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The city of Armenia is the capital of the Quindío department and part of the UNESCO World Heritage listed Coffee Cultural Landscape of Colombia.
Introduction to Armenia, Colombia
Armenia is the third largest and least exciting of the three major cities in the Coffee Region of Colombia. It was founded on October 14, 1889, by Jesús María Ocampo, and it was named Armenia on November 30 of that year. The city was leveled by a 6.2 magnitude earthquake on January 25, 1999, and much of it had to be rebuilt. Today, it’s an important economic center based on agriculture and tourism.
Personally, I find Armenia to be seedy and pretty much a waste to visit other than the fantastic Quimbaya Gold Museum. On the positive side, its location, reasonably priced hotels, and good restaurants make it a great base to visit several nearby attractions. Within a short drive you’ll find Parque del Café, PANACA, Recuca, the towns of Salento and Filandia, the Cocora Valley, and the Quindío Botanical Garden in Calarcá.
Getting to Armenia, Colombia
Being a hub on the coffee tourist trail, Armenia is well connected.
Buses to Armenia
By bus, there are connections to many major cities, the nearest one being Pereira less than an hour away. The bus terminal can also get you directly to Parque del Café and towns like Salento and Filandia.
To take a taxi into the city center from the bus terminal, you first have to go to a booth at the front of the taxi stand. The attendant will print out a ticket with a fixed price based on your destination before you get into the taxi.
El Edén International Airport
El Edén International Airport connects Armenia with domestic flights to Bogotá and Medellín and international flights to Fort Lauderdale and Panama City (as of March 2024). It’s located in the nearby town of La Tebaida.
Getting Around Armenia, Colombia
To get around Armenia, there are public buses that run the length of the city in both directions. Taxis are plentiful and metered. If visiting the Quindío Botanical Garden in Calarcá, buses marked “Mariposario” leave frequently from Constitution Park (Parque de la Constitution).
Where to Stay in Armenia, Colombia
There are lots of accommodation options in Armenia ranging from budget to luxury. We’ve stayed a few nights in the city, but prefer to stay in some of the smaller towns nearby.
Hotel Castilla Real
A good affordable hotel to stay at is Hotel Castillo Real, just a couple blocks from Plaza de Bolívar. It’s a great value. We had a double room that was clean, comfortable, and had excellent WiFi. A nice breakfast was served until 9:30am and the staff was incredible. They helped us plan our activities for the day and always greeted us with a smile. The only negative was that the double bed was actually two twin beds pushed together. We could feel the bed sliding apart.
Hotel Mocawa Plaza
An excellent luxury hotel is the Hotel Mocawa Plaza (formerly Allure Aroma Mocawa). We stayed there with a large group and have to say it’s one of the better hotels we have stayed at in Colombia. Their spacious and modern rooms are reasonably priced. The only problem is that check in is a long and drawn out process. To check our group into eight rooms, it took an hour.
The hotel features 14-9, a restaurant with mediocre food, as well as a rooftop pool and bar. It’s a short walk from several restaurants.
Where to Eat in Armenia, Colombia
Armenia has a few decent options for food. In our experience, the best places are on the north side of the city or along the highway to Pereira.
El Solar
On the road between Armenia and Pereira, just north of the city is El Solar. This restaurant with quirky decorations features excellent meat and fish dishes and is a fun place to take a group.
Territorio Rodizio
A bit north of El Solar is Territorio Rodizio. It’s a Brazilian style rodizio restaurant serving some delicious cuts of meat and excellent service. The salad bar is weak with limited choices, however.
Mall Los Arces
If you find yourself on the far south side of the city, Mall Los Arces is a collection of food trucks serving a good variety of street food. There’s Cuban, Mexican, pizza, burgers, hot dogs, ice cream, and other delicious treats available.
It was hard to decide, but I went with a cuban pulled pork sandwich and shared tacos al pastor with Marisol. The food was excellent, and we hope to go back for another visit to try more.
Keizaki
Keizaki is a sushi restaurant that also has a branch in Pereira. They have decent service and a good selection of sushi rolls and wok dishes to choose from. We actually prefer the sushi at Keizaki in Armenia.
14-9
14-9 (formerly the Grill) is a restaurant at Hotel Mocawa Plaza with mediocre food. We ate dinner there on the first night of our stay and weren’t happy with the quality of our meals.
Tierra del Fuego (Permanently Closed)
For dinner, we tried Tierra del Fuego. It’s hidden behind a strip mall on the north side of the city but there are a few signs guiding diners to the restaurant. They serve Argentinian style steaks and are open daily except Mondays until midnight. The steaks were big enough to share. Unfortunately, the quality of meat wasn’t that great. The best part of the meal was the empanada appetizer.
Wasabi (Permanently Closed)
We also tried Wasabi, a sushi restaurant on the north side. We had a special with four rolls of sushi along with two starters and fried ice cream for dessert. It was enough for three or four people. Everything was excellent and we would go back there again.
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Plaza de Bolívar
Plaza de Bolívar is the main plaza in Armenia. On the Saturdays that I’ve visited, there were different events occurring, including a craft market and an indigenous ceremony. Around the plaza you’ll find the tallest building in Armenia, some restaurants, cafés, bars, and shops. In the middle are a couple of monuments, including one of liberator Simón Bolívar (1783-1830).
Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception
Plaza de Bolívar is the modern Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception (Catedral de la Inmaculada Concepción) sits on Plaza de Bolívar. It was built after the original historic cathedral was destroyed in a devastating earthquake in 1999.
City Hall Plaza
The other major plaza is City Hall Plaza (Plaza de la Alcaldía), which unsurprisingly is the home of Armenia’s city hall. I didn’t feel particularly safe in this plaza.
Church of San Francisco
The beautiful Church of San Francisco (Iglesia de San Francisco) is located on City Hall Plaza. It was built in 1929.
Parque de la Vida
Parque de la Vida is the largest park in Armenia and is considered the lungs of the city. It’s a small nature reserve with walking trails, wildlife, playgrounds, recreational activities, and food kiosks.
Visiting Parque de la Vida
Parque de la Vida is located on the north side of the city. It’s open daily from 8am to 5pm and admission is COP$4,000 (as of March 2024). It’s a great place to spend a couple hours escaping the concrete jungle of Armenia, and perfect for families with small children.
Trails at Parque de la Vida
Trails start just inside the entrance. They loop around the entire park with a few spurs through bamboo forests. The first part of the trail passes an open-air auditorium in a pleasant setting, then a recreational area that was closed during our visit. That area contained meeting rooms as well as a place to play video games.
Heading downhill from there is a small pond with artificial waterfalls and a bridge. There were egrets and waterfowl in the pond as well as a few chickens running around.
The pond drains into another pond below with more animals. The second pond is accessible along the main loop. Along the shore is a chicken coop. Ducks and swans swim in the water and there’s a small feeding house for them just offshore.
The trails continue through the park entering a bamboo forest where the temperature drops significantly. It was immediately refreshing on the hot day we visited. We were able to spot a guatín, which is a rodent also known as an agouti.
Near the end of the trail is a spur that crosses a long suspension bridge. On the other side of the bridge, the trail leads to another forested area where all the trees and plants are labeled.
Recreational Activities at Parque de la Vida
Near the entrance to the park is the playground, which also contains a few food kiosks. At the end of the playground is a rollerblading rink and tennis courts.
Quimbaya Gold Museum
The best attraction by far, in my opinion, is the Quimbaya Gold Museum (Museo del Oro Quimbaya). It’s a free attraction (as of March 2024) on the outskirts of the city and well worth the trip. It’s open daily except Sundays from 10am to 6pm. Most of the museum is in Spanish, but some info panels are written in English. On all our visits, there has only been an English speaking guide available once. A taxi is the easiest way to get to the museum from the city center.
The Quimbaya Gold Museum contains hundreds of impressive artifacts made of gold that have been found in the region. They tell the story of the indigenous people, their customs, beliefs, and lifestyle.
The rear of the museum contains a beautiful garden of several plant species found in the region. These plants were used by the indigenous people in one way or another, including for medicinal purposes and food.
