Things to do in Zona Cafetera
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La Fogata
This fine restaurant is one of the best in town. It does good steaks and seafood, and the menu offers a few twists, like bistec de caballo (horse steak) and vuelve a la vida, a fish soup rumored to be an aphrodisiac. The restaurant sits on a triangular property not far from CC Portal del Quindío – look for the manicured bushes outside. The point of the triangle is an attached cafe-bar, open Monday to Saturday from 5pm to midnight, that serves gourmet cocktails (COP$15,000).
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Termales El Otoño
Termales El Otoño is outside Manizales on the way back to town, which helps alleviate the cracking headache and nausea you will experience on the trip down the mountain. It sells beer, liquor and snacks. On weekends the place turns into a party zone, and there are 15 luxury cabins nearby (COP$155,000 to COP$294,000). To get here on your own take the bus marked ‘Termales El Otoño’ from the Manizales terminal (COP$1200, 40 minutes).
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El Solar
Just a few hundred meters from the zona rosa (nightlife zone) is this top-notch grill restaurant with the funky decor. Kids’ bikes, umbrellas and empty wine bottles dangle from the ceiling, and bamboo shoots creep in from the outside. Friday night is a big night here, when there’s live music and beer prices double after 8pm. Afterward walk 200m downhill and take your pick of half-a-dozen discos.
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La Fonda Antioqueña
A block from Plaza de Bolívar is this fine paísa restaurant. It serves traditional fare, including bandeja paísa (platter), and on weekends, sancocho. There are good views of the countryside from the 2nd-floor perch. Be sure to try mazamorra, a typical Zona Cafetera drink made of cooked corn with a guava bocadillo (sweet), served with a splash of milk.
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La Fonda Antioqueña
A block from Plaza de Bolívar is this fine paísa restaurant. It serves traditional fare, including bandeja paísa (platter), and on weekends, sancocho. There are good views of the countryside from the 2nd-floor perch. Be sure to try mazamorra, a typical Zona Cafetera drink made of cooked corn with a guava bocadillo (sweet), served with a splash of milk.
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Ecosistemas
Ecosistemas offers excursions to Nevado del Ruiz from Manizales. It includes a visit to Hotel Termales del Ruiz. The standard one-day tour costs COP$95,000 for foreigners, including transport, breakfast and lunch, and admission to the national park and the thermal baths. It can organize longer, multiday tours of the park as well.
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Comfamiliares
Comfamiliares offers excursions to Nevado del Ruiz from Manizales. It uses Termales del Otoño. The standard one-day tour costs COP$95,000 for foreigners, including transport, breakfast and lunch, and admission to the national park and the thermal baths. It can organize longer, multiday tours of the park as well.
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Museo del Oro Quimbaya
This is one of Colombia’s best gold museums, featuring an excellent collection of ceramics and gold artifacts of Quimbaya culture. It’s in the Centro Cultural, 5km northeast of the center. Grab bus 18, 36 or 27 northbound on Av Bolívar (COP$1100), or take a taxi (COP$5000).
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Maria Juana
A groovy bar with a downstairs lounge space, outdoor patio and live music shows from 11pm. At closing time there are plenty of taxis to take you back to Armenia (COP$12,000 to COP$15,000).
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Parque de la Vida
This large city park is north of town on Av Bolívar. There are waterfalls, several small lakes, forest areas and gardens, and kiosks selling food and drink.
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Mirador de la Plaza Taberna
For a quiet beer on the main plaza, the Mirador de la Plaza Taberna also serves espresso and has photos of Armenia before the earthquake.
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Reserva Natural Acaime
At Acaime there are basic accommodations, and you can usually get a hot chocolate (with cheese) here. You’ll also see plenty of hummingbirds feeding.
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La Habana
For a drink with a rowdy student crowd, try La Habana, just outside the gates of the Universidad de Quindío.
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Termales San Vicente
Set at the head of a steep 200m-wide valley and straddling a cold creek, these newer thermals are 18km east of Santa Rosa de Cabal but feel a world away. There are five thermals pools (37°C) – the water is sold for its reputed medicinal properties – and the spa offers the full range of spa treatment, including mud therapy, algae facials, peels and massage. Numerous thermal springs bubble up from the earth nearby, in one spot emerging to mix with an adjacent creek, allowing you to bathe in a warm stream. There are three natural saunas, built over 80°C to 90°C hot springs below. A 300m-canopy line zips across the narrow valley to a 30m-waterfall you can rappel down. Several…
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Termales de Santa Rosa
These spectacular thermal springs are located at the foot of three adjacent waterfalls, the largest 170m high. Opened in 1945 and built in the style of a Swiss chalet, the hotel and tourist complex have the air of another place and time. There’s a complete spa service for those wanting the luxury treatment, including exfoliation, massage and thermal mud treatments. You can also just come for the day to laze around in 40°C pools. There’s a cafeteria, bar and a more upscale restaurant in the hotel lobby.
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Balneario de Santa Rosa Thermals
Owned and managed by the neighboring spa, the Balneario de Santa Rosa thermals are cheap. A 25m-waterfall crashes down next to the four nearby thermal pools, and Colombian music blasts from the speakers. A bar and cafeteria serves food, beer and liquor. There’s a shaded lounge with wicker furniture for when you’ve had too much sun. From the entrance, walk up a stone path through a lovely garden about 10 minutes to reach the balneario (swimming hole).
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