Toche Tolima doesn’t spring to mind when you think of popular Colombian tourist destinations. So it may surprise you to hear it’s home to the largest palm forest in the world – yep, bigger than the more well-known palm forest in Salento.
In this post, I’ll tell you everything you need to know for an unforgettable trip to Toche Tolima.
Honestly, it’s one of the most incredible places I’ve visited in Colombia. If you like an off-the-beaten-path adventure, Toche is for you.
An unexpected start…
We got off to an unexpected start… Me and my mate were in the local cafe chowing down on huevos pericos and slurping tintos. When we were about to leave, the owner’s son, David, hit us with an unexpected question.
In cute broken English, he asked if we could help his friend with her English exam. And by help, I mean do her English exam for her. They rigged me up with some vintage Sony Walkman headphones and had me stood by the till repeating English phrases for an hour. Bizarre.
Anyway, 1 hour and 47 minutes later – around 1.30 pm – we finally got to the bus terminal in Ibagué.
(I’ll tell you how I got on with the exam later…)
Getting to Toche from Ibagué
The first leg is a short but scary journey to Cajamarca. The road is a steep incline littered with blind bends that the drivers don’t seem to care for. If there’s a slow-moving truck out in front, they dart out and go for the overtake. I felt like they just close their eyes and hope for the best. I did.
We made it to Cajamarca in one piece. From there, you need to get in a jeep for the second leg. If you’ve got time, I recommend grabbing a tinto from the cafe next to the Parque principal. It was delightful.
This is one of the trucks you take to Toche.
Salimos a las 2pm from Cajamarca. The green is darker duller and deeper Tolima. It feels more middle-earthy. Like where you’d find the Mines Moria and dwarves forging axes.
After an hour, you see Cerro Machín. One of the most active volcanoes in Colombia. Just being in her presence, I could feel her power. I couldn’t wait for an even closer look tomorrow.
Where to stay in Toche?
In the town, you don’t have many options (it does only have 160 people living there). The hotel we stayed at was great. Good internet and a good bed. And the old lady that hosted us was unbelievably friendly.
The hotel is in the second building on the right.
We dropped our bags down and made a b-line to the cheesy arepa stand we saw as we were arriving.
As we were clearly the only tourists, we quickly made contact with our guide, Joanna. She looked after everything for the next few days.
Here’s what we got up to in Toche, Tolima.
Day 1 in Toche, Tolima
I wandered down the road from the hotel to the breakfast place in Toche. The rooster was still at it. He woke me up at around 4 am. It was at least 7 am now. I think the señora felt my pain. She was equally bleary-eyed. She handed me a strong into without even asking.
She whipped us up some eggs, arroz, and arepa too.
First on the agenda, transport to Cerro Machín. In fact, that’s the biggest challenge in Toche. The roads are basically mud. Thick mud. And parts of the road look as if a seismic shift has torn the earth apart leaving chasms only 4×4 could traverse. This comes at an expense. Our first driver charged us 130 mil ($30 USD) for a 25-minute journey.
Anyway, it is what it is. Just make sure you bring plenty of cash. I’ll drop the total we spent at the end.
Los Termles de Toche, Tolima
We hiked about 2 hours to a cute little Finca surrounded by all kinds of fruits and flowers. The pool you see in the photo is a thermal bath. The perfect temperature – not like the thermal baths in Murillo…
The location of the Finca with the thermal bath.
We chilled and ate lunch there. It would’ve been great to spend a few days there with a group of mates. The views from the cabins are epic. The vastness of the canyon toys with your senses. It’s as if the rolling hills are contracting and moving toward you. I experienced the same thing when I visited el cañon de Chichamocha, so I’ll say it again…we’re defo living in a simulation.
Cerro Machín
Our next stop was La laguna Cerro Machín. It’s hard to believe you’re standing in a fucking crater. When I think of volcanoes, I don’t think of forest-ridden mountains. All that natural raw power beneath us. That’s beautiful.
One of Colombia’s most active volcanoes, Cerro Machín.
La laguna is on private property so we didn’t stay long. Safiro, Joanna’s dog was terrorizing the cows. A few Campesinos heard the startled moos and didn’t look best pleased. We snapped our photos and got out of there.
Bosque de Palma De Cera Cruces
Instead of staying in Toche for the night, we decided to stay at a finca outside the town. You get there on the vía towards Salento. Apparently, it’s a shortcut. Maybe, but the road felt like we hit heavy turbulence. I guess it makes it more fun for the extreme cyclists that make the pilgrimage from Salento and back.
Seriously though, the views on the way are incredible. And that was just the beginning…
We go to the finca, knocked back another into, and ventured through the fincas back garden to the palm forest. Fuck me it was something else. Palm trees on palm trees. I had to just stand there and let the impressiveness slap me in the face like a stray coconut. It made me question why we leave nature to live in cities. Nature taps into your soul. It shows you what you’ve been missing. At that moment, I felt so grateful. So connected. So ready for another day in Toche, Tolima.
Day 2 in Toche, Tolima
I thought my teet squeezing days were long gone. But by 6:15 am, I had one in my hand again. Poor cow. I was useless. The way the pros can pump out milk like a jet wash is bloody impressive.
I feel for the gentle beasts. They’ve got to be the most terrified-looking creatures on the planet. That socially awkward side-eye they give you. I imagine that’s what I looked like when I was a shy kid in a room full of new people.
A milk truck to el bosque escondido
You remember I said transport was hard to come by? Well, we had to hitch a ride with the milk guys. We were going to the bosque escondido (hidden forest). Riding in the back of the truck was fun for the first 15 minutes. After an hour of being shaken like a cocktail, I was glad to reach our destination.
And boy was the forest was magical. It looked like the forbidden forest in LOTR. The canopy stretch high into the sky blocking out the sun. Only the wind made enough space between the branches for light to slash across the forest. It made the thick moss glisten like the sea during the final moments of a sunset.
Now, the forest was Páramo like so the conditions were very boggy. I suggest bringing wellies if you’re going there. In fact, we bailed after an hour or so. I had a foot injury that made scaling the constant ups and downs of the terrain impossible.
We finished by hiking back along the road we arrived on. To be honest, I preferred the views of the palms scattered across the mountains.
We got back to Toche, Tolima around 3 pm. The jeep would take us back to Cajamarca at 4 pm.
En fin.
I can’t recommend Toche enough. It’s one of my favorite experiences in Colombia so far for sure. However, bring A LOT of cash. It’s more expensive than other towns because of the transportation. Between us, including everything (transport, food, and accommodation), we spent around 1 million pesos ($250 USD) in 2 days. It would make sense to arrange everything ahead of time. If you’d like our guide, Joanna’s details, let me know in the comments.
I’d also suggest staying longer in el bosque de Palma De Cera Cruces. I’d rather have explored that area more than visiting el bosque escondido. Something to consider anyway.
Oh! And the English exam…turns out the software was smarter than expected. The webcam started filming before it said it would. Soo she failed. And I only got C1!
Nick
