The on-site tours at El Ocaso and Don Elías
Finca El Ocaso is the largest and best organised of the farms that welcome visitors around Salento. Its English-language tour takes place entirely on the farm and lasts about ninety minutes. Transport and food are not included; the farm has a café and a viewpoint if you want to stay on. One reviewer found the visit a little rushed and points out that the farm is a bit out of town, so allow time for the ride.
Don Elías is smaller and grows organically, about 4 km out of town on the road to the Palestina vereda. The tour follows the coffee from picking to the cup and ends with a tasting and seasonal fruit. A walk down to a river and a waterfall can be added. A guest who otherwise liked the visit wished there had been more than one coffee to taste.
Getting to the farm on your own
The Willys jeeps wait on the main square of Salento and leave when they are full. You pay the driver, not the tour. Salento itself is a town of about 4,000 people, 24 km from Armenia and 60 km from Pereira, so the airport transfer is longer than the ride to any farm (Wikivoyage). If you book El Ocaso or Don Elías, check the meeting details on the booking page the evening before: one traveller missed the tour because the meeting point was not clear to them.
Shared jeep, private tour or hotel pickup
Gran Colombia Tours runs two versions. The shared tour takes a group by Willys jeep from the square to a farm the listing describes as about a hundred years old, with breakfast and lunch, over roughly four hours; the farm itself is not named. The private tour picks you up in Salento, includes the entrance and a tasting, and takes about five hours. It comes without lunch.
Impulse Travel sells the same El Ocaso visit as the on-site tour, with a hotel pickup and lunch added, in about three hours. Colombian VAT of 19 % is charged on top; the listing notes that foreign visitors can apply for an exemption. One guest had to leave before the end because the return pickup came early.
December to March and July to August are the busy months, when domestic travel in Colombia peaks. Wikivoyage recommends booking farm visits ahead in that period.
Which one to choose
| On-site tour | Shared jeep tour | Private or with pickup |
|---|
| Farms |
El Ocaso, Don Elías |
Not named |
El Ocaso, or not named |
| Transport |
Jeep, paid on the spot |
Jeep from the plaza |
Pickup in Salento |
| Time |
1.5 h on the farm |
4 h |
3–5 h |
| Food |
Fruit at Don Elías |
Breakfast and lunch |
Lunch with Impulse only |
Planning a day among the wax palms as well? The Cocora Valley is close to Salento, and two of the tours on our Cocora and coffee farm page combine the hike with a farm visit and lunch.
