Day 1: Arrival Pereira
We will pick you up in the Pereira International Airport and transfer to the city of Manizales. It’s about a 1-hour drive. We would love for you to arrive in the morning so we can put the bicycle together in the afternoon and stretch the legs in the afternoon /early night (bring your lights). Alternatively, you may arrive 2 days in advance and we can have a pre trip extension in an area that we don’t cover in this particular tour. The terrain for this it’s a groomed kind of trail similar to what you might be used to.
Day 2: Manizales
If you weren’t able to put together your bicycle the previous day, we will do this first thing in the morning after some great breakfast. After that, we will transfer just outside of town (20 minutes) and start riding in some of the most unique places you can think of. Surrounded by coffee plantations, and in the middle of nowhere lays a trail network with several tracks that we will cover. The quality of the tracks is guaranteed, it’s a network that although it’s not your typical bike park, it’s well sustained by local riders. Not to be lazy, but to make most of the days we will transfer some of them by car if you feel like it. After some good 4 hours of riding, we will be ready to call it a day, and have proper traditional hearty lunch to recover. Later on we will enjoy the beautiful hotel amenities and hot spring pools. At night we will hit the town, and enjoy its vibrant atmosphere.
Day 3: Manizales
Take a look at a map and just check the immense mountains that Colombia has. Well, that’s also a call for an adventure. Today might be the most adventurous ride of the whole trip. Starting around 3000 mts (9500 ft broadly), we will find our way over a series of different tracks way below the 3000 ft mark. It’s about 6 hours of riding that will include every possible challenge that you can think of. To make the day count, we will start early on with a hearty breakfast, and we will provide you with plenty of snacks and sandwiches that you can carry with you. After the ride, we will transfer outside of Manizales (1 hour drive) to lower altitude. Our destination for the night it’s an amazing coffee hacienda where we will be greeted with a great cup of coffee.
Day 4: Eje Cafetero
After the gigantic ride we did the previous day it only makes sense to have a calmer day for today. We will have a slower morning, waking up to the beautiful sounds of the birds, the trees, that cohabit with the coffee plantation. After this slow start we will ride in the middle of these coffee plantations. It’s not going to be the most aggressive riding but just enough to keep the system going. After lunch we will transfer to the town of La Pintada (1,5 hrs) were we will spend the rest of the afternoon.
Day 5: Santa Barbara
Changing the landscape slightly, the day begins with a transfer of about 1 hours to where the action takes place. It’s a series of trails that are put together as a clover leaf, with the center in the town of Santa Barbara. It’s going to be a change too as the whole environment is sunnier. The ride should take us 3 to 4 hours, but if at any time you want to take a break or call it a day it’s fine as the tracks peel off from the same town. We will keep it civilized today in anticipation for our arrival to Medellín, to which we will transfer just after lunch, hoping to enjoy a beer in the city in the afternoon.
Day 6: Medellin
Another opportunity for the epic. After breakfast we will leave Medellín for the day, and head west into the big mountains searching for another dramatic drop in elevation. In this case it’s going to be close to 3000 mts of vertical descending almost in one go. It’s about 5 hours of continuous riding as we find between the natural tracks to the bottom of the Cauca river to the town of Santa Fe de Antioquia, just in time to cool down in the beautiful swimming pool of our hotel. At night, we will stroll around in the colonial town, and be greeted by it’s beautiful buildings
Day 7: Santa Fe de Antioquia
Another location, another environment. In this case it could be mistaken for a desert with the arid nature of the surrounding trails around Santa Fe de Antioquia, in which we will take this opportunity to explore this time. Compared to the previous days, the terrain change will make things different to our previous experiences and will give a sense of the diversity that Colombia has to offer. After lunch we will transfer back to Medellín not before if time allow us, to arrive to town in style with one of the many trails that arrive directly into town. At night the city will be all ours, with a big night to celebrate such a a great week of riding and exploration.
Day 8: Explore Medellin
After exploring the nightlife of Medellin it is only fair to enjoy a rest day, and see what the city of eternal spring has to offer during the daytime. Wonder around in the small streets of Poblado or see the legacy of local artist Botero.
Day 9: Farewell
After a week of great riding it’s time to say goodbye. We will take you back to the airport to catch your flight back home.