The first time above 4000m: Paramillo Trek!

🎵"I like Colombiana, I like you

I like the mountain, I like you..."🎶 (Manu Chao)

This earworm accompanies us as we peel ourselves out of bed at the ungrateful time of 5.30 am on September 13, 2022...

Day 1:

Our guide Guillermo and the nice taxi driver are waiting for us outside the gates of our glamping site in Salento at 6 o'clock. We start again in the Valle de Cocora, but this time we take the hike in the reverse direction from yesterday. At the fork in the road to the hummingbird house, the guide provides us with a "cafesito", which he quickly prepares on a small stove, and we have our first breakfast. Up to this point, everything is still very pleasant (except for our jackets, which are still not dry since yesterday's rain), but then it goes steeply uphill quite quickly, always following the old paths of the indigenous people.

The problematic part is the muddy path. We were offered rubber boots at the beginning, but who wants to hike for 3 days in uncomfortable rubber boots?! Now we know why... Not because of the many small rivers we have to cross, but rather because of the knee-deep muddy holes filled with water, trampled by countless mules, horses, and cows, which can only be circumvented with great effort.

As long as we are still in the forest, we see many colorful birds and unfamiliar plants, which Guillermo knows and explains to us. There are also pumas, leopards, bears, tapirs, condors, toucans, and other interesting animals here, which we are not supposed to see.

At some point, the forest clears and we cross the tree line. Suddenly, the vegetation changes to cactus-like plants and other dry vegetation. We feel like we are in a different world, with mystical fog, steep mountains, the play of light and shadow, and unfamiliar plants. We can't take enough photos of this, but we have to hurry up because it gets dark quickly.

We walk through half a moorland, where we can only jump from one grass bush to the next, helplessly, but nobody comes back dry here... In addition to the damp ground, rain falls from above and the fog becomes so dense that we can hardly see our guide in front of us. The path does not get any better and we struggle through the deep and slippery mud again. And indeed, it takes much longer than planned and so we have to walk the last half an hour in the darkness.

We are grateful to arrive at the Finca at 3800 meters at around 6.30 pm after more than 10 hours of hiking, no matter how we look. Our shoes are dirty, our feet hurt, our stomachs growl. We happily accept a delicious cup of tea and collapse into a chair. It has become cold... To warm ourselves up, we are provided with soup and a delicious meal, and for roughly 1€ we can take a warm shower. We go to bed early in the simple dormitory because the next day will be no less exhausting...

Day 2:

It's early, the night was freezing cold, and the horse delivery with new groceries woke us up rudely... But we feel good, no one has gotten altitude sickness, and we start the day with new courage (and in anticipation of better trails). After our breakfast is delayed by one hour in true Colombian fashion, we finally set off at 8 o'clock as planned.

It's cross-country uphill and we quickly leave the Finca behind. Since we are walking across a gigantic cow pasture, where you sometimes don't encounter a cow for hours, the mud is, of course, inevitable - but anything is better than the day before. Along the way, we find numerous scattered bones of a cow that a puma apparently enjoyed a while ago...

We reach a hilltop and see huge Espeletias as far as the eye can see. We go downhill and then uphill again, crossing small streams, passing between numerous bushes and grasses (a practical car wash for our shoes). Meanwhile, it is pouring rain.

When we cross a fence and later descend from this spot, we decide to hide the heavy backpacks behind a thick shrub and continue without them. With renewed lightness, we make good progress at first, but then the altitude starts to affect us more and more. Breathing becomes difficult and our legs even more... Eventually, we move forward in slow motion and would like to give up, but the guide, who always generously runs ahead and for whom all of this, regardless of the weather, is a walk in the park, urges us on. At least we want to reach the first summit of Paramillo.

We need more and more short breaks, during which we can also focus on the surroundings. Around us, there are different colors of rocks, strange but also beautiful plants, and isolated flowers that have adapted to life up here. The view opens up to the valley below, which has surprisingly much water and many small islands.

When we look up, all we see is a thick fog... But we're almost there, so we gather our last bit of energy - Yes! We have reached the first summit at about 4550m! We are incredibly proud but also infinitely exhausted. It is freezing cold and according to Guillermo, it's below zero. We also can't see anything. We dance around a bit to dispel the fog, and miraculously, it becomes lighter! In front of us lie mountains that resemble the Rainbow Mountains in Peru, with wonderfully different colors. We even see a small lake.

When we can hardly feel our fingers, we start the way back. When we reach the backpacks, we are treated to warm tea from the camping stove. Two other Colombian hikers join us and have the same Finca as their destination for today. We walk together for a while before they leave us behind at the countless muddy holes. Several times, we almost land in the mud, and it just doesn't get any better... Once again, it gets later and later, and the Finca is still far from sight. Finally, the guide runs ahead for several kilometers to change our reservation and check-in at an accommodation earlier. We are infinitely grateful when that works out, and we reach Finca Buenos Aires just before dark.

The evening ends in a cozy little group in the kitchen, where the owner cooks for us on an open fire with 10 different pots. Then we fall exhausted into bed while we listen to the rain outside.

Day 3:

It has been raining non-stop all night and when we look out of our room, there is even snow on yesterday's Paramillo! We are glad that today we don't have to go up anymore, but only have to go down and we fortify ourselves with breakfast for the final 15 km. "One more time, fly with the drone in this glorious sunshine and this fantastic view" we think. "You should have charged me better", the drone thinks and suddenly crashes just before returning... Guillermo runs down the steep hill in his rubber boots to save it, and miraculously brings it back unharmed! Cardiovascular arrest averted.

Now we really have to continue because with the fatigue in our muscles and bones from the past few days, we don't walk quite as fast... Fortunately, the weather plays along the whole time and dries up most of the mud by the time we have to pass through it. But when we reach the tree line, it's a different story again. Even though the path still seems endless, we enjoy the thought of soon arriving back in the valley of the palms, having a warm shower, and clean clothes.

When we enter the tourist zone again and see the overweight tourists riding the poor horses, we know that we can really be proud of having completed the entire hike on foot! Would we do the hike again? Maybe ask our feet again in a few weeks... It was at least an incredible experience that we will remember for a long time!

PS: Now it's time for pizza, Netflix, and a day in bed ;)

Data & facts of the hike (without guarantee):

Start & End: Valle de Cocora.

Day 1: approx. 20km, 1700m uphill, 400m downhill, stay at Finca La Playa.

Day 2: approx. 15km, 1000m uphill, 1000m downhill, stay at Finca Buenos Aires.

Day 3: approx. 15km, 300m uphill, 1600m downhill.

Most important vocabulary of our hike:

Rain = lluvia

Snow = nieve

Fog = niebla

Cloud = nube

Bird = pájaro

Tree = árbol

Mud = lodo

Slippery = liso

Ground = piso

Path = camino

Break = pausa

Go up = arriba 

Go down = bajo