numerous novels, movies, and fantasies.

Morning is free at leisure.

This afternoon, we will take a walking tour to Cartagena’s emotional heart: the walled colonial city (Ciudad Amurallada), a UNESCO World Heritage site that has remained vital – and alluring – for almost 500 years.

Begin exploring the inner town, takes in the 12-foot-high city walls, winding cobblestone streets lined with colorful buildings bedecked with flowers, and intimate plazas. Following the footsteps of the renowned Colombian writer Gabriel García Márquez and stop at places that he mentions in his works including those places that figure prominently in his novels, Love in the Time of Cholera, Of Love and Other Demons, and The General in His Labyrinth.

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DAY 11 TUE CARTAGENA (B)
Full day is free at leisure.

You may want to visit the Bazurto market and get a glimpse the day-to-day life of real Cartageneros. Or enjoy a walk along the fortified walls, Las Murallas. These five miles of impressive walled defenses encircle the old town. They were constructed over two centuries ago to defend the city against marauding pirates.

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DAY 12 WED CARTAGENA – HOME (B)
Today, you are transferred to the airport for flight home.

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