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Santa Rita Nature Reserve (Santa Rita Reserva Natural) is a beautiful area located in the settlement of Boquía, just outside the town of Salento. It’s in the Coffee Region and part of the UNESCO World Heritage listed Coffee Cultural Landscape of Colombia.
History of Santa Rita Nature Reserve
Santa Rita was a coffee farm for many years. Due to the potential for ecotourism and difficulty in the coffee market, the owners began to transition much of the land back to its natural habitat, while the rest is used for cattle grazing. This attracted a large number of birds, mammals, insects, and amphibians.
Getting to Santa Rita Nature Reserve
Getting to Santa Rita Nature Reserve can be tough without your own transportation or a taxi. We drove and it was easy to find off the main road to Salento. Others without a car walked the two kilometers with their camping equipment after getting off the bus in Boquía. Day trippers had it the easiest, as some local tour operators offer transportation to and from the reserve.
The road to Santa Rita is unpaved and gets very narrow. At some points, we were worried about our car hitting the wall or the railing. It was a mini adventure. Also, when coming or going, we were asked to call ahead to make sure nobody else was driving in the opposite direction. There’s no place to turn around or move over for other cars. I’ve posted a couple videos of the narrowest part of the drive below, both during the day and at night.
Visiting Santa Rita Nature Reserve
The reserve has three beautiful interconnected trails leading to waterfalls and natural swimming holes as well as camping and simple accommodation at their finca. A day pass is COP$10,000 per person and it’s open for day trippers from 7am to 4pm. Camping is COP$25,000 per person per night and a room at the finca is COP$65,000 per person per night. All prices are current as of May 2023.
Staying at Finca Santa Rita
Finca Santa Rita is the farmhouse at Santa Rita Nature Reserve. They offer accommodation, meals, and more. We visited over a busy Holy Week and stayed three nights at their traditional finca. The hosts are wonderful people who go out of their way to make guests feel at home.
We used the finca as a base not only to hike at the reserve, but to visit Salento and Boquía as well. It didn’t get too crowded until our last day.
Rooms
The rooms are simple yet comfortable, and there was almost total silence at night. Each shower has warm water, which is nice to wake up to in the cool mornings. There are only three rooms, so it’s best to call ahead and see if they’re available.
Meals
Every morning, our hosts offered a hearty breakfast. It consisted of eggs any style served with hot chocolate, arepa, and crackers. On the last morning, they added calentao to the plate.
We usually went out for lunch or dinner, but had one of each meal at Finca Santa Rita. For lunch after our hike, we had beans with chicken, eggs, rice, plantains, and salad. For dinner, we had a simple patacón with hogao and cheese.
Camping
For visitors who prefer to go camping, there’s a campground situated next to a river in a beautiful setting. There are toilets, cooking stations, and covered areas. All you have to do is bring a tent and your camping equipment, and firewood is for sale at the finca. The campground is about a ten minute walk from Finca Santa Rita.
The campground only had about 12 people on our first night, but by the time we left, there were probably over 100 people there.
Hiking at Santa Rita Nature Reserve
Santa Rita Nature Reserve is a great place to go hiking near Salento. It’s much less crowded than the popular Cocora Valley but without all the wax palms. The reserve has three different trails of varying difficulty to choose from. They’re all set among a lush green landscape and lead to waterfalls and swimming holes.
Antonio Trail (Trail #1)
The Antonio Trail starts right behind Finca Santa Rita. It’s fairly flat and passes between two cow pastures. The views start to get better as the trail moves along.
After a short shaded section, there’s a pasture on the left and the campground comes into view on the righthand side.
The trail then passes through an old railroad tunnel. Inside the tunnel is a niche containing a small shrine with a religious statue.
A few steps later is a small gate followed by an open section. The trail then cuts through a shaded section.
A descent leads to a bridge crossing over a river. There’s a pleasant area next to the river with some benches where some hikers were having a picnic.
On the other side of the bridge is a hut serving as a snack bar. There was a man selling drinks and snacks and he was also grilling chorizo. The snack bar is pretty much the central point of the entire Santa Rita Nature Reserve and a good place to sit and rest. The other two trails start there as well.
Santa Rita Waterfall Spur Trail
Just past the snack bar, is a spur trail to the Santa Rita Waterfall (Santa Rita La Cascada). It’s a very short walk along the river, heading slightly uphill and coming to two simple suspension bridges.
Once across the bridge, the Santa Rita Waterfall comes into view. There’s another bridge to get a better look at it and a rocky section in the river where some people were taking a dip. The water is freezing but refreshing. It can get very slippery so watch your step!
To continue on the other trails, you have to walk back across one of the bridges to the snack bar.
El Silencio Trail (Trail #2)
The El Silencio Trail is a moderate to difficult loop trail with lots of incline. It starts near the snack bar and passes a swimming hole and waterfall. The trail loops back through the forest to the snack bar. It’s not very well marked and for this reason we didn’t hike the entire trail, as you’ll read below. We only completed about a ⅓ of it but enjoyed some of the natural features along the way.
After leaving the snack bar, we came to the fork in the trail. The El Silencio Trail continues to the left while to the right is the beginning of the Alegría Trail. It was a bit steep and slippery in the beginning but it flattens out for the most part.
After the trail flattens out, you find yourself in a very dense forest. If it’s a hot day like it was when we hiked, you’ll welcome the drop in temperature. On this part of the trail, you can also look down and see the river that forms the Santa Rita Waterfall.
Swimming Hole
After a few minutes, a spur trail leads downhill to a natural swimming hole. This is one of my favorite places at Santa Rita Nature Reserve. The water is freezing but very refreshing. Water shoes might be a good idea to protect your feet from the rocks, and it’s recommended not to stay in the water for more than ten minutes at a time.
Getting Lost
The next part of the trail is where things got a little tricky for us. After walking back up to the El Silencio Trail, we followed the trail around to a huge boulder with a good view of the swimming hole. From there we could also spot a suspension bridge.
Once we reached the bridge, there was a sign that indicated the start of the El Silencio Trail as well as another small swimming hole. This was a little confusing since we thought we were already on the El Silencio Trail.
We crossed the bridge and a family in front of us was coming back down the other way. They said the trail disappeared and it was so steep and slippery they felt it was too dangerous to continue.
I turned around and saw a handrail and some stairs carved into the trail. Thinking this was the correct path, I climbed up and after a few steps the trail leveled out. Like the rest of the trail, the vegetation was very thick.
Looking down, I was able to see a small cascade followed by another small cascade. Eventually, we came to a waterfall. On the map, the Pico de Roca Waterfall was listed about where we are, so I thought we were on the right track, but at that point the trail disappeared. We decided to turn around and head back to the snack bar to rest and regroup.
End of the Trail
Once back at the snack bar, we spotted the end of the El Silencio Trail. At Finca Santa Rita, we asked the owner and he said the point where the family turned around was the correct trail. It continues to climb up and up into the forest where there’s complete silence, hence the name El Silencio. From there it loops around back to the snack bar. In any case, I think it was too dangerous and slippery to complete that section of the trail and the right move was turning around.
Alegría Trail (Trail #3)
If you remember, heading right at the fork in the trail near the snack bar leads to the Alegría Trail. The trail quickly ascended into a dense forest. There were a few inclines and declines on this first section but it was fairly easy.
After walking for about eight or ten minutes, there was another fork in the trail. To the left was a cave and to the right was a bypass to the cave. I walked up to the cave but it was impassable with sections of deep water on the ground. Keep reading and you’ll eventually see what’s on the other side of the cave.
I walked back down from the cave and followed the bypass until we came to the top of a valley overlooking the campground. There was no signage and no clear cut path so we walked down towards the river hoping to find a clue as to where to go. Again, there were no signs or arrows or anything that remotely resembled a trail, so we decided to call it a day. We crossed the bridge and walked through the campground back to Finca Santa Rita.
2nd Attempt
I decided to come back alone and try again the next morning, picking up exactly where we left off the day before. Before leaving, I consulted with the owner who told me we were supposed to continue around the hill to the left instead of walking all the way down to the river. I set off and got back to the spot where we had stopped and followed the owner’s instructions.
Lo and behold, I found a gate hidden away in a corner. I passed through and immediately picked up the cave bypass trail, walking up into the forest once again.
After a very short hike uphill, the trail leveled out and I found myself at the other end of the cave. I took a quick look and turned around to come back down to the trail when I noticed a sign. It indicated the Alegría Trail continuing to the left while the campground and Antonio Trail (Trail #1) were to the right. So it turns out there was signage after all, just not in the most helpful place!
I continued to the left down the Alegría Trail and a few steps later I came to the Barranquerro Waterfall (Cascada Barranquerro). It wasn’t nearly as nice as the Santa Rita Waterfall.
To continue hiking, I crossed over the flow of the Barranquerro Waterfall along a concrete wall. The trail then picked up through the forest. Because it had been raining since the night before, it was quite muddy and slippery.
Mirador
After about ten minutes, I ended up at the Mirador. It’s a small shelter with a bench and some phenomenal views of Santa Rita Nature Reserve.
I spent a few minutes admiring the views and enjoying the solitude. It was possible to spot Finca Santa Rita in the distance as well as the cows grazing in the pasture. The whole scene was just gorgeous, with nothing but green in all directions. The misty morning gave it a bit of a mysterious feel.
End of the Hike
After leaving the Mirador, I continued down the trail. I looked back a few times as I crossed the field on the way back to Finca Santa Rita. Once at the bottom of the hill, it was a flat walk back through a field.
On the very last section of the trail, I came to a gate next to a bridge and a calm section of the river. It looked good enough to swim in, and I probably would have jumped in had I done the trail correctly the day before. Instead, I crossed over the bridge and almost tumbled into the water anyway after I lost my footing on the soggy wood.
Walking up through another small field, I could see Finca Santa Rita clearly. I passed through another gate and had a close encounter with a friendly bull. From there, I had just one more field to cross before finally reaching the finca. In the end, I was happy I had gone back to complete the hike, especially for the amazing views from the Mirador.
