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For a fun Saturday, we decided to take a bamboo rafting trip down the Río La Vieja. It’s a popular activity in Colombia’s Coffee Region.
Balsaje La Berraquera
There are several companies that offer the trips, but we decided to go with Balsaje La Berraquera, simply because it’s got the best name. Trips last about six hours in total and costs around COP$80,000 per person (as of January 2024), depending on the company. This includes lunch and insurance. Rafts are open-group with up to 16 people, but private rafts for small groups of 6 or more are also available. Reservations must be made at least a day in advance, and heavy rain may affect departures.
Check-In
We showed up at Balsaje La Berraquera’s office in Quimbaya at about 9:30am to check in and give our ID numbers for the insurance. At about 10am, everyone who would be on our raft piled onto a jeep. It was a half hour ride to another office in Puerto Alejandría where we picked up our lifejackets and bought some drinks and snacks for the trip.
Rafting
We piled back on the jeep and drove a few minutes down a bumpy road to Río La Vieja. That’s where we boarded our rafts and met our bogas (raft pilots). They were two hilarious men who couldn’t stop cracking jokes and kept the guests laughing the entire time.
Guests were given a few different opportunities to jump off the raft and swim in the river. For the most part, it’s very calm and enjoyable. There are a couple of rapids where the water moves too quickly or is too shallow for swimming. In these cases, the bogas would instruct us to climb back onto the raft when it was too dangerous to swim.
Lunch
After a good 90 minutes on the river, we reached the halfway point of the trip. The raft stopped to let us off at a picnic area. The guides handed out a traditional fiambre for lunch, which was chicken, rice, potato, yuca, and a hard boiled egg wrapped in a banana leaf.
Waterfall
There was also an opportunity to hike to a waterfall for a COP$7,000 (as of December 2023). It takes about 15 minutes through beautiful scenery, and is mostly uphill on the way there.
Once at the waterfall, we got to jump into the plunge pool and stand under the falls. It was a great feeling and the water is refreshingly cool. The only negative was all the large rocks in the plunge pool, so it’s best to bring water shoes.
Rafting Again
After the lunch stop, we boarded the raft again and took another 90 minutes floating down the river to our final stop at Piedras de Moler. We thanked the bogas and gave them a nice tip for their hard work, then got on a jeep to be taken back to Quimbaya.
Conclusion
Overall, it was an excellent trip. Everything was enjoyable, the lunch was good, and we got to relax while letting the current take us down the river. My only advice is to bring sport sandals or old shoes you don’t mind getting wet. This helps protect your feet from the rocks on the riverbed and keeps you from slipping on the bamboo raft. It’s also good to bring a change of clothes with you as well as drinks and snacks if you think you’ll get hungry.
