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Umbría Valley, located halfway between Belén de Umbría and Mistrató in the department of Risaralda, Colombia, has a couple places to visit.
Introduction to Umbría Valley
While there’s nothing of interest in the village itself, there are a few recreational areas that provide several different activities as well as an amazing restaurant. Umbría Valley is located within the UNESCO World Heritage listed Coffee Cultural Landscape of Colombia.
Getting to Umbría Valley
To get to Umbría Valley from Belén, it’s possible to take either a Cootransbel bus from the bus terminal or a Flota Occidental bus from the main plaza heading to Mistrató.
Balcón del Valle
Balcón del Valle is by far my favorite reason to drive out to Umbría Valley. They serve delicious meals among a spectacular setting overlooking the valley. It’s a true gastronomic experience with creations you won’t find anywhere else.
Balcón del Valle is run by chefs Javier and Cristina, who do everything to make their guests feel happy and at home throughout their culinary experience. Javier spent several years as a chef overseas and speaks fluent English, and has created a handful of interesting Colombian-Thai fusion dishes. These dishes are unique and I haven’t tried anything like them. They also serve up a few traditional Colombian favorites.
Furthermore, all of the vegetables, fruits, and spices Javier and Cristina use as ingredients are grown right on their property. It doesn’t get any fresher than that!
Visiting Balcón del Valle
Balcón del Valle is open Wednesday to Monday. To visit the restaurant, you have to make reservations as well as choose your meal in advance. They’ll send a menu via WhatsApp and you can send your order back at least a day in advance. If you’re in the area, contact me and I’ll be happy to help you make a reservation.
To get there without a private vehicle, you can take a bus heading from Belén to Mistrató and ask the driver to drop you off at the road leading up to the restaurant. You’ll have to walk up a long gravel road to get to their home, which doubles as the restaurant.
Dishes at Balcón del Valle
You can’t go wrong with any of the dishes at Balcón del Valle. Each one comes with a drink, starters, and soup. At the end of the meal, they’ll offer homemade chai. Some of the starters and soups include:
Javier and Cristina used to run Salsa y Sazón, which was my favorite restaurant in Belén, until they closed it in 2017 and moved to the Umbría Valley. They serve up all my old favorites from that restaurant, including:
Some of the newer creations on the menu include:
A couple of the traditional Colombian dishes available are:
San Juan del Valle
San Juan del Valle has a swimming pool, fishing pond, go-karts, motorcycles, paintball, football fields, zip line, paragliding, camping, and a farm. They also have guided ecological walks in the area to waterfalls and for birdwatching in groups with a minimum of 10 people.
There’s a restaurant serving typical Colombian food. The food is decent but the service is a bit slow. Reasonably priced cabañas are also available at San Juan del Valle. The price includes a few of the activities available in the park.
La Granjita de Ethan
Just past San Juan del Valle is La Granjita de Ethan. This is a great place to go as a family or group of friends to grab an ice cream. There’s a trampoline, an aviary with peacocks and parrots, and a pond with koi.
You can also take a walk through the fields where you can see several fruit trees and vegetables being grown, including guanábana, avocado, chili peppers, passionfruit, and more.
There’s a small menu with food, drinks, and ice cream. The ice cream is very good, but the food is terrible.
Funvallu
Funvallu is another recreational area. It’s more focused on relaxation but also has several fun activities including ecological walks to waterfalls, paddle boats, fishing, bike tours, presentations and walks about the indigenous population, camping, river rafting, and zip lining. The grounds at Funvallu seem much nicer than San Juan del Valle but overall it’s not well run and much less organized.
The restaurant serves typical Colombian food. We ate lunch and it wasn’t that great.
Funvallu has a small hotel with a spa, gym, hammocks, and swimming pool along with a few cabañas for rent. The price is all-inclusive but many of the activities are extra.
