Most people who visit Cocora sleep in Salento. It makes sense: the town has restaurants, bars, Calle Real and the Willys jeeps that leave from the main square to the valley. If it is your first time in the Coffee Region and you want to walk around at night, Salento works.
But there is another way to do it. Sleeping in the middle of the Cocora Valley changes the trip in three ways:
You reach the valley before the tour buses. The hike is far better at 7 in the morning than at 11, when the morning jeeps have already arrived. From Lumbre it is 3 km (1.9 miles) to the start of the trails in the Cocora Valley.
The night is different. In Salento you hear music until late. In the valley you hear the river. At 9 pm the sky fills with stars when it clears, and at dawn the mist comes down and the birds wake you up.
The palms are not a day trip. You see them from your window. In the Suite Cielo you see them from bed.
Good to know before you choose:
- There is no nightlife outside Salento. You eat at the hotel or drive down to town, 15 minutes away.
- Nights are cold, between 10 and 14 °C (50 and 57 °F). That is why every room at Lumbre has heating and a fireplace on the terrace.
- Without a car, you can get here by Willys jeep or private transfer from Salento.
Our advice: if you have one night and want to see the town, stay in Salento. If you have two nights or more, one in the valley makes the difference.
Lumbre has 10 rooms. All have a private terrace with a fireplace, and almost all have a glass dome over the bed. Breakfast and the walk to the waterfalls are included.
