Armenia (Colombia)

Armenia is a city in Quindío department in Colombia's Zona Cafetera.

Get in

By plane

El Eden Airport (AXM) is 20 minutes from the city center. Has a food court in one of its sides were you can enjoy tropical fruit juices like maracuya, mango and guanabana; also try some coffee cookies and the special caramel spread with coffee ready to go. There are other places with magazines and always display some typical art in the walls. The washrooms are very clean and in general people are very warm.

By bus

The bus terminal is 3 km from the centre of town where there are plenty of hotels. Expect to pay no more than COP$4,000 for a cab to the centre.

• Cali: COP$22,000, 3½ hours
• Bogotá: COP$40,000, 8 hours
• Medellín: COP$31,000, 6 hours
• Popayán: COP$31,000, 6 hours
• Manizales: COP$17,000, 2½ hours every 15 minutes with a minibus
• Pereira: COP$7,800, 1 hours every 15 minutes with a minibus
• Salento: COP$4,200, 30 min

Get around

There are taxis all over and they run into the night. Negotiate a price before riding if the meter is off.

See

• Cocora Valley. 
• 🌍 Parque De La Vida, Avenida Bolívar corner Calle 6N. Rather big park with a lake and a artificial water cascade. Calm atmosphere and good for relaxing. Many different trees including a bamboo forest. It is worth a visit. 

Parque de la Vida located in the north of Armenia with a lake and a water cascade.

Do

• Recuca - Recorrido de la cultura cafetera (
• National Coffee Park (Parque Nacional de Cafe). A theme park where you can see different fauna and vegetation, see typical folk dances, ride roller coasters, visit museums inside the park, and ride a touristic train. 

Buy

Eat

• Restaurante Cafe Quindio Gourmet (www.cafequindio.com.co), Carerra 14, #7N (Ave. Bolivar) (Adjacent to the Parque de laVida, and across the street from Hotel San Martin in the upscale university area), ☎ [phone]. 11:00 - 22:00. A dining experience in a clean, modern setting with outdoor seating under a large canopy in addition to the inside tables. Not pricey by U.S. or European standards, exotic appetizers and salads are priced from COP$9,500-16,500, and beef, pork, chicken, seafood, and pasta entrees are COP$18,000-34,500. Beverages include natural fruit juices, coffee, beer, wine, and scotch. A great venue for a first date with a lovely senorita, or your significant other. There are also Quindio coffees, coffee cookies, and gift sets available in the gift shop. The gracious owner, Jaime Moreno Motta, is likely to personally greet you, especially if he hears you speaking English, in which he, and several of his staff are fluent. $$$. 

Drink

Sleep

• Hotel Cafe Plaza. Check-out: 15:00. COP$30,000. 
• Hotel Karlaka, Km 3 via al valle, ☎ [phone]. A great and warm place with kind staff, all types of rooms (nicely decorated), amazing swimming pools and a Turkish bath. The hotel is eco-friendly. COP$100,000. 
• Hotel San Martin, Carrera 14, #7N-32 (Ave. Bolivar) (Across the street from Parque de la Vida in an upscale area in the vicinity of the University and major medical clinics), ☎ [phone]. Check-in: 15:00, check-out: 12:00. A very pleasant, clean, and modern hotel with very helpful and friendly staff, within two blocks of various dining venues, drugstores and a supermarket. A very safe and quiet area in the evenings. Approximately COP$4,000 cab ride from the main bus terminal, and COP$2,000-3,000 COP from the chaotic downtown area. All rooms have LCD flat screen TVs, refrigerator, Wi-Fi, and include a hot breakfast. Single COP$79,000-89,000; Double COP$111,000-123,000; Triple COP$154,000; and Studios for up to five persons COP$129,000-245,000. $$. 
• 🌍 Casa Quimbaya, Calle 16N # 14-92 (Take bus No. 18 from the bus terminal up to the stop "Hospital". Walk back one block (heading south) and turn right into Calle 16N. Hostel is at the end of the street on the right.), ☎ [phone], e-mail: [e-mail]. Backpacker Hostel with dormitories and private rooms. Dorms start at COP$23,000. The rooms and bathrooms are clean. Hot water available. Laundry service available. Kitchen available for cooking etc. Kind and helpful staff. There is a café/bar in the basement with street access, where music and sometimes live music is played until 22:00. Live music can be very loud and is heard in all the common rooms. Check-out at 11:00. 

Go next

Visit some of the small towns in the area:

• Salento, a little town close to the Valley de Cocora.
• Calarcá, another small town nearby.
• Circasia
• Filandia