Experience the best of Manizales

Manizales is the capital of the Caldas department, built along a steep spine of the Central Cordillera at about 2,150 metres, so that its streets run up and down hillsides with views of the valleys. It lies at the heart of Colombia's coffee country, whose farms and villages are a UNESCO cultural landscape. A tall cathedral tower dominates the Plaza de Bolívar, and cable cars carry passengers over the rooftops.

To the south-east, the Nevado del Ruiz, a volcano of more than 5,000 metres, rises in Los Nevados National Natural Park, with hot springs on its lower slopes. Coffee farms in the surrounding hills offer visits to see picking and drying. A fair of parades and concerts takes over the city in the first weeks of January.

Coffee comes first, drunk black and strong, and the table is the hearty one of the Paisa highlands, with arepas, beans and pork. The air is cool and often wrapped in cloud, and rain falls in most months.