Riding the Colombia Coffee Trail: High-Altitude and Hidden Valleys on Horseback
Written by Jill, visited in November 2025
I absolutely LOVE Colombia, I first travelled there in 2016, on my first ride – I felt really drawn to the country, not sure if it was because when I spoke about it there was the same reaction of concern about safety, drug cartels and the unknown or because of the passionate love the Colombians have for their horses. Whatever it was, I was going and it was everything I dreamed it would be and more.
Fast forward to November 2025 and I was back again to follow the Coffee Trail with a brave private group of ZP riders.
Bogota
First stop was Bogota the capital – our final destination would be Armenia to get to the start of the ride, but this city is always worth a visit. We stayed in a smart area, friendly boutique hotel and organized a seriously well educated guide to show us the highlights as we only had one full day. Bogota sits on a plateau surrounded by the Andes mountains, it’s really spectacular and high altitude too, nothing that you get sick with but definitely you can feel a little shorter of breath.
Our guide took us up to see the Monserrate hill first and that gave us a fantastic view of the city, we then walked down to the centre passed some amazing graffiti and Simon Bolivar’s home, to the Emerald district. Colombia produces some of the most beautiful stones in the world and here we saw all the official shops and trading centre but also walked through a square where literally about 100 men, were selling non official stones. They were all trading, showing each other small white wraps of stones, if you didn’t know any better you may have thought they were trading the other white stuff Colombia is known for! After that we headed for some delicious coffee in a museum dedicated to Botero – he is probably Colombia’s most famous artist and produced works of more exaggerated, voluminous figures or as we called them ‘chubby’ people! It’s a lovely museum and also had works from other impressionist artists like Van Gogh. Next on the agenda was the Gold museum – again a really great place to walk through, not too big like the Botero museum so we got a good feeling for the history of Colombia and the people through their appreciation of gold.
That evening, we ventured out locally from the hotel, where there was a lovely indoor shopping centre, surrounded by bars and restaurants, where we met some really friendly people and had some yummy pizza before heading home relatively early, as we’d arrived that morning at 4am – next stop was Armenia and the start of our adventure.
Armenia
We’d decided to have an overnight in Armenia as we were meeting Chalas our guide 9am sharp the next day. We also had some other people in our private group flying in from NYC so it was decided we should all meet at this lovely sprawling country hotel on the outskirts of Armenia. Drinks, dinner and catching up was the order of the day.
Let the fun begin! This was my 3rd time riding with Chalas our Colombian horseman and guide. Only one of the group had ridden with him before in the Pantanal, Brazil – so she knew what was coming. I was excited for everyone to meet him and for him to introduce the real Colombia to the group, through his absolute and resolute passion for the horse, the mule, and for his country! Seriously this man is a legend in his own time, he is hugely intelligent for starters, he did indeed study and work as a lawyer, BUT he couldn’t do it any longer such is his passion for his horses – now he guides rides not only in Colombia, but Brazil too and runs his own yard where he brings locals in to ride. In addition to being a smart cookie, he’s hilarious, fun and caring – he is the epitome of the perfect guide. He also likes to sing too!
After our first night all meeting up and having a lovely dinner at the 1st night hotel, we all gathered after breakfast in reception to meet Chalas – a few more grey hairs than I remember (me too but all hidden under a blonde dye!) and that same cheeky smile – it was good to see him again. We all clambered into our vehicles and off we went on our journey to our 2nd night abode, stopping at a top Paso Fino yard along the way.
The Paso Fino
A really beautiful yard, where we all took our places and watched a demonstration and learned more about this impressive breed – small but mighty, very pretty with the most unusual gait. Riders sit very still with little movement and their legs sticking off the side of the horse like triangle from the hips. You may have seen it online, it’s an intense movement the riders are aiming for, which is a very fast beating trot which isn’t really about covering the ground, its more about the tempo being exact than anything else, it’s called the Classic Fino. A lot of energy is contained and expelled while the horse is performing the movement and for that reason the performance lasts about 10 minutes, thank god, it was exhausting watching…! Little did we know, we would have the chance to actually ride them as well. Afterwards we walked back up to their spotless yard, saw some youngsters, while they tacked up what looked like a calmer chestnut gelding and out it came into their training arena. Who was going to hop on first? Good on you Max – up he went. Max is from NYC with family in Colombia and LOVES the Paso Fino and ridden them many times, and he was brilliant, sat still and let the horse do his job, bravo! After that a few more of us gave it a go and the feedback was all the same, what a beautifully smooth horse to sit on!
From there we travelled into the lush, green, jungle area of the Coffee region and arrived at our next overnight, a beautiful lodge sat into the hill with the most incredible view down the valley and right over to Armenia. Family owned like most of our accommodation stays along the route where we settled into our immaculate rooms and sat down together for our first authentic home cooked Colombian meal – delicious - tonight was a beautifully seasoned pork with crackling, chorizo sausage, rice, arepa, avocado and rice.
Our Horses
After a great night’s sleep, a good breakfast of eggs & lots of delicious Colombian coffee, off we went to mount – we’d actually said hello to our herd of horses the day before (mules included) as they were all relaxing in the field next to our lodge. We all agreed then they looked in good condition and we were looking forward to getting on.
Essentially the breeding of the horses are Criollo which makes them extremely strong, forward and easy to ride. I absolutely love the Criollo breed not only are they a good looking type of horse (my showing background kicking in here!) but they have such a good brain you feel safe from the very start which after so many years on long trail rides is a must! Within this herd, Chalas has also been crossing some of his Criolla mares with Quarter horse stallions, producing something a little bit bigger for guests but still with immense power and a sane head.
Chalas is also a huge fan of the mule and he always brings a couple of them with him for guests to ride, they really are pretty amazing machines especially in this jungle like terrain. Ray had the privilege to ride one this time round and he couldn’t be happier, the mule was forward, very smooth, and ultra careful.
We all waited patiently while everyone got mounted, I was the last to get up and to my absolute surprise and delight, I was riding the beautiful chestnut polo pony Chirrinchi – so special because I had ridden him on my 2nd visit to Colombia and adored him – it had in fact been his first ever trail ride and he won trail horse of the ride, he had gone so well. Super sure footed, strong, level headed but also very forward and so so fast!
Back Up Team
Supporting Chalas and us all through the ride, were our grooms Kalleechy and Danny, such attentive, warm and fun young men, they really went the extra mile, each day we were greeted with a smile, they always had our horses tacked up and ready to mount and around the horses they were calm – they genuinely just felt like an extension of our group.
We also had the flamboyant Felipe joining us, he had very good English and very well travelled – he was support vehicle and chef! What a character, really interesting and made sure we were well fed – some of the ride, we ate in our hotels/guesthouses and local restaurants but for some of the ride, we stayed in a country house where he cooked for us and a couple of lunch stops, a very pretty one on a river and another not so pretty one, but a fabulous spread on a country road side!
The Riding & Terrain
Each day we were up for breakfast about 8am and heading to the horses about 9/9.30am, ready to hit the trails that would take us to our next accommodation for the night. With the exception of when we stopped at our country house which we stayed 2 nights and instead of riding a trail we played with the horses and cattle around the farm, which was a hoot, we cut some cattle in teams which was timed, competitive was the understatement and also had a go a lasso as well, it’s really hard with a live animal ha ha, but actually quite a few us managed to rope a horse after a few attempts! Our trail was in the direction of Salento and taking this route, we wound our way up and down hills covered in small coffee plantations, through forests, over streams and along quiet tracks before entering the town and the very unique and special Cocoro Valley.
The views were incredible at some vantage points and worth the climbs, we were also met with some obstacles along the way, like fallen trees – at one stop we spent nearly an half an hour trying to move one when this local appeared, man mountain I shall call him. He was trying to pass by scooter, and once he laid his shovel hands on the tree, with one giant lift, he gave it the final push so we could all pass!
On our 2nd last day we rode right into Salento to our pretty guesthouse on the edge of this vibrant small town. That was exciting and our horses were mega, a lot for them to absorb, crowds, horns, chaos, they were so brave!
The final day was without exception incredible – we rode in a part of the Cocoro Valley no-one ever gets the chance to because it’s to a private farm, owned by a friend of Chalas. As we drove up the valley, passing all the tourists on their paths, we ventured further and further through a small river and up the hill until we hit a small holding set in the hill side. We’d already said goodbye to our other horses on the trail and for this day we were going to ride the farms – I am glad we did as they were all well used to the terrain, it was challenging, very very steep and at points marshy and wet, I think that was unusual and it was touch and go if we would actually do it but we gave it our best shot and in fact we didn’t quite reach the summit because the route was deemed unsafe, but oh boy, what we did manage was spectacular, the views out were absolutely beautiful.
Once we carefully made it back down in one piece we were welcomed back with a traditional lunch on the terrace which was delicious and well deserved, my nerves were in slight tatters but my spirits were high!
Pace
This ride is technical, I wouldn’t recommend anyone less than intermediate level to book because although horses are safe and well behaved, the terrain is demanding especially when you hit the jungle forests and you have to do long climbs and descents. You have to help your horse by being really balanced in the saddle.
Throughout we had some lovely canters, and the odd mad gallop but I wouldn’t put it as a fast ride because a lot of the time we were walking which was absolutely right, because the terrain was tough and the horses were using their energy on the climbs and descents.
Accommodation & Food
We had a very good mix of local guesthouses, a country house and hotels – all of them were chosen for their location and were all very clean and comfortable. I loved our final guesthouse in Salento, perfect location on the edge of town but still close to all the artisan shops and restaurants.
Food along the way was also very good, we ate well and there was plenty, we ate pretty much Colombian dishes of pork, arepa’s, sausage, eggs and beans, and on our final days in Salento in good restaurants offering delicious local trout and steaks.
The local alcoholic drink is Aguardiente, a strong liquor that Mr Chalas always seemed to have a bottle of in his saddlebag and we dutifully sipped when offered, rude not to!
Salento
What a vibey little town this is, the gateway to the Coffee region and the Cocoro valley, it’s full of life and colour, great shopping, artisan shops, coffee shops of course, bars and clubs – of course we played a game of Tejo the national game where we had a shot of throwing clay disks at targets packed with gun powder which exploded if you hit them! The night we played, I very stupidly left my bag, think it was the extra shandy I had did the damage. Anyway, it did have quite a bit of cash in it and of course the next day I was horrified of what I had done and called Chalas to see if he could call the place to see if they had it – I was assured he would and soon after he arrived at our door with the bag – complete with all the cash – I just thought this was worth mentioning as absolutely demonstrates the Colombian people as I find them trustworthy and caring, nothing like the press would have us believe!
We also had a night in a club, dancing the night away and I couldn’t have felt safer with our group, we mingled and chatted with locals and were met with absolute warmth and good nature.
Final Thoughts
And just like that our adventure was over... "El único riesgo es que te quieras quedar" – this is a famous phrase in Colombia – “Colombia, the only risk is wanting to stay!” and yes I think we all felt like that, we’d all loved the immersion in their passionate equestrian culture and the coffee region, we’d followed a unique and interesting trail, which was challenging and rewarding and we’d met many locals along the way – but most of all, we’d done it together under the safe guidance of the legend Chalas and his team, his love for his country and his horses is evident and infectious and I can’t wait to ride with him again!
If you would like to ride with Chalas on the Coffee Trail, please check the ride page on our website for more details, prices and itinerary.
Chalas also runs a ride nearer to Bogota, called the Central Colombian Trail, which was the first trail I did there and loved it, we stayed in local Haciendas along the way, click for the ride details and dates in the link above.
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