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Recinto del Pensamiento is one of the best attractions in Manizales. It’s a peaceful nature park a short drive east of the city center.
Introduction to Recinto del Pensamiento
Recinto del Pensamiento was originally property of La Enea School Colony (Colonia Escolar La Enea), which was founded in 1935 as a shelter for children orphaned by an avalanche that destroyed several homes in Manizales. The property was later acquired by the municipality and designated for educating young students in agricultural techniques. After some time, it was transferred to the Department of Caldas as a re-education center for children with social problems.
The Departmental Coffee Growers Committee of Caldas (Comité Departamental de Cafeteros de Caldas) purchased the property and established a center for nutritional care for rural children. It expanded to all children in 1984, and operated until 2007, when it became property of Hoteles ESTELAR. Since then, the hotel chain has transformed Recinto del Pensamiento into a convention and retreat center with a nature park used for research as well as recreation.
Recinto del Pensamiento translates to “Center for Thought”, and its purpose is to maintain active interest and development of thought and well-being for all visitors. It covers approximately 190 hectares, with 179 hectares of forest. 100 hectares are planted with introduced species while 75 hectares feature native vegetation.
In addition to the hotel and nature park, the property features an auditorium with 250 seats, 6 conference rooms, a multi-purpose room, a restaurant, a theatre, a spa, cafés and shops, a chapel, a campground, and glamping.
Getting to Recinto del Pensamiento
Recinto del Pensamiento is located a short drive east of the city center. If you don’t have your own transportation, a taxi is the quickest way to get there. The bus can take up to an hour but obviously is much less expensive. When you reach the gates, the security will point you in the right direction, whether you’re going to the hotel or taking the guided tour.
Tours of Recinto del Pensamiento
Recinto del Pensamiento has an easy to moderate guided tour that can be done by visitors of all ages. Admission is COP$30,000 (as of April 2025). They’re in Spanish and last about 2 to 2 ½ hours. Tours run Tuesday through Friday at 9am, 11am, 1pm, and 3pm, and hourly from 9am to 3pm on weekends and holidays. Check the official website for more info.
The trail passes through a cloud forest ecosystem. It’s 2.5 kilometers long, of which 1.5 kilometers are paved with concrete slabs. The tour starts at the Planta Vivero Café, which sells both plants and coffee. The guide goes over a few basic rules with the visitors before heading out on the trail.
Wooden Pavilion
The first stop is the Wooden Pavilion (Pabellón de Madera). It was created for Expo 2000, held in Hannover, Germany, as the pavilion for the Zero Emissions Research and Initiatives (ZERI). Local architect Simón Vélez (b. 1949) designed it in 1999. The structure has a radius of 40 meters and is built with wood from native trees, primarily guadua. The pavilion is an internationally award-winning example of sustainable architecture and often hosts weddings, birthdays, conferences, and other events.
Orchid Forest
From there, we took a roughly 30-minute walk through the Orchid Forest (Bosque de Orquídeas). It’s a 2-hectare area unique in the world for the repopulation of native orchid species. The site is managed by the Caldas Orchid Association (Asociación Caldense de Orquideología), which was founded in 1986.
The forest contains roughly 12,000 plants belonging to the Orchidaceae family, including over 180 species planted along the trails. The flowers range in size from 1 to over 20 centimeters. The forest is often under a thick layer of fog, which contributes to constant humidity and the presence of lichens and mosses, allowing for the perfect ecosystem for orchids to thrive.
Butterfly House
The trail continues slightly uphill for about 10 minutes before it reaches the Butterfly House (Mariposario). There are actually two of them. One is strictly for research and is dedicated to Cristina Echeverri Pérez, while the other is open to the public and contains 26 species of diurnal butterflies native to the Coffee Region.
The Butterfly House was built with donations from Cenicafé, the Coffee Ecological Foundation (Fundación Ecológica Cafetera), and the National Federation of Coffee Growers-Departmental Committee of Coffee Growers (Federación Nacional de Cafeteros-Comité Departamental de Cafeteros).
The guide does a wonderful job explaining the life cycle of butterflies and some myths about them. There are several interesting species living inside, including some with transparent wings.
Bonsai Garden
From there we visited the beautiful Bonsai Garden, which represents the elements of earth, air, fire, and wood. It’s composed of 35 different species of bonsai cared for since the 1970s. In addition, there’s a collection of 80 sakuras (cherry trees) gifted in 2007 by the Japanese government to the National Federation of Coffee Growers (Federación Nacional de Cafeteros) for their 80 years of cooperation.
The Zen garden along the middle of the path represents balance, the yin and yang, created by opposing forces of black and white.
At the bottom of the garden is a Japanese-style bridge spanning over a koi pond. The red color of the bridge represents prosperity and abundance, while the golden knobs symbolize the connection between the human and the divine.
Birdwatching Area
Next, we took a short walk up to the birdwatching area, where over 219 species of local and migratory birds have been spotted. The area includes the Hummingbird House (Casa de los Colibríes).
We were served a fresh cup of coffee and sat quietly to watch local hummingbirds feed. The guide talked about the life of the hummingbirds and their importance to the balance of nature. 26 species of hummingbirds visit Recinto del Pensamiento.
Telesilla
The Telesilla is a chairlift that takes you on an exciting 12-minute ride over the tree tops and to reach the top of a steep hill. Unfortunately, it hasn’t been operational for several years. When it was working, the tour ran in the opposite route as it does today.
The Telesilla consists of 12 support towers and 60 double chairs with safety bars. It runs at a speed of 50 centimeters per second with a one-way trip of 430 meters. The Telesilla was an optional extra in addition to the price of the tour. Rather than starting the tour with the Telesilla, guests now end the tour by walking down the ecological trail from the birdwatching area.
Herb Garden
The herb garden was a feature of the tour on our first visit. It contains over 80 species of spices, medicinal, and aromatic plants, including coca and stevia. The guide lectures about some of the most important plants, and we were able to pick the leaves off some of them to smell or taste.
ESTELAR Recinto del Pensamiento Hotel
ESTELAR Recinto del Pensamiento Hotel has 32 rooms that are perfect for relaxing, whether you enjoy the trail or not. We stayed one night and overall it was a positive experience. Just one tip – if you’re staying overnight take a jacket or some warm clothing because it can get chilly.
Our room was spacious and had comfortable beds. The WiFi is decent and we enjoyed the silence at night. The minibar prices are a little high. An amazing buffet breakfast is included in the rate and served in the restaurant.
Restaurants at Recinto del Pensamiento
Recinto del Pensamiento features two restaurants in one space. Origen serves up traditional Colombian dishes from various regions while La Terraza Steak House offers charcoal-grilled favorites. Expect prices to be much higher than other Colombian restaurants, but the food is excellent and so is the service.
We started off our meal with an order from both restaurants. We tried the patacones topped with pork, chicken hearts, and a bowl of crema de mazorca (cream of corn soup).
As a main course, I had the solomito, which is grilled pork, served with fries, chimichurri, and a house sauce. For dessert, we shared a brookie, which is a brownie cookie in a cast iron skillet topped with ice cream. Everything was delicious.
