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Manizales, a university city in the UNESCO World Heritage listed Coffee Cultural Landscape of Colombia, isn’t very touristy but does have a few sites of interest, including a few nature parks just outside of the city.
Plaza de Bolívar
A good place to start exploring is Plaza de Bolívar, the main plaza in the historic part of the city. The centerpiece of the plaza is a unique statue of Simón Bolívar in the form of a condor. It’s called El Bolívar Cóndor and was erected in 1991.
Another interesting building is the Palace of Government (Palacio de Gobierno), which houses the government offices for the department of Caldas. There is also the magnificent cathedral. It’s got the tallest church tower in Colombia and offers excellent guided tours.
Another Plaza
Next, walking east along the street behind the cathedral, we made our way to another plaza full of trees, a fountain, and a statue of Colombian hero Francisco José de Caldas, for whom the department of Caldas is named.
On the west side of the plaza, several small souvenir booths sell all kinds of crafts and souvenirs at low prices.
On the east side of the plaza is the Church of the Immaculate Conception (Iglesia de la Inmaculada Concepción). It was built in the early 20th century and has some gorgeous woodwork on the face of the church and inside.
Chipre
To the northwest of the city center is the district of Chipre. It lies uphill at a higher elevation from the rest of the city. There you’ll find the church that was once the cathedral of Manizales, also named Our Lady of the Rosary (Nuestra Señora del Rosario).
There’s also a lookout, the Sky Tower (Torre al Cielo). For a reasonable fee, you can ride an elevator up to the top for amazing views of the city. There’s also a restaurant a level below, and for an extra cost an opportunity to do a “sky walk” on the outside of the tower attached only by a lanyard.
