Located just a few kilometers from Salamina, close to the small village of San Felix, the Samaria Valley is one of the places where the famous wax palm is found! This Andean mountain palm, a national symbol, has the particularity of growing at altitude in the foothills of Colombia’s Andes mountains.
While everyone rushes to Salento and the famous Cocora Valley to admire what’s left of these endangered giants, travellers wishing to discover other facets of Colombia should visit the other, much less-visited destinations where the wax palm can be admired.
This iswhat we did on our last trip, staying 5 days in Salamina and visiting San Felix and the Samaria Valley with its wax palms.
Unlike the Cocora Valley, the Samaria does not benefit from the protection of Colombia’s natural parks, and the survival of the palms depends solely on the goodwill of the landowners and their willingness (or otherwise) to set up conservation programs .
In this post, we invite you to discover the project of a family of cattle breeders who realized the urgent need to protect the wax palms and the tourism potential that could result.
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Disclaimer: we apologize in advance for any grammatical or syntactic errors, as our native language is not English (we're a Colombian-French couple), so we hope you'll forgive us and still enjoy the information we share with you! Please note that all the information on our blog is based on our own experience, and is checked and updated regularly.
Discovering San Felix
On the Road to the Samaria Valley
For a chance to see the wax palms of the Samaria Valley, the first place to go is San Felix, just an hour’s 4×4 drive from the beautiful village of Salamina.
To get there, we called on our friend Cathy, who offers a tour of Salamina and the Samaria Valley for those who wish to be accompanied. It’s a great option to add to a short tour of a few days around Medellin, including Jerico, Santa Fe de Antioquia and Guatapé, for example.
In short, we set off from Salamina in the direction of San Felix in a beautiful orange Willys. The road soon turns into a track and climbs the slopes of the Cordillera until we reach the village at 2800 m altitude.
Along the way, we come across a pretty MotMot sunbathing and can see the traces of potato cultivation typical of this land once “colonized” by inhabitants of Boyaca and Cundinamarca. But the local pride and joy is cow’s milk! San Felix has a long dairy tradition, with several cheese factories. We’ll come back to this.
Arriving at the village, we were surprised by the beauty of the place! San Felix is a tiny, cute village with simple, colorful houses. It exudes an authentic, peaceful atmosphere.
However, the village experienced dark times in the early 2000s with the armed conflict. The wars between paramilitaries and guerrillas have unfortunately claimed many victims in the region.
It’s a village that was relegated to oblivion because of the violence, but has been reborn in recent years thanks to the development of tourism.
Arriving in San Felix, we were once again able to witness how easy it is to meet and chat with the locals. This is all the more true in these small, isolated villages, where the people are particularly benevolent and friendly!
In the main village square, several stores sell local dairy products: yoghurts, fresh cheeses, cooked cheeses… and in the cafés you can drink the local specialty: Kumis! Although it originated in Central Asia, Kumis has been adopted in Colombia and is an integral part of the country’s gastronomy. Kumis is a fermented dairy product similar to yoghurt, but stronger in taste and acidity. It is eaten with a small cake.
It’s time to set off for the finca owned by the Abril Castro family, who run the “Mirador del Valle de la Samaria” project. On the way, we see the first wax palms appear.
Mirador Valle de la Samaria
Wax palm conservation
We arrive at the farm and are greeted by John Alexander, the 28-year-old son of the family behind the project. Alex guides us on a stroll through the finca, giving us information about the wax palms, explaining the conservation project and the impact it has on our lives as cattle farmers.
It’s really interesting to be in the home of a cattle-breeding family, because if you’ve read our posts on the subject, you’ll know that the wax palm is on the brink of extinction, and that cattle-breeding is one of the main culprits.
To try to be concise, it’s important to understand that a wax palm needs the shade of trees to germinate and reach adult size very slowly. It takes several decades for the wax palm to produce its trunk, and several decades more for it to reach its adult size.
All the palms you see in the beautiful meadows here or in the Cocora Valley are old, dying palms with no possibility of reproduction.
If you add to this the fact that cattle trampling nips young palm shoots in the bud, you’ll understand why livestock farming is largely responsible for the disappearance of wax palms in Colombia.
So it’s particularly interesting to come face to face with a family of farmers who have realized the importance of protecting these trees, and who are trying to imagine a possible cohabitation between farming and wax palm conservation.
The Abril Castro family therefore decided to gradually reduce the number of cows and the area of land set aside for cattle. At the same time, they launched an empirical reforestation program. You plant a seed, see how it germinates, how it grows, test and reproduce.
In the6 years since the project began, over 2000 wax palms have been replanted. Some of this has been done in the meadows, with all the care required for cultivation outside its natural habitat, but most of it has been done in the native forest still present on the property, which is particularly well-suited to the planting of wax palms.
That’s why this farm is so interesting to visit, because you can both understand the problem of unfertile meadows and enter a forest where you cansee the wax palm’s natural habitat, as in the sublime Carbonera (Toche) valley, with its different states of growth: young shoots, more advanced palms with their huge leaves, the appearance of the first trunks, etc.
Ultimately, the impact of this project is manifold. Firstly, it involves working on the conservation and reproduction of wax palms. This is of course an economic contribution for Alex’s family to compensate for the losses linked to their decision to reduce the impact of livestock farming on the wax palm forest. This project has been the main driving force in promoting San Felix as a tourist destination, and is now enabling the population to imagine new opportunities for the future following years of conflict and neglect.
The conservation project is financed in part by the flow of tourists, by the possibility of “sponsoring” the planting of a wax palm and by a percentage of the agricultural activity which is donated to John’s program.
Bet things to do in San Felix
And the Samaria Valley
While most tourists come to San Felix just to see the wax palms for a day, the more inquisitive traveller will find that San Felix is a village to be discovered over several days. And there’s plenty to do!
Mirador del Valle offers
The “Mirador del valle de la Samaria” finca offers a full range of tourist services, from accommodation to catering and a variety of activities:
- Rooms
- Restaurant
- Trekking
- Horse riding
- Discovery of farm life
- Wax Palm educational trail.
Other things to do in San Felix
San Felix is a milk and cheese-producing village. So there’s plenty of opportunity to discover the milking circuit, and the processes involved in producing cheese, milk and other by-products.
Accompanied by a local guide, you can also trek into the surrounding Páramos and discover this fabulous ecosystem and its spectacular mountain scenery.
Trout fishing enthusiasts will find themselves in close proximity to the beautiful Guarinó River, while nature lovers will discover the region’s typical flora and fauna.
Conclusion
San Felix and the Samaria Valley
The village of San Felix is a haven of peace, a magical place and, above all, an example of resilience. The village has risen above its difficulties to demonstrate its inhabitants’ ability to reinvent themselves.
Its streets, its majestic landscapes and the warmth of its people are well worth a visit, and as always in Colombia, there’s much more to discover in San Felix than just the Samaria Valley and its wax palms. So if you’re one of those people who want to experience something a little different from traditional tours, come and spend a few days in San Felix and you’ll discover what makes Colombia so beautiful.
Where to stay in Salamina
For accommodation in Salamina (if there aren’t too many of you) we absolutely recommend that you contact Martin. He’ll welcome you to his house perched on the mountain above Salamina, a UNIQUE place you’ll never want to leave!
Contact Martin
Other accommodation options in Salamina
Salamina
Hotel
Hotel las Marias Salamina
Double room : $150.000 to $200.000 COP/Double room : $200.000 to $250.000 COP
A hotel inside a beautiful colonial house, very well located on Salamina’s main square. Very good service, good breakfast. One of the best rated on booking.
Salamina
Hotel
Hotel la leyenda 1860
Double room : $100.000 to $150.000 COP
Small, well-located hotel on Salamina’s main square. With a very pleasant interior patio that doubles as a café. Neat decor, clean, good service and apparently very good breakfasts.
Salamina
Hotel
Hotel boutique La Estancia
Double room : $150.000 to $200.000 COP/Double room : $250.000 to $300.000 COP
This is a small hotel very close to the main square that was recommended to us. Nicely decorated, clean, very good service! The owners are very friendly, and even agreed to do our laundry even though we weren’t staying with them.
Where to stay in San Felix
You can stay at the finca “Mirador del valle de la Samaria”.
How to get to San Felix
From Salamina
To get to San Felix, of course, you first need to be in Salamina. Once in Salamina, you can either take a Willys jeep or public transport to San Felix.
Willys jeep
It is possible to “book” a Willys Jeep to pick you up at your accommodation and take you to San Felix, or even to the finca Mirador del Valle de la Samaria (to be arranged with your accommodation)
- Fare: approx. $180.000 COP
Bus
From the “Mercado Publico”, the bus leaves for San Felix at around 6 a.m.. Once there, you’ll need to find a way to get to Finca mirador del valle de la Samaria. It’s possible on foot, or you can ask in the village if there’s another way to get there (private transport or horseback…)
- Price: approx. $10.000 COP per person.
- Times: depart around 6 a.m. from Salamina’s mercado publico – return around 2 p.m. from San Felix square
How to get to Salamina
From Manizales
This is the easiest and shortest way to get to Salamina.
- Bus from Manizales bus terminal
- Duration: about 3 hours
- Fares: $25.000 COP
- Company: Autolegal
From Medellín
- Bus from Medellin bus terminal
- Duration: between 5 h and 6 h
- Company: Expreso Sideral, Autolegal, Empresa Arauca
English-speaking guide to San Felix and the Samaria Valley
If you’re looking to integrate San Felix and the Samaria Valley into a more comprehensive itinerary with the help of a local english-speaking agency, then you can contact Cathy our local partner who offers this destination and other options that may be of interest to you.
