Top Things to do in Caldas Department
Countries
Things to do in Caldas Department, Caldas Department: The Best Nature & Wildlife Areas
Discover the best top things to do in Caldas Department, Colombia including Parque Natural Privado Volcan Cerro Bravo, Reserva Ecologica Rio Blanco, Nevados Santa Isabel, Altomira Private Natural Reserve, Parque Nacional Natural Selva de Florencia.
Restaurants in Caldas Department
1. Parque Natural Privado Volcan Cerro Bravo
2. Reserva Ecologica Rio Blanco
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 90 reviews
Reviewed By BirdBrian - Berkhamsted, United Kingdom
After some difficulty, over a period of months, in finalising a booking at Rio Blanco, our visit was finally confirmed. Once we had been there, we realised that the main visitors to this wonderful reserve are professionally organised bird tours. As it turned out, the two of us spent 3 nights at the reserve in very comfortable room, and we had the place to ourselves overnight. Each morning tour parties would arrive, to join the ranger on a walk up the mountain, to seek out different species of Antpitta. These walks are hugely enjoyable, not just to find antpittas, but many other bird species, starting with an enormous variety of hummers in the gardens of the lodge. We really enjoyed the experience of having the lodge to ourselves overnight, and were served wonderful local meals by the cook. We had a Spanish speaking bird guide to help us, his name is Andres. Amazingly, although he has only rudimentary English, he has memorised all the English and scientific names of the local birds. We had a great time with him.
3. Nevados Santa Isabel
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 68 reviews
Reviewed By daisy21988 - Maracaibo, Venezuela
To visit Santa Isabel you need to make a reservation through a tour company. We went through Kumanday by the recommendation of a friend and they were awesome. You begin by taking a 2 hour drive from Manizales to a small farm to eat breakfast, and then continue about one hour more to the base of the trail. The road is very, very bumpy and if you get motion sick easily you should definitely take some medicine before the trip. The group begins walking at the same pace and the guide tries to keep everyone together, but over time people who could go faster went on with other groups and those who wanted to go a bit slower stayed back with the guide. The altitude is challenging but if you give yourself time to acclimate to it, it isn't too bad. Coming from Medellin, Bogota, or after spending some time in Manizales you would probably be ok. I would consider myself to have a very average fitness level, and I'm not a hiker, but I made it to the top just at a slower pace than some others in the group by taking several breaks and drinking lots of water. I thought it was going to be much more difficult that it was, so maybe the trick is to psych yourself up for a grueling hike and then you'll be ok. :) With that said, there were several people who were really struggling (crying, almost fainting) so if you are not in shape or if you are not acclimated to high altitude, this is not the trip for you. Overall, the scenery of the paramo ecosystem and the experience of being on a glacier was well worth the challenging hike, and I have already recommended it to some friends.
4. Altomira Private Natural Reserve
Altomira is a cattle farm that is in process of converting to Private Natural Reserva. Actually we offer relax and tranquilitty to our visitors. It is not posible to get bored because the beautufull landscapes the our región offers are expectacular. There are 37 hectáreas for birding, horse Reading, hicking and much more.
