Jardín is a small town in the region of Antioquia, Colombia. It sits 3-4 hours south of Medellín (one bus) and 8-9 hours north of the more popular and touristy Salento (3 buses). This makes it a nice stop-over between the two.
Well known for being one of the cutest towns in the country, it lives up to its reputation. Elderly men with weathered faces, dressed in cowboy hats and denim jeans, sit idly around the plaza playing cards and drinking beer. They are often leaning back in a stiff flat-backed colorful wooden chair against the wall of one of the many small bars that line the square. I verified that this precarious posture is far more comfortable than sitting on all four legs. And all the while tuk tuks, extra-wide buses, and motorcycles mosey through the streets.
We decided to stay in town for 2 nights, wisely predicting we wouldn’t want to stay much longer. The town takes no more than a few hours to explore by foot, although if you’re a photographer be sure to plan for more time. We took it easy in our 36 hours here, soaking up the vibe and not pushing ourselves too hard to see or do much of anything.
We arrived at 5pm on the 12:30pm Jardín Suroeste bus from Medellín for 26,000 COP each. We saw several small mudslides on the way but only waited longer than 15 minutes once, as one lane had been closed allowing for only single lane traffic. It was nothing more than a smoke break for most; and an opportunity for us to stretch our legs.
After dropping the bags at our hostel called Jardín es Tuyo, which we wouldn’t recommend over the many other options, we began meandering through the rainy streets. It was the day after Mother’s Day, and a work holiday, so the party atmosphere was still apparent. We grabbed a cup of coffee at Café Cuchillas on the square and got our first glimpse of Jardín life, happy to be flies on the wall.
Dinner was pasta and beers at Bon Appetit just down the road from our place (the secret is that in this town, everything is “just down the road” from everything else). The service was good and the pasta did the job. It is hard to explain but everything feels quaint in the best of ways. No one is too worried about anything.
Our morning took us back to Cafe Cuchillas for a fruit and granola bowl, alongside delicious coffee, of course. The total was $8. We haven’t listed any prices thus far but everything is very cheap in Jardín. Black coffee for 1,000 COP ($0.50), beers for 3500 COP ($1.25), and lunch/dinner meals for 15,000 COP ($7). It was a great stop for the budget, although we’ve heard the prices inflate a bit on the weekends.
Our original plan was to do a day trip, maybe go horseback riding. Tourism is growing in Jardín so there are definitely several day trips on offer. However, none of them sounded all that interesting to us, perhaps due to the rain or maybe day-trip fatigue. Additionally, our hostel was asking anywhere from 90,000 COP to 140,000 COP ($30-50 USD), and this just seemed far too inflated given the relative prices of everything else.
Instead we opted to try our luck heading out for a hike to the Mirador Cristo Rey, and boy are we glad we did. The hills around Jardín are incredibly green and lush. The hike was a solid but fairly easy 3 hours round-trip, and the roads were well-enough tended to that the recent rains resulted in only a few spots of significant mud.
We did zero research ahead of time but all we needed was Google Maps, one of our 17 Best Smartphone Apps for Travel. Head out on Calle 13, the road at the northeast corner of town. Once you leave town the name of the road changes to Jardin – Tamesis. A little over a half kilometer along the road it cuts back to the left. In another half kilometer or so you’ll see signs for a left turn to Cristo Rey.
Continue to keep left, following the white statue of Jesus now in view, and you’ll arrive to the mirador. There is a restaurant and also the funicular station at the top of the Teleferico cable line. Neither were open when we arrived at 12:30pm on a Tuesday afternoon.
The view of the city is great, but the best part is the walk getting there. I can’t speak to the experience on horseback, but if you’re looking for a free and beautiful activity, this is it.
On our way home we stopped for a beer at a “restaurant” called Rancho Maderar, with a slightly different view of the city. Apparently this day all they were serving was beer, which was just as well.
Our veggie menu-of-the-day lunch at Restaurante Doña Hilda back in town was worth the wait. For 14,000 COP we had beans, rice, salad, a quinoa patty, fried plantain, and fruit juice. Delicious. After doing some computer work at de los Andes Cafe (which has an amazing chocolate cake) we finished our coffee and food tour at Café Europa de Jardín, where we ate pizza for dinner. While nowhere near as good as the pizza we ate in Medellín, it was equally as chill and enjoyable as our dinner the night before at Bon Appetit.
Jardín doesn’t have a lot to do, and that’s the point. Life is centered around the square and the bar culture is strong. So prop your chair up against the wall, grab a cerveza, and enjoy the colors of town.
If you are looking to be more active, the following are some of the options we heard about (along with our reasons for skipping them for the day hike described above):
- Horseback riding to the Cueva del Esplendor: this sounded muddy and the waterfall was described as “underwhelming”.
- Gallito de Roca Reserve: for 10,000 COP you can see a rare bird called the Gallito de Roca (bird watching isn’t our thing)
- Teleferico to the Mirador: it was closed
- El Salto del Angel: based on the photos, this seemed most likely to be another underwhelming very cold waterfall hike in the mud
And a final point about the trip from Jardín to Salento. It isn’t easy. The first leg left at 8am and was 4 hours (20,000 COP) in a colorful bus with open sides and bench seating. It was an amazing experience over bumpy dirt roads—almost a tour in itself. We transferred in Riosucio and boarded a more typical bus for a 3 hour leg to Pereira (cost 17,500 COP). The final leg from Pereira to Salento was 7,500 COP and only took an hour. Every ticket is easy to purchase on arrival and we waited no more than 30 minutes for any of the transfers.
