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Grape National Park (Parque Nacional de la Uva) is located at the heart of Colombia’s grape growing region. It sits just outside the town of La Uníon and makes for a great family excursion.
On my very first visit in July 2015, I enjoyed the park but could see lots of room for improvement. It had only been open for about a year or so at that time. I visited again in December 2021 and was impressed with how things had progressed.
Visiting Grape National Park
Tickets are purchased at the main building. On both visits, we did the Vine and Wine Passport (Pasaporte Vid y Vino), a package ticket costing COP$79,000 per person (as of January 2024). It includes admission to the park plus the Grape and Wine Museum and winery tour. Other packages add on extras such as zip lining. Check the official website for more info.
Loop Trail at Grape National Park
The loop trail through the park takes about four hours to complete. It’s a long walk but stops at different stations with presentations along the way make it much easier. Also, it can be VERY hot. Wear light clothing and comfortable walking shoes, and bring sunscreen, sunglasses, and a hat. You can buy water, drinks, and snacks at a few different stations along the route. No outside food and drinks are allowed.
Facilities at Grape National Park
There’s a restaurant on-site at the main building, serving Colombian dishes. Hotel Los Viñedos, which includes tickets to the park, is also on the property. We decided not to stay at the hotel because the price didn’t match what was offered in the photos.
Stations at Grape National Park
There are 25 stations along the loop trail at Grape National Park. Stations 1-4 include the entrance, parking lots, and restaurant.
Park Entrance (Station 5)
I’ll start with station 5, the park entrance. This is simply the turnstile where you show your wristband to the attendant and continue through to the beginning of the loop through the park.
Vine Trail (Station 6)
Station 6 is the Vine Trail (Sendero de la Vid). It includes a short but pleasant walk through the vineyards.
World of the Vine (Station 7)
At the World of the Vine (Mundo de la Vid), we were given a talk about the properties of grapes and a short history of how grapes were brought to this part of Colombia. We were then allowed to smell three different types of wines produced by Casa Grajales at Grape National Park.
Grajales Kiosk (Station 8)
After another short walk through the vineyards, we came to the Grajales Kiosk (Kiosco Grajales). There was a presentation featuring local goods such as grape jams and juices, sweets, and other agricultural products. Samples were given out, and at the end of the presentation, we had a chance to buy whatever we liked. We could pay at the kiosk and pick up our purchase at the end of the day at the main building.
Before crossing over a small bridge to the next station, we looked back at the vineyards with the mountains in the distance. It was certainly one of the more idyllic scenes of the day.
World of the Mill (Station 9)
Next was the World of the Mill (Mundo del Trapiche), which demonstrates how sugarcane is processed and tells visitors about the health benefits natural sugarcane provides. Guarapo (fresh sugar cane juice) is also sold. This was one of my favorite stations.
Paradise Forest and Trail (Station 10)
Continuing on was a trail through the Paradise Forest and Trail (Sendero y Bosque Paraíso). The trail ran alongside a small pond with a few turtles swimming in it, and it was a nice way to beat the heat for a few minutes.
World of Coffee (Station 11)
At the end of the forest was the World of Coffee (Mundo del Café). There were interpretive panels about coffee cultivation in the Valle del Cauca department as well as a chance to sample and purchase some locally produced coffee.
Ecological Hut (Station 12)
The Ecological Hut (Bohío Ecológico) was next. It included a short ecological talk in an herb garden. The hut wasn’t constructed on my first visit, when the garden sat behind sheets of plastic.
Moment of the Caracolí (Station 13)
Just past the hut was the Moment of the Caracolí (El Momento del Caracolí). The caracolí is a large tree with a hole in the center. Supposedly this tree contains natural spirits that generate a positive and healthy energy exchange to anyone who hugs it.
Artisanal World (Station 14)
After crossing a short suspension bridge, we walked to the Artisanal World (Mundo Artesanal). This kiosk was empty during our visit.
World of Beekeeping (Station 16)
A little out of order was the World of Beekeeping (Mundo de la Apicultura). This small kiosk contained a short presentation on the history of honey cultivation around the world as well as the health benefits of natural honey. It was very interesting, and visitors had the chance to buy some natural honey after the presentation.
Moment of the Capybaras (Station 15)
A short spur trail past the beekeeping station took us to a small colony of capybaras in a patch of forest. The Moment of the Capybaras (El Momento de los Chigüiros) was another interesting part of the park, detailing the features of the world’s largest species of rodent.
Tropical Fruits
Although not considered a station, from stations 14-16, we walked past groves of tropical fruits. Some of the first crops included papaya and soursop (guanábana). It was interesting to see how these fruits actually grew.
The next groves included dragon fruit (pitahaya) and plantain (plátano). At the end of the groves were greenhouses to grow more fruits.
Bovine World (Station 17)
At Bovine World (Mundo Bovino), there was an exhibition of cattle from around the world. A covered area included a place to purchase drinks and ice cream.
World of Minor Species (Station 18)
The World of Minor Species (Mundo de Especies Menores) had pens with smaller farm animals such as pigs, chickens, and goats. Geese and ducks roamed freely.
Palm Forest and Zen Garden (Station 19)
Next is the peaceful Palm Forest and Zen Garden (Bosque de Palmas y Jardín Zen), which we took a quick moment to walk through.
Equine World (Station 20)
Equine World (Mundo Equino) showcased a small collection of horses. It was nice but not nearly as interesting or extensive as the collection at PANACA. Visitors were able to pay extra to ride a horse through the barn.
A short show involving a man riding a few species of horses through the barn was included. Again, it wasn’t that great and we could have done without it.
World of the Flowers (Station 21)
The World of the Flowers (Mundo de las Flores) was right past Equine World. It was a field of flowers and we barely even noticed it.
Birdwatching (Station 22)
Continuing on was the supposed Birdwatching station (Avistamiento de Aves). I must have missed something because it was basically the trail continuing on to the last few stations.
Variety of Crops (Station 23)
Along the trail was the Variety of Crops (Variedad de Cultivos), which contained a few different species of fruits. They included pineapples, avocados, and starfruit.
Seat Rider (Station 24)
One station that’s only included on an adventure ticket is the Seat Rider. It takes visitors on a chair ride from the top of a hill down to this point. We weren’t interested in this option.
La Rivera Reserve Zoo (Station 25)
The final station before walking back to the main building was the La Rivera Reserve Zoo (Resguardo La Rivera Zoo). It contains a number of different species, many that were rescue animals from smuggling operations or kept illegally as pets.
The path through the zoo follows a counterclockwise loop that begins with water buffalo, then through a birdhouse with flamingo and a few species of parrots.
Next is a monkey house, where different species of monkeys climb trees and interact with visitors.
Finally, there’s a field with a few ostriches and llamas. A zookeeper pointed out the difference between the male and female ostriches.
My Thoughts on the Loop Trail at Grape National Park
Overall, we really enjoyed our day at Grape National Park. They’ve done a wonderful job improving and adding stations since my first visit in July 2015. It was a bit anticlimactic after the animal stations, and the zoo wasn’t as good as I expected, but other than that I think the park has a bright future. I plan to visit again one day to see how things have progressed.
Grape and Wine Museum
The Grape and Wine Museum is part of a package ticket to Grape National Park. It’s run by Casa Grajales, the largest Colombian winery.
The Grape and Wine Museum was added to the park sometime after my first visit in July 2015. At that time, it was possible to visit the park then do a short winery tour and wine tasting at Casa Grajales. That tour was a disaster, in my opinion, but things have greatly improved since the addition of the museum.
The museum is visited on a guided tour that runs every so often. The tour takes you through the museum followed by a factory tour of Casa Grajales. On my most recent visit in December 2021, we did the museum tour only and skipped the winery tour since we had done it before.
Tours of the Grape and Wine Museum
A visit to the Grape and Wine Museum begins with two rooms decorated with tools historically used to cultivate grapes. They include shovels, hoes, scales, carts, and presses.
Next is a long barrel room where wine is left to age in barrels. The guides explains the aging process before moving on.
The tour continues with a room filled with machines used in the winemaking process. Some of the machines we noticed were bottling machines, pH meters, analytic scales, distilling equipment, microscopes, and corking machines.
Finally, visitors are led to the tasting room where they’re given samples of a sweet wine as well as an aged dry red wine. The sweet wine is below average while the dry red wine, which is supposedly the finest wine produced by Casa Grajales, is terrible. It isn’t even suitable for cooking, in my opinion. At least they used real glasses this time instead of plastic shot glasses!
My Thoughts on the Grape and Wine Museum
All in all, the museum, although quite simple, makes the wine tour much better than it was in 2015. The wine hasn’t improved at all, but at least they’ve taken a big step forward with the tour.
Casa Grajales Winery Tour
(Note: This section is adapted from my very first visit to Grape National Park on July 25, 2015, in which I had a less than favorable experience. It only includes the excerpt about my winery tour.)
Colombia is known for coffee, flowers, and tropical fruits, but did you know it also has a wine region? The answer is yes, but don’t get too excited. In the Valle del Cauca department, just a couple hours north of the city of Cali, lies the small town of La Unión which is famous in Colombia for its grapes.
La Unión is the home of Casa Grajales, the country’s largest wine producer. Founded in 1977, they offer a tour of the winery with a restaurant and wine shop on the premises. The tour can be done alone or as part of a package ticket with Grape National Park, an agricultural theme park.
About the Tour
First, let’s get to the point and talk about the wine. The winery tour wasn’t much different than any others I’ve been on. It lasted about 30 minutes and included a thorough explanation of the winemaking process from an enthusiastic guide, a look at the tanks, and finishing in the cellar. The tour didn’t allow photographs inside the plant, which is fine, but honestly, which state-of-the-art Chilean, French, or Napa winery is going to steal their “secrets”?
At the end of the tour, as with every other winery tour I’ve been on, I was expecting a tasting. That didn’t happen. We were given one measly sample – a chilled red wine with the consistency of cough syrup and a flavor that wasn’t too far off. I’ve had better shots of NyQuil. Furthermore, the wine was served in a plastic shot glass while the guide explained how to taste wine properly using a real wine glass. Keeping it classy.
Wine Shop at Casa Grajales
Perhaps I was thinking too positively that we would be able to try the wines in the shop after the tour. When we got to the counter, we asked for a tasting so we could decide which wines and how many to buy. They said “no”. We asked which varietals of wine they sold – cabernet, chardonnay, anything – and we got the answer “red, white, and rosé”. Interesting. They also tried to sell us on the age of the wine.
I asked for a bottle of their best wine, Don Gerardo, a fine dry red wine, and had them open it for us. When they snapped the cork in half and had to get a new bottle, I knew it wasn’t going to end well. Despite having a wall of wine glasses near the bar, they brought a plastic shot glass and poured a light brown colored juice into it. I tasted it, made a face, and said “wow, that’s so bad”. They weren’t too thrilled but I wasn’t wrong. It had no appealing color, no consistency, and tasted like water mixed with dirt. It’s as if they washed the grapes, took the water, and bottled it. By far the worst wine I’ve ever had. I’m no wine expert and definitely not a wine snob, but the worst boxed wine I’ve had seemed like a premium wine compared to this.
We heard the excuse “our best wines are exported”. Sorry. That doesn’t cut it. NOBODY MAKES SHITTY WINE ON PURPOSE! Maybe I’m going too far comparing it to a fine prison toilet wine. No wonder they don’t allow tastings.
My Thoughts on Casa Grajales
I’m happy Colombia has wine production, but rather than promote it like this, Casa Grajales should work on refining the quality and making it drinkable. It has potential but they’re trying to appear high class and are embarrassing their brand in the process. If you want good Colombian wine, try smaller and much better vineyards near Villa de Leyva.
