Browsing Tag

los nevados national park

Travel Guide

Everything you Need to Know to Summit Nevado Santa Isabel

Posted on August 9, 2022
how to summit Nevado Santa Isabel-1

If you’ve read our blogs before, you know we prefer doing things on our own. We’re also aware it’s not always possible, and summiting Nevado Santa Isabel is one of those times. I wrote this blog to give you information, from our experience, on how to summit Nevado Santa Isabel – all the way from getting ready, to finding a good guide, to reaching the peak. (Check out our video at the end of this post!)

How to get to Nevado Santa Isabel

Fly or drive to Pereira or Manizales, the two closest cities.

From there, your driver and guide will take care of everything else. The road in Parque los Nevados is absolutely terrible for about 3 hours, so you need a hardcore 4×4 to get to the hike. Entrance to the national park is restricted to certified guiding agencies only.

Guide Services

A quick Google search will get you a myriad of contacts for guide companies ranging from 600,000 to 800,000 Colombian pesos per person (USD 150 to 200).

We chose Montañas Colombianas. It worked out perfectly and, to our surprise, they were on time for eveything, which is saying a lot in Colombia. They’re on the more expensive side, but it was worth it. There’s a saying in Colombia: “Lo barato sale caro” or “cheap now, costly later,” but actually more like “you get what you pay for.” That’s definitely the case with Montañas de Colombia.

Two things to keep in mind: the more people you go with, the less it’ll cost. We went with 2 others, and we loved that group size of 4. It made it a little more affordable, and it’s a good group size for some bonding over an adventure. Then, all that’s left is to choose a date. The season with the least rain is December through March, but there may be no snow on the way up to the glacier (since no rain = no snow). We got extremely lucky and got a perfect day with LOTS of snow on the summit while we hiked up to it. Once we got to the snow line, the sky was blue and it was the perfect day. I’ll link the video below if you want to watch it!

Our training to summit the mountain

We trained very informally for this hike because, truly, anyone can do it. Still, we wanted to be over prepared. This hike actually gets you to a nice elevation, to the point where you could get mild altitude sickness. So, to lower the possibility of that happening, we went on some hikes in Bogota. I think it also helped that facemasks were mandatory at the time, so we also had restricted oxygen!

Living in Bogota will help you train for hiking Nevado Santa Isabel, since you’re already starting at a high elevation. You can go enjoy some hikes, such as Monserrate, Quebrada la Vieja, Matarredonda or La Valvanera in Chia. All of those are links you can click to find out how to get there!

What gear do you need?

This is a part that got a little expensive for us. You do need some proper gear for this hike, as it’s kind of technical, quite steep and the weather is ever-changing. Getting water-proof clothes is super important, mostly because if you get wet you may have to turn back due to the cold and possible hypothermia. You don’t want your clothes to hold you back from summiting Nevado Santa Isabel!

We decided to buy the minimum gear we needed because it’s high quality stuff that we’re going to use in our lives and is probably going to last a long time. It’s already paid off, so it was a worthwhile investment! We bought Quechua products from Decathlon because they have a wide range of prices for beginner to pro gear, and it’s all good.

 Gear we bought to hike Nevado Santa Isabel:

  • Waterproof Jacket
  • Waterproof Pants
  • Waterproof Boots
  • Waterproof Gloves
  • Fleece sweater (dries quickly)
  • Quick-drying shirt

Gear we didn’t buy because we had or borrowed it:

  • 30-40L backpack, waterbottle, sun lotion, head lamps, sun glasses (UV 400 filter), dry bags.

Recommended gear we didn’t actually use:

  • Fleece hat, first aid kit with thermal blanket, wool socks.

There’s also some gear you really shouldn’t buy because its only for hiking in the snow or technical ice climbing, and there’s not a lot of that in Colombia. Make sure your guide service includes the following gear in their price:

  • Crampons
  • Helmet
  • Gaiters
  • Ice axes (piolets)
  • Trekking poles

Where to Stay

This is another thing you don’t have to worry about. You also won’t be camping or anything, since this is a one-day hike. Hidden in a location only the gnarliest of 4×4’s can reach is a gorgeous hostel. It’s called Refugio el Cisne and it has warm water and WiFi. It only has space heaters, and they’re on a schedule, so it is pretty cold. But it’s gorgeous and the beds and blankets are SO warm. A huge plus is that the meals are big and absolutely delicious. This is where you’ll stay after the first acclimation hike for one night before getting up at 1 a.m. for your summit attempt.

How to summit Nevado Santa Isabel

For those of you who, like me, like knowing what you’re getting into in detail, this is what your 2-day trip might look like based on our experience:

  • Day 1, 5 a.m.: the 4×4 picks you up from Pereira or Manizales (or Santa Rosa de Cabal, but you can’t get here directly on a plane) for a bumpy 5-6 hour ride into the mountains. The ride includes a delicious breakfast stop.
  • 11 a.m.: acclimation hike to Laguna Verde. The idea is for you to get used to the altitude (over 4,000 meters or 13,000 feet) and for the guide to see how well off you are to set the pace for the following day. The hike is gorgeous.
  • 4 p.m.: lunch at the hostel
  • 5 p.m.: equipment and safety workshop on how to put on and use crampons, ice axe and gaiters.
  • 6:30 p.m.: dinner
  • 8 p.m.: well-deserved bedtime
  • Day 2, 1 a.m.: wake up time and final preparation.
  • 1:30 a.m.: quick breakfast and get into the 4×4 to the trailhead
  • 3 a.m.: the hike begins (ideal time to summit is 6 hours, and then 3 back down, which is about what it looked like for us).
  • 6 a.m.: sunrise and a view of Nevado del Ruiz.
  • 8 a.m.: arrival at the snow line and putting on your ice climbing gear for the final push to the summit!
  • 9 a.m.: summit!
  • 12 noon: back at the trailhead for some food, celebration and the road back to Pereira or Manizales.
  • ** For an additional price, you can stop by the hot springs close to Santa Rosa de Cabal, but you have to book that ahead of time.

Watch this video of our experience – it was truly one of the best times of our lives! Now you know how to summit Nevado Santa Isabel, I hope you do it!

Travel Guide

The Best Páramos for Hiking in Colombia

Posted on October 31, 2018
best páramos for hiking in colombia, frailejon, alpine landscape, photography

If you’re not from Colombia, you might not know what a páramo is. This blog post is to explain what it is, since I use the term SO much throughout the blog, and to let you know the best páramos for hiking in Colombia. Let’s get through the information real quick before the travel tips:

A páramo is the ecosystem between the tree line and glaciers. Yes, it’s an alpine ecosystem, but it’s one that only exists in some countries along the equator, where the snow line is super high. Páramo can be translated into moorland, heath and wasteland, but no one of those words live up to what it really is. You really have to go to a páramo and attach an image to the word yourself.

Colombia happens to have most of the world’s páramos, since it’s an extremely mountainous country just north of the equator. They’re full of frailejones, which is the plant you can see in the picture above. Frailejones have furry leaves, grow mere centimeters every year, hold bunches of water and are great for wiping your butt in case of a bathroom emergency in the wilderness. All páramos also have glacial lakes spread throughout them, reason why they are known as water factories. Most hikes have a lake as their final destination, páramos are the main source of water in most Colombian cities.

Don’t expect to see very many glaciers, though! Colombia currently only has 6 snow-peaked mountains (or glaciers) and they are receding every day. To put it in perspective, there are only 36 km2 (22 miles2) of snow left in Colombia.

On a less somber note, páramos are gorgeous, and they’ll be staying with us MUCH longer. And there’s so many to explore! 2% of Colombia is páramo, and very few of them have trails or any development at all. To narrow down your research, I’ve made a list of the best páramos for hiking in Colombia. These are developed and ready for you to hike them!

The Best Páramos for Hiking in Colombia

  1. Chingaza.

Chingaza National Park is right next to Bogotá to the east and has 40 different glacial lakes. The biggest of them is Lake Chingaza, but the most beautiful are the Siecha Lakes. Though you can access Chingaza National Park from a bunch of locations, the entrance closest to Bogotá is the Piedras Gordas Administrative Center. It has a number of trails through a wonderfully mountainous páramo  that end at the Buitrago and Siecha Lakes. If you’re in Bogota, these hikes are worth your time! Click here to read a full blog post on how to get to these trails in Chingaza National Park.

  1. Ocetá.

The Ocetá Páramo is known as the world’s most beautiful páramo. Though I think there are some that rival it, I can agree. Enormous formation rise up out of the ground throughout the landscape, peppered with thousands, probably millions, of frailejones. It’s a great place to walk, camp and explore. This páramo is about 3.5 hours from Bogotá, right next to the town of Mongui and is home to lots of lakes, the most well-known of which is Laguna Negra. Click here to read the full blog post on how to get to the Laguna Negra and the Páramo de Oceta.

  1. Iguaque.

The Iguaque Páramo may not be the most well-known, but it’s my favorite, so of course I had to include it on this list. You start on a winding path through dense forest and suddenly take a step and there’s no more trees! From then on the trail is steep and straight up until you can see Iguaque Lake off in the distance. I love this place because I’ve had great times here with friends and family, as well as in the beautiful tourist town right next to it, Villa de Leyva. Click here for the full blog post on how to get to Iguaque and here for what to do in Villa de Leyva!

  1. Puracé.

Puracé National Park is an almost magical place where you feel like you’re where the world started. Three of Colombia’s biggest, most important rivers are born there: the Magdalena, Cauca and Caquetá rivers. The area also has 11 volcanoes, although only one is active. You can visit all these places, as well as the hot springs created by the volcano, entire valleys of frailejones, waterfalls and lakes. This high-altitude national park is not so well known, which is always great, and requires guides for hiking. It’s 2 hours from Popayán, 5 hours from Cali and 11 hours from Bogotá.

  1. Santurbán.

The Santurbán Páramo is the páramo that provides water for a lot of the Departments of Santander and Norte de Santander. It is huge, has some amazing formations and over 40 lakes. Best of all, the park has a lot of trails. For some perspective, this páramo is so big that it has 7 parks inside of it. It’s a great place to go camp, see the stars and hang out with friends. It’s also threatened to some degree due to large-scale mining. The best thing you can do is visit the park so that the government realizes this place’s natural beauty is important to society.

  1. Los Nevados.

Los Nevados National Park translates to “The Snowy Peaks National Park.” That’s right: snowy peaks, plural! This park holds three of Colombia’s too few snowy peaks, which of course means there’s a lot of páramo to be had below the snow line. Only one of those peaks, the Nevado del Tolima can be summited, and you need a guide and equipment to make the journey. That’s for another blog post. This post is focused on the best páramos for hiking in Colombia, and this place is great. You need no guide for hiking below and up to the snow line. The most well-known hike reaches the snow line at Lake Otún. Even if you can’t reach the summit or aren’t interested in such a daring adventure, you need to go explore this park. Fun fact: it has snowed on Nevado del Tolima twice in the past couple of years after not having snowed for over 10 years!

  1. Sumapaz.

The Sumapaz Páramo is Colombia and the world’s largest páramo and is right next to Bogotá on the south side of the city. (I know, Bogotá is close to so many páramos. Thats what happens when you build a city at 2,600 meters or 8,500 feet above sea level). This park is so enormous that you can access it right from Bogotá or from another city, Villavicencio, which is 3 hours from Bogotá. It even extends up to 5 hours from the big city where the Sumapaz Páramo ends and the Caño Canoas National Park begins. The park has a number of hikes, but the most well-known is the hike to Cuchillas de Bocagrande, a set of razor-like mountains that rise above a group of lakes. You can also drive up to the summit of the Nevado de Sumapaz, which used to have a snowy peak 100 years ago.

To conclude this blog post, páramos are unique ecosystems found in very few places in the world. Thankfully, Colombia has most of the world’s páramos and a lot of them, like the ones I described above, are accessible. That’s saying a lot for a country where access is usually difficult because there is little infrastructure for hiking and for outdoor adventures.

Go explore these wonderful places responsibly and enjoy them to the maximum!

For a list of outdoor activities close to Bogotá, read this blog post!

728*90