Exploring Jardín Colombia: Photography, Hiking & Mountain Scenery
Jardín is one of Colombia’s most colorful mountain towns, surrounded by lush scenery, waterfalls, hiking trails and exceptional birdlife. I spent two days exploring and photographing Jardín, riding the wonderfully questionable La Garrucha cable car, hiking to mountain viewpoints and searching for Andean cock-of-the-rocks.
From Medellín to Jardín
I really enjoyed my two days in Medellín, but I was ready to get out of the city and into the Colombian countryside. It would be quieter, greener, and probably a little safer.
Little did I know…
I took an Uber to Medellín’s Terminal del Norte for the bus to Jardín. The station has two levels and is enormous, but finding the bus wasn’t too difficult. Buses depart from the bottom level and arrive at the top level. The trip takes about 3½ hours through increasingly beautiful mountain scenery.
Photography tip: Going from Medellín to Jardín, sit on the left side of the bus for the best views. Traveling back from Jardín to Medellín, sit on the right.
The bus dropped me on the western edge of Jardín. Unfortunately, my hotel (Hotel Macao) was on the opposite side of town, which meant about a 15-minute uphill walk with my luggage.
The owner, Hugo, let me check in early, which immediately made him one of my favorite people. I also met his dog, Tammy, who graciously allowed me to pet her.
Day One: La Garrucha and the Mountains Above Jardín
My first adventure was riding La Garrucha, Jardín’s wonderfully questionable-looking cable car.
“Rustic” would be a generous description.
The little wooden cable car carries only four people and looks as though it was assembled sometime during the Industrial Revolution and hasn’t received an OSHA inspection since. Naturally, I loved it.
If you’re riding La Garrucha for photography, get on first and sit in the front. There are openings in the plexiglass door that allow you to photograph the mountains without shooting through scratched plastic. If you want photographs looking back toward Jardín, sit in the rear.
There’s a café/bar at the top with beautiful views over town and the surrounding mountains. From there, you can take a short 15-minute route back to Jardín or a longer 45-minute trail that initially heads east before looping west toward town.
I chose the longer route.
It’s mostly downhill with a few steeper sections, following an easy-to-navigate dirt road. When in doubt, keep turning left. Along the way you’ll pass small waterfalls, including Cascada del Amor, along with enough butterflies to make you wonder whether someone releases them every morning specifically for tourists.
That evening I photographed the changing light around Jardín’s central plaza and the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception.
The plaza was packed with people sitting around talking, eating and drinking. I also noticed something I’d never really seen before: everyone leaned their chairs backward against the walls at roughly a 45-degree angle.
Not one person.
Everyone.
Apparently this is a thing.
Jardín itself is small and extremely walkable, which makes wandering around with a camera particularly easy. It felt safe too.
Day Two: Sunrise, Blood and a Very Slippery Mountain
Day two began with sunrise in Jardín’s main plaza. The basilica isn’t illuminated in the morning, but the empty streets and early light more than make up for it.
After a short break, I decided to hike up to Mirador Cristo Rey.
This turned out to be a questionable decision but one of my favorite experiences on the entire trip.
The trail drops from town toward the river before climbing sharply up the opposite hillside. Normally it would probably qualify as a moderately challenging hike.
Unfortunately, it had rained.
The stone-and-dirt trail was wet and incredibly slippery. I also discovered that my shoes had approximately the same amount of remaining tread as racing slicks.
This did not improve matters.
At one point I started sliding and instinctively grabbed a clump of vegetation to stop myself.
Bad choice.
Whatever I grabbed had thorns, one of which went straight into my hand.
I bled.
A lot. Like blood dripping off my hand a lot.
Eventually I reached Mirador Cristo Rey, sweaty, muddy and bleeding, only to discover that the restaurant was closed.
Perfect.
Fortunately, I could see another café farther along the mountain, so I continued to Café Jardín, arriving with one hand—and somehow my right shoe—covered in blood.
Nothing says “I’d like a refreshing beverage” quite like looking as though you’ve just escaped a zombie apocalypse movie- with blood all over your arm/hand.
I ordered a delicious lulo juice.
Fruit Thieves and the Safer Way Down
There was absolutely no chance I was going back down the slippery trail I’d just climbed, so I followed the road instead.
Along the way I encountered a young couple climbing over a barbed-wire fence to pick fruit from somebody’s tree. They’d thoughtfully placed a shirt over the barbed wire to make their agricultural crime spree more comfortable.
They offered me some fruit.
Initially I declined.
Then I reconsidered and walked back.
Apparently, however, accepting the fruit required me to climb over the same barbed-wire fence and get into the tree myself.
No.
I could already imagine the plantation owner arriving the next morning and discovering a fat American tourist stuck in her tree illegally stealing fruit.
There are limits to adventure.
Farther down the road, I encountered the same couple raiding another farmer’s fruit trees.
I eventually stopped at a small restaurant overlooking the valley for a much-needed break before continuing downhill into Jardín.
Andean Cock-of-the-Rocks at Jardín de Rocas
Later that afternoon I headed to Reserva Natural Jardín de Rocas to see Jardín’s famous Andean cock-of-the-rocks.
They’re difficult to miss.
The males are enormous, bright orange-red birds that look as though someone turned the saturation slider all the way up.
Getting to the reserve involves another significant downhill walk—which isn’t particularly entertaining when everything is wet—but at least this path is paved.
The reserve itself isn’t very large, and I spotted the cock-of-the-rocks almost immediately. I also photographed Andean motmots and several other birds among the dense vegetation.
I finished my final evening back around Jardín’s plaza and basilica, photographing the evening light before settling in for a fish dinner.
After Medellín, Jardín was exactly what I wanted: mountains, colorful architecture, birds, waterfalls, ridiculous cable cars, beautiful light—and apparently enough blood loss to make the whole experience memorable.
I absolutely loved it.
References:
Hotels
Hotel Macao– Hugo and his family were very welcoming. Great views of the Cathedral from upper floor. Really enjoyed this location- on edge of town but still close to center. Say hi to Tommy their dog for me.
WR Boutique Hotel– 4.5 star boutique hotel with rooftop terrace viewpoints
Hotel Plantacion– city and mountain views
Casa Passiflora Hotel Boutique– downtown Cathedral views
Coffee
Being the heart of Colombia’s coffee region, the coffee was outstanding everywhere.
Unfortunately, most bakeries and coffee shops in don’t open until 8 a.m. For photographers chasing summer sunrises, that means being up hours before your first shot of caffeine—an impossible situation. I was convinced I’d die of coffee deprivation before then. My advice: stock up the day before on supermarket iced coffees and drink just enough to survive until the cafés open (a strategy I tested and can confirm works).
There are a lot of coffee shops in the city- go to one surrounding the main square.
Tours
Find things to do in – day trips (museums and public transport), and more:
Travel Guides
Here is the recently published Lonely Planet Guide. This is what I used to plan the trip (in conjunction with the all-beloved internet):
Another travel guide available for :
Flights:
There are frequent buses to Jardin from Terminal Sud in Medellin. There is no airport in Jardin:
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Ryan Fox AWS, NWS, TWSA
Ryan Fox Painting