Experience the best of Armenia

Armenia is the capital of Quindío, a small department in Colombia's Eje Cafetero, the coffee axis, whose landscape of hills and farms is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The city was founded in 1889, and its grid of streets, parks and a cathedral on the Plaza de Bolívar reflects its youth. The Quimbaya Gold Museum holds gold work and pottery made by the Quimbaya people before the Spanish arrived.

The Quindío Botanical Garden at Calarcá has a butterfly house and a footbridge among the treetops. Salento, a village of painted balconies, leads to the Cocora Valley, where wax palms, among the tallest palms in the world, reach more than forty metres from the pastures. Filandia and Pijao, two smaller hill towns, are known for their crafts and coffee, and many farms around the city welcome visitors to see beans picked, dried and roasted.

Trout with fried plantain patacones is the dish of Salento, and platters of beans, rice, pork and egg, the bandeja paisa, are common across the region. Arepas and fresh fruit juices fill out the day. The weather is warm and spring-like all year, with rain in two seasons and the driest spells at the turn of the year.