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Trekking the Colombian Los Nevados

Arie and I were perusing the notice board at our Salento abode, the Plantation House, when we noticed a traveler’s advert looking for additional trekkers. We had discussed doing a trek that went beyond the standard five-hour Cocora Valley hike, and were debating whether or not we should splurge for a guide. We had read that the trails were decently marked, and we could have probably managed on our own, but having to negotiate room and board at the farms along the way made me hesitant. In addition, the trek went up into some pretty difficult altitudes, and having little prior experience at those elevations, I preferred that we not go alone. Lucky for us, two travelers were looking for additional adventurers to make their way into the Colombian Paramo in the Los Nevados with Paramo Trek Company. The more of us there were, the cheaper it was per person.

We found the hikers from the ad, and we all went down to Paramo Trek for one final planning session. I was both nervous and excited, knowing that this experience would be like no other I’ve had, I also knew it would be very difficult and, at times, very cold. The plan included around eight hours of hiking a day, and I did not want to let any of the other group members down.

The next day, we packed our bags with water, snacks, and lots of SmartWool and down, hopped in an old army-style willy, and headed towards the Cocora Valley. The trek started out great. I can do this! It was fairly easy walking across pastures, over rivers, and up some forest steps, but after about two hours, the trail got steep. It was harder to breathe and the guide suggested I take a lip full of coca leaf to help fight the elevation-induced shortness of breath. The problem with a lip full of coca is that I was then forced to breathe through my nose, making the climbing even more difficult. I spit out the coca.

After a few hours, we reached Estrella de Agua. This is where many of the hikers choose to stay on their first night. For us, it was just a lunch break before hiking onwards to Finca Primavera.

After lunch is when we hit the mud. The trail turned steeper, and for the next two hours we were slopping through thick, sticky, gloopy mud. Farmers use the trails to transport their goods by horseback. The constant use had created deep and narrow ravines in the path. We occasionally tried to hop along the edges of the trail, which were less muddy and more level, but we weren’t able to keep that up for long. Regularly we’d step in a spot we thought was solid, only to find ourselves ankle deep into the trail. After several hours, we were finally out of the forest and in the Paramo. Paramo is a unique ecosystem found only in the high, tropical areas of the Andes. Colombia has the largest area of Paramo, which has been declared a biodiversity hotspot. As we hiked, we saw more and more of the Espeletia plant, the symbol of this type of environment. The Espeletia can only be found in northern Ecuador, Colombia and Venezuela; it is a relative of the sunflower.

When we reached the Paramo, I thought we were close to our final destination, the Finca Primavera. I was wrong. We continued to hike on, in the same sticky mud, on the same steep incline. By now we were above 3,000 meters, and it was getting very difficult for me to keep up. After several hours of jumping from one solid-looking, grass-island to another, I could finally see it in the distance; tin roof glittering in the golden light of the setting sun like the North Star directing us home. The illusive Finca Primavera – we had arrived at last.

We huddled into the open-air entry of the farmhouse, shivering from the cold that came in with the darkening sky. We took off our very muddy boots and gladly accepted a glass of warm Aguapanela, a Colombian tea made from solidified sugarcane (panela) grated into water. We changed into our wool pajamas and settled in to the cozy kitchen where dinner was being cooked over fire. One day down, two more to go.

Wait – that isn’t it – our trek story continues! Check out part two of our trek

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The post Trekking the Colombian Los Nevados first appeared on Liana Elise