I knew nothing about Ibagué (Colombia). It was just one of those cities you pinch and scroll past while google mapping your next trip. But let me tell you, Ibagué – or more specifically Tolima – is an undiscovered Colombian gem.
In this post, I’ll outline my off-the-beaten-path adventures in and around Ibagué.
What’s so special about Ibagué?
Well, Ibagué is the capital of Tolima – one of the 32 departments that make up Colombia. It’s located on the central mountain range of the Colombian Andes, near Nevado del Tolima and Nevado del Ruiz. In fact, it’s bloody close to many active volcanos.
But besides its nature, the people of Tolima are some of the most welcoming I’ve had the pleasure of meeting. So it’s a great base to explore more of the region.
What’s there to do in Ibagué (Colombia)?
Visit el Jardín botánico San Jorge
What springs to mind when you think Jardín Botanico? Normally it’s a beautifully serene green patch in a bustling city. In Ibagué’s, you are thrust so deep into nature you forget you’re even in a city.
The park is a 1-2 hr ascending loop. You’ll make your way through dense forest to various viewpoints overlooking the city and vast surrounding planes. The final viewpoint is a steep-ish 10-minute walk – but manageable. Just make sure you bring sun protection and water. The sun beats down hard during the day in Ibagué.
And you get to see all that for 15 mil pesos. When we got back to the entrance, we chatted with a park volunteer. I loved how passionate she was about Tolima. She was the second person to say, “tienes que conocer Toche!”
Getting to the park is easy. Every taxi driver will know where you need to go. And the park volunteers will kindly order you a taxi back.
Visit Cascada La Plata
If you enjoy a waterfall, La Plata is a must-see. It’s only an hour away by bus so is easy to visit in a day.
You can either hike up to the park entrance or hitch a lift. We went for the latter. From the entrance, you’ve got another hike up the mountain to 2 waterfalls.
The first is hidden. Turn left at the bridge and follow the roar of gushing water to see the smaller of the two. I say smaller, the power is still immense – every waterfall has its encanto. The overhanging forest made this one feel colder, dimmer, more secret.
We continued the steady incline up the mountain. The first potential stop is an indigenous cave. Apparently, it’s where the Indios extracted gold from the mountain.
I climbed up to the cave entrance alone and stood square onto the mouth-shaped cut in the mountain. I looked into the oscuridad (darkness). Complete darkness. As if it were a black hole not letting any light escape. I inched forward. I wanted to see what emotions arose within me. I felt cold and definitely too much of a pussy to go in alone. I turn heel and power walked back to the others.
From the cave, it’s only one last push to the Refugio. We stopped there for a quick limonada before starting the final ascent.
Once past the refugio, you can’t miss la cascada la plata (I mean, it is l fucking massive), but when you’re right underneath her, her presence fills the canyon completely. Simply epic. All you can do is be grateful for the moment. For nature.
Here are the exact directions to get to the waterfall:
- Go to Cento comercial multi central
- Go to the main road (where there are bus stops)
- Flag down bus 48
- Stay on the bus for around an hour
- Get off at Pastales Viejo
From there it’s well signposted.
Unmissable places only a bus journey away
I don’t know enough about Tolima (yet) to give you an exhaustive list. But here are 3 places everyone told us to visit while in Ibagué:
Murillo, Tolima
Murillo is the highest town in Tolima at 2950 meters above sea level. The backdrop is the impressive snow-capped Nevado Ruiz. From the town, you can hike through Paramo Leonora, visit the hidden laguna del Corazon, walk along la Cascada colores, and bathe en Los termales (thermal baths).
Read about a beautiful few days here.
Toche
It may surprise you to hear Toche is home to the largest palm forest in the world – yep, bigger than the more well-known palm forest in Salento.
And if that’s not enough, you can hike into the crater of one of Colombia’s most dangerous volcanoes, Cerro Machín.
So, if you’re looking for off-the-beaten-path adventures, you’ll want to give them a visit.
Armero
On the way to Murillo, the bus driver told me about this town’s plight. In 1985, El Nevado del Ruiz erupted devastating the town and killing more than 20,000 inhabitants. You can visit the harrowing remnants of the second-deadliest eruption of the 20th century. I didn’t go but my friend Michael went and made this video.
Downtime in Ibagué (Colombia)
If you have some downtime between pueblos and hikes, here are some recommendations of things to do in the city:
Play Tejo
Tejo is like the Colombian version of bowls. You want to throw a UFO-looking metal puck as between exploding targets. The person closest to the center wins. And If you land your metal puck within the targets you get 6 points or if you make the targets explode you get 3 points. It’s a lot of fun and more popular in Tolima than in Antioquia.
Café and waffles at Tantico
This is a fancy little cafe we found that wouldn’t look out of place in London. The coffee and desserts were amazing.
Try the famous tamales Tolimenses
You’ve probably heard of them already…but every Tolimense is going to tell you to try their tamales. And to be fair, they are bloody good. They are made with cornmeal dough, potatoes, veggies, meat, and wrapped in banana leaves. Restaurante JM sells some good ‘uns and is a great place to eat lunch in Ibagué.
Try the best avena in Colombia…
Avena means oats in Spanish but their avena is not the blended quaker oats I was expecting… It tastes amazing; smooth, sweet, and filling. And the people of Tolima claim theirs is the best.
Check out an authentic English pub…
If you’ve not been back to the UK for a while, you might wanna check out The London Pub. I felt very nostalgic walking into this place. It was a nice little reminder of home after 2 years in Colombia.
En fin.
Ibagué and Tolima deserve more attention from travelers, backpackers, and ex-pats living in Colombia. The locals we chatted with hoped to increase tourism.
Everyone sold us on exploring more of Tolima. It was the pride they had in their region that made it an easier sell than it already was.
I know I’ll be back… Nevado del Tolima awaits.
Nick
