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Jardín may be the ideal small town with its colourful colonial buildings, warm climate, backdrop of lush green hills, friendly people, sociable plaza lined with cafes, low prices, horses and carts roaming the streets and no gringos in sight. It’s not even difficult to get to – just a 3.5 hour bus ride from Medellin. Paisas from the big city often visit on the weekends but it’s not in the Lonely Planet and therefore not on foreigners’ radar. This means there are no souvenir shops although you’ll find a few hotels and a couple of guides willing to help you explore the surrounding countryside. It all feels very authentic, and most other travellers have never heard of it: the backpacker’s holy grail.
Things to Do in Jardín
Jardín isn’t the place to come for action-packed adventure, it’s more about soaking up the wonderfully slow pace of life and chatting to locals. There are however a couple of interesting trips.
La Cueva del Esplendor
The town’s main attraction is La Cueva del Esplendor (The Cave of Splendor) a waterfall within a cave reached by a difficult six hour trek. We took the easier option of horse riding up there. The hotel arranged the trip for us (45,000 COP/$23) and we were surprised when we picked up a Colombian family of six who would be joining us. The jeep took us a fair way up in the hills to the stables where we started the ride. The narrow path was muddy, rocky and steep with a treacherous drop not far from where our steeds were walking. The scenery was beautiful – Jardín is surrounded by endless green mountains, banana and coffee plantations.
After about 90 minutes we reached a small farm shop. One of the men in the family brought out a bottle of brandy and passed out the shots. I resisted, Simon didn’t. It was 10am. We left our horses behind as the rest of the path was too difficult. We wondered why our guide was bringing a rope…
The two guides helped the older ladies, and often us, to tackle the slippy mud tracks and jump over streams. The rope came in handy on one particularly difficult section.
Hidden beneath some Indiana-Jones style vines we reached La Cueva – yes the waterfall inside was rather splendid, but it’s one of those trips that’s more about the journey than the destination. A few braver souls than us took a dip in the icy waters.
It was 11am and a number of the men, worryingly including our guide, were drunk.
The return journey was even more tricky, especially as Simon had to hold the grandmother’s hand and help her along. Her guide wasn’t as steady as she’d have liked and he ended up on his arse a few times. It got worse when we got on the horses again – downhill on a steep muddy path is more treacherous than uphill. We had riding experience so were fine but one of the ladies fell off on the last particularly nerve-wracking stretch. Luckily she wasn’t hurt. The guide gave her some advice on how to ride down hills, helpfully after the accident.
Teleférico
For great views of the town take the cable car up the hill. It’s 5000 COP/ $2.50 per person and as there was no-one around when we went on a Friday afternoon we got a private ride. At the top there’s a cafe or you can take a stroll through farmland. From this viewpoint you realise just how big the church is for the size of the town.
Relaxing in the Plaza
Jardín’s plaza has to be a contender for one of the best in South America, and that’s saying a lot. The plaza is the hub of every Latin village, town and city – a place to meet, relax, people watch and drink coffee. Although there are other more elegant examples: Cusco and Arequipa in Peru come to mind, we could never afford a drink in these touristy squares, let alone a hotel room with a church view.
The low colonial buildings are white with splashes of blue, green, yellow or red, and the green hills are visible all around. Mostly Jardín’s plaza just has the best vibe. There are lots of trees and benches and people of all ages hanging out – children playing with the pigeons, teenagers gossiping, dignified old men in cowboy hats watching the world go by. The outskirts of the plaza are lined with colourful tables and chairs from the many cafes. The price of a coffee in this prime spot: 500 pesos, just $0.25. A freshly squeezed juice – mango, blackberry, pineapple, or maybe one of the more unusual Colombian fruits such as lulo or guanábana? A bargain at 1500 pesos – $0.75.
Watch the Gauchos
On Saturday night you are in for a treat in the plaza. This is a rural area and horses are often seen being ridden around town or maybe pulling a cart full of vegetables. But on Saturday nights the gauchos put on their best shirt and cowboy hat and ride their most attractive horse into town. We were alerted by the thunderous sound of horse hooves, and at first couldn’t figure out what they were doing in the plaza. It became apparent that the roads were closed so the gauchos and horses could strut their stuff – they were here to trot up and down and show off, stopping occasionally for a beer outside one of the bars.
Our home town of Manchester’s nearest equivalent to a plaza, Piccadilly Gardens, is best avoided on a Saturday night – it’s full of vomiting drunks and rowdy beer louts getting into fights. Jardín’s plaza at 11pm is packed with people of all ages including tiny children and old men. There are as many people drinking coffee as drinking beer and it’s a wonderfully festive atmosphere.
Where to Stay
We stayed at Fami Hotel, a small family-run guesthouse with a few rooms in their restaurant. The rooms are simple with hard beds but they do have private bathrooms and balconies. The best thing is the location – just to the left of the church on the main plaza. You have a great view of all the action and can use the plaza’s free fast wifi, although it can be noisy with the bars and church bells so close. It’s 15,000 COP/$7.50 per person, or 25,000/ $13 with breakfast and lunch.
Jasmine Wanders also recommends El Muelle but when we visited the owner Luis was away and it was being refurbished.
Where to Eat
There are plenty of restaurants but they all serve up similar antioquian fare, involving meat or fish. There are also cheap food stalls in the plaza. As we are vegetarian we tried both of the town’s two basic pizzerias – neither are great but it was fine.
How to Get There
From Medellin it’s 3.5 hours from the Terminal del Sur. Two bus companies do the direct route: Transporte Suroeste Antioqueño Andes-Jardín (Booth 2) at 7am, 9.45am and 2pm for 16,000 pesos and Rápido Ochoa (Booth 22) at 1pm for 18,500 pesos. There are a few other times but I only noted the most convenient options.
From anywhere else you need to change in Andes (about 40 minutes away by bus or colectivo). To get to Salento, another popular destination in the Zona Cafetera (Coffee Region) we went from Jardín -Andes-Pereira-Salento. On the weekends there are more buses and you’ll need to catch the 7am or 10.30am bus from Andes to get to Pereira in time for the last bus at 5.30pm to Salento. The 10.30 bus doesn’t run during the week.
We plan to visit Jardin in a couple weeks, hopefully it has not changed much. :)
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Great post! My girlfriend is from Medellin and I’m American. I was fortunate enough to visit Colombia with her and we bought a beautiful piece of land in Jardin (1.6 acres) 6800 m2 that sits in the mountains and overlooks the town. It’s really an incredible view and I can’t wait to go there long term. We’re in the process of building a small guest house for visitors and to rent to travelers, especially artists and writers because the view is so inspiring. I don’t know the completion date yet, but if anyone is going there and is interested, feel free to email me with “Jardin” in the subject line. [email protected]
Definitely one of the most beautiful villages in Colombia (and perhaps South America). As of end of 2015 there are some “new” Hotels and Restaurants, one is especially worth a visit: Café Europa, delicious pizza (again, maybe one of the best in Colombia), I guess it’s run by a German.
Talking about sleeping, the most important advice I can give is NOT to choose a hotel right on the main plaza (although it is really tempting) – it’s just too noisy a night!
Visited Jardin in March 2014, loved everything about the town. Did the hiking with the kids and then “torrentismo” at a waterfall with a beautiful view of the mountains. Also, had my share of horse back riding excitement!
We stayed at an hostal Condor de los Andes and the owner was a great guide and coordinated all our activities and places to visit in the town for us.
Looking forward to going back soon.
Hi! This looks amazing! Two questions:
1) Do you have safety concerns traveling in Colombia? Tips for staying safe in Jardin? I’ve had bas experiences with the Dominican Republic being unsafe for tourists.
2) We’re looking to travel from Cartegena down to Jardin, I suppose via Medellin. Does anyone have tips for a good route South from Cartagena? We have about 7 days to get from Cartagena, stay in Jardin and then get back to Bogota to fly home.
Thanks so much!
Best,
AT
we will visit jardin soon, look forward to meeting you, email your phone number please. I an american, retired and married to a colombian lady from cartagena. thanks, olen clark and glemy solano clark
Vist Cave of Splendor in Jardin Colombia with Jaime Marin. He can be found at the start of the cable car after 5pm. Very good deal for a great trip by bus, horse, and legs.
His price was the best and he and his family are the amazing. Not for the timid, but worth every bit of energy. Our 6yr old was free and Jaime’s wife makes a great lunch for very little. Having visited many places in Colombia I have to say Jardin is one of the nicest towns I’ve seen so for. Don’t forget to go to La Trucha for the freshest trout you can ever get as they raise them onsite.
Does anyone have Jaime Marin’s contact info? I’d like to get one of his tours while in Jardin!
Thanks!
Jardin was the highlight of our trip to Colombia. Watching the horse riders in the square at night was a treat. The best thing we did in Colombia was a tour of El Engano coffee farm. We were picked up from the main square in Jardin and brought up into the mountains to the farm. The drive was beautiful. We were given a tour of the farm by the family that owned it. We picked coffee and got to see the process of coffee production, from picking, processing, and drying until we ended up with green beans. We got to sample many fruits from the farm and we had a home-cooked meal there. The family didn’t speak fluent English, but they hired a translator for us, since we don’t speak Spanish. This was easily the best time of our trip in Colombia. For folks who would like to find this farm, you can email Simona at [email protected] or Emilio and [email protected]. I highly recommend it.
After being in Jardín numerous times since June 2010, as one of the most popular destinations of my tour portfolio, I can say that it’s easy to stay at least 5 days in Jardín and have exciting activities to do every single day. Although I usually offer this tour as a day tour and as a single overnight, I have discovered that it it’s not just the amazing Cueva del Esplendor. There’s the Chorro Blanco and Salto del Angel waterfalls, bird-watching in Alto de Las Flores and Alto de Ventanas, or simply spotting the Cock of the Rock just 3 blocks away from the main square. There are also plenty of coffee farms and sugar-cane mills on the road to Verdún, Alto de Las Flores – La Linda, La Casiana and Morro Amarillo. Visiting the one artist’s house on the road to El Arca Trout Farm is also worth considering so you understand the inspiration that has led to such beautiful artwork on the cow-hide chairs around the main square.
I’m not sure if Salento as beautiful as it is, can offer the charm and diverse options that Jardín does.
I know this is a tough question to answer, but if you were to visit either Jardin or Salento, which would you choose? We definitely want to experience the coffee country and each seems to offer a unique experience. We will be traveling from Bogota to Medellin by bus and will have only 2 days to explore the country in between the big cities.
Thank you.
It’ll be easier to visit a coffee plantation in Salento. They are both beautiful but Jardin is more undiscovered and Salento has more to do. You can’t go wrong with either of them.
Hi Lacy,
I would recommend no more than two nights in Salento and visit other towns not too far from Jardín in Antioquia’s Southwest such as Jericó, Concordia, Támesis and Bolívar. Also, in between the town of Andes and Jardín, there’s a village called San Bartolo which is the land of our current Juan Valdez.
There’s really so much to see in Antioquia’s Southwest but Jardín is definitely one of my favorites. I actually find three other destinations within that area that are probably a much more enrichening experience than Guatapé, all of them out of the average tourist’s radar.
Anyway, it’s great that you have included Colombia as part of your itinerary and I’m sure you will fall in love with Medellín and its surrounding areas.
Hi! This place looks amazing. I am spending 2 to 3 weeks exploring the area around Medellin in March and I think I will add this to the list. The waterfall/horse ride sounds amazing! I like to get out of town and enjoy being in nature. Can you suggest any other stops along this route? How long would you spend in each place? So far, Salento and Jardin are on my must see list.
I am a solo female traveler with limited budget and limited spanish skills, experienced at navigating through South America, but this will be my first time in Colombia.
Definitely Salento and Jardin – at least 2-3 nights in each but I think we spent 5 nights in Salento. If you like hiking etc there’s lots you could do, or just relax. You could also visit Guatape as a day trip or overnight stop from Medellin.
2 weeks ago we spent 4 days in Jardin. Truly one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. We stayed at Hotel Valdivia Plaza right in the town square. We spent our time there in Jardin touring coffee farms vistinint the coffee wet mills, dry mills and coffee buying stations (located in Andes). We also went to a few of the schools to meet and spend time with some of the children that we sponsor. Lots of little bars to hit in the in the square.
Must do things while you are in Jardin are:
Hit the Coop Andes Cafe (on the corner right next by the church).
Have pizza at a little restaurant one block down from the town square on Carrera 4. (run by a german man, who moved to Colombia speaks english running an Itlaian restaurant).
Just up from the Italian place there is a Burger Joint. They have frozen paddies but honestly one of the best burgers I have ever had. (The buger joint has a bunch of old cameras on the wall)
RIDE THE HORSES TO THE WATERFALL. This is a must. Coolest thing ever to see. and do not forget to go swimming. it is a little chilly but not bad at all.
And the final thing you have to do is get a cow hide chair and lean back back and chill lke the locals do. but before you lean back to far make sure you get a cold beer.
Thanks for the tips Chris. Jardin is one of our favourite places – such a great place to relax.
I’m a big fan of Jardín and the trail ride to the Splendor Cave since I’ve been there 26 times already with 76 tourists within the last year that I started my venture as a tour operator. However, once I went from the same start-up point (Alto de Las Flores) to a coffee farm east bound and the scenery was also splendid but the stops at three coffee farms along the way owned by the friendliest people on earth made it simply unforgetable.
Still, the greatest rides that I’ve done so far are at the Finca La Luna and surroundings northwest of Medellín. For more info, please visit:
Regarding where to stay, I’ve tried Casa Grande, Casa Colonial and Barajas and Casa Grande was my favorite. I might try another one next week that I’m going with tourists and update this post if necessary.
Great article, I’m not a horse lover but that looks great
going to jardin next month with wife and 2 kids. Can’t find any contactinformation about the fami hotel. Mb you can help us?
Looking forward to it!!
I don’t have their contact details I’m afraid. We just turned up – the town doesn’t see many tourists so you should be OK without booking.
you convinced us to visit Jardin sounds great and can’t wait to see it, we are in Medellin now do you if the Place you stayed at has parking?
It’s a small place with lots of street parking so I’m sure you’ll be OK.
I talked to my friend Luis recently, and he doesn’t have the hostel anymore :(
That’s a shame – it sounded like a great place to stay.
Looks like a great spot…I wish I had known about it when I was in Medellin in December! I really enjoyed Medellin but this small-town feel looks wonderful.
Since I love cooking, I am always after of the food in the place I used to visit. If I love the taste of the food, I will definitely cook it at home once I get back there. I want to experience a wonderful travel too in holy grail.
Eek! That sounds like a scary ride, but at least it was a good adventure…gave you something to blog about :)
Another one to bookmark for our Colombia destination collections. Thanks, guys!
Looking forward to seeing what you think.
Jeez, seeing the places you guys go makes me wonder what I’m doing here in dreary, small town Canada.
LOL. Come down to South America then!
I´m so glad you guys liked it! I <3 Jardin forever :) I´m thinking about moving there for a little while… yeah that horse ride was crazy, I went with just my friend and I had very little riding experience, luckily we did alright!
Thanks for letting us know about La Cueva trip – that’s what sold Jardin to me over Jerico (another village that sounds lovely).
I live in Jardin. If you come back, let me know. We have a coffee farm there that I think you will find interesting.
William
i am living in the states for 50 years ,now is time for me to move back to Colombia , read ur post here , hope to meet u there soon,one of my cousin lives there for the last 12 years and that motives me to find a place like that , lucky u are there already.
Hi william, me and a friend are travelling to Jardin next week and are looking to tour a cofee plantation any info you could give us would be great.
Look foward to hearing from you.
Jade
Thinking of coming to Jardin and would love to come to your farm. I love getting my hands dirty and willing to help out if I can. Let me know how I can contact you and if you are interested in some help
hi,
im thinking of visiting jardin in february,,,2015,,where is your coffee farm?
planning to be in medilin first ,,
im in bogata now exploring ,,but am looking for a beautiful ,,green enchanting spot to build a little cottage,,i now live in florida.
jardin looks alot like what ive been looking for,
how is the weather there???
thanks for any cool info!!!!!
coming to medellin dec 9th leaving dec 25th 2015 like to experience as much as i can get thanks Reggie in Maine,USA
Hello,
I am planning to visit Jardin and would like to be able to speak with you about finding a small house just outside of town with beautiful views to rent or buy. I am an artist and like to draw landscapes.
I would appreciate any guidance you might offer.
Patrick Geoghegan
Hi Patrick,
When are you planning to visit Jardín?
I suggest you contact Douglas Knapp at [email protected] He runs a birding lodge in Alto de las Flores and might be able to help.
However, I would recommend staying at different places.
There’s a house near Douglas’s place where they can rent you a room and the views are spectacular and toucanets, tanagers and orioles often come to their feeder.
Another idea would be to take the ride on the colectivo that goes from Jardín to Alto de las Flores, to Verdún and other areas on the search of sites and inspiration.
If you have any further questions, please email me at [email protected]
Best,
Andres
Hey William – I’m an Aussie freelance writer (and part-time digital nomad) thinking about an extended stay in South America maybe next year. Wouldn’t mind staying somewhere for 2-3 months (possibly longer, depending on how easy it is to hop across the border and come straight back in for another 3 months) to do some writing on my laptop and just enjoy the area as a local rather than as a tourist. Can you tell me how the Wi-Fi (crucial for my business) is in Jardin, and also, do you have any recommendations for places to stay around Jardin, like a cheap apartment to rent or even a more rural locale (like a plantation or finca)?
Cheers,
Kevin
[email protected]
Beautiful waterfall, how did I miss this place in two months of Colombia, I guess I’ll have to go back :)
Most people haven’t heard of it unless they’ve lived in Medellin for a while. Always good to have an excuse to go back.
Great photos! What an amazing place to ride horses. I love towns with a bustling plaza…really let’s you get a feel for a place without talking to anyone.
Thanks Andrea. I agree that plaza’s are really important. It’s a shame we don’t have them in England but I suppose the weather is an issue!
Excellent write up. Glad to know another sketchy horse ride is in my future (the one last year in Valle de Cocora was more than I bargained for).
Thanks for the bus and hotel details too!
Haha! The trail is similar to the one in the Valle de Cocora. At least you have experience now!