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San José is a tiny town that sits at the top of a mountain ridge on the southwestern edge of the Caldas department of Colombia.
Introduction to San José, Caldas
San José is part of the UNESCO World Heritage listed Coffee Cultural Landscape of Colombia. It was founded on March 19, 1902, and became a municipality on the same date in 1998. It’s not very interesting or worth a detour, but the town provides some of the most incredible views in the Coffee Region.
Getting to San José, Caldas
If traveling to the town by public transportation, there are frequent buses passing through San José from Manizales, about two hours away.
Plaza Simón Bolívar
The town has one main road running through it which passes by the main plaza, Plaza Simón Bolívar. The plaza is surrounded by a few bars and restaurants and has a church on one end.
In the center of the plaza is a statue of Simón Bolívar (1783-1830), the liberator of Colombia, as well as a small statue of a duende. A duende is a mischievous mythical creature that lures small children into the forest causing them to lose their way home. There are also some beautiful views from the plaza and the streets running down from it.
Our Lady of Mount Carmel
The church, Our Lady of Mount Carmel (Nuestra Señora del Carmen) sits on one end of the plaza. It was originally built in 1914 and features impressive woodwork inside. Thankfully the horrible checkerboard pattern paint job on the façade has been changed. I’ll update this post with a new photo as soon as I have a chance to visit the town again.
