Jericó, Colombia – A Refreshing Break from Medellin

The picturesque, colorful, town of Jericó lies 113 km (70 mi) south of Medellin. But this seemingly short distance took three and a half hours over windy (that’s wine-dy, not win-dy) roads. Especially unpleasant when we stopped in the valley for road construction in our un-air-conditioned bus. That said, we spent three glorious days in this laid-back town with friendly locals.

Our Accommodations in Jericó

We stayed mid-week as we had heard that weekends can be busy with people from Medellin. The somewhat rustic Cabañas el Rincón Paisa was our home for three nights at $32 per night, including traditional Paisa breakfast. (Paisa is a native of the department of Antioquia, which includes Medellin.) This breakfast consisted of egg, a larger, thinner than usual arepa with a hunk of soft local cheese on the side, sometimes accompanied by fried plantain, avocado, or fruit.

Our stay at Cabañas el Rincón Paisa was enhanced by other guests, our new traveling friends from Canada. Ellen and Bob are from Winnipeg, and Lori and Albert are from Vancouver Island. Jericó, at 1910 m (6266 ft) elevation is a bit hilly, so we had a short uphill walk from the center of town. From our balcony, we had a lovely view of the surrounding area.

Jericó’s Religious Significance

Jericó is famous as the birthplace of Sister Laura Montoya, Colombia’s first patron saint. This town with a population of about 12,000 has 17 churches. The impressive Catedral Virgen de las Mercedes is on the main square. At the other end of town, we could see the “white church”, Santurario del Inmaculado Corazón de Maria from our balcony, but unfortunately never walked over there to see it up close. Sometimes it’s just best to be, rather than to be a tourist.

How We Spent Our Time

We spent our first day exploring the town, where life centers around the main square, particularly in the late afternoon. Our first afternoon, we were about to sit on a bench in the square, when a man on a nearby bench with other men started talking to us. We were having difficulty understanding him….what a surprise! At first, Ann thought he was telling us to get hot dogs from the vendor nearby, and Ann told him we weren’t hungry. Eventually, we realized that this kind man was trying to tell us not to sit on that bench because a dog had just done his business there.

Morro El Salvador

The next day, we decided to climb to the top of Morro El Salvador with its statue of Cristo Rey and 360-degree views of the city. Our new friends, Ellen and Bob, recommended we get there by walking through the Botanical Gardens. Both the gardens and the views at the top were refreshingly beautiful!

Climbing Cerro Las Nubes

On our third and final day in Jericó, we did a long hike to the top of Cerro Las Nubes (rough translation: clouds hill). Not too long ago, you could reach the top via a cable car from Morro El Salvador, but it’s no longer  running. We were led to believe it is due to lack of funds.

Ellen and Bob had climbed part of the way up the previous day. Bob offered to accompany us and show us the way in hopes of reaching the top this time. And good thing he did! Because to get to the beginning of the trail, we had to maneuver through and around road construction. The last block meant hugging the sides of buildings while walking on the narrow bit of what was left of the sidewalk. Okay, the drop to the dug-up road was only about five feet, but what would have been an unpleasant fall, nonetheless. (Without the construction, the start of the hike is at the end of Calle 6 close to the intersection of Carrera 1.)

On the Way Up

The first part of the trail was over stone steps with monuments representing the Stations of the Cross at every turn. Did we mention that Jericó is a very Catholic town?

The remainder was a more typical dirt trail, a bit rocky at points. We were surrounded by vegetation and trees and increasingly magnificent views as we climbed. As we neared the top, we were rewarded with an additional bonus. Someone had tacked to trees signs with various words to live by. One of Ann’s favorites was, “no sueñes vive tu sueño”: “Do not dream, live your dream.”

Hmm….How to Get Back Down

At the top, we found a picnic and camping area. We met and spoke (Spanish only) with a picnicking group of young people, asking about various options for our descent. We had read and heard about a variety of easy-to-get-lost routes down. Our research, combined with what these young people had to say, was somewhat contradictory. Therefore, we decided to descend the same path we came up. About an hour and a half up, an hour down. A bit hot and tired, yet well worth it, we enjoyed an excellent lunch back in town.

At the beginning of the hike we picked up a fourth hiker, one with four legs. He went along with us all the way to the top, followed us back to town, and then disappeared once we reached the square. Ann had read somewhere that this was this dog’s purpose in life.

Food in Jericó

Who would have thought that we would have found so many excellent food options in this small rural town?!

Lunch that day after our big hike was at La Gruta. We enjoyed a typical menú del día for 12000 COP (Colombian pesos) each ($3.40). Ian also enjoyed one of his favorite Colombian beers, Club Colombia Negra.

We ate not once, but twice at Pizza y Parrilla Tomatitos . Excellent thin crust pizza and a yummy wok rice dish. Our pizza dinner was 35000 COP ($10.99) for a large pizza with two beers. Our wok dinner was 31000 COP ($9.73) including three juice drinks, some made with milk.

One evening, we splurged and dined at Isabel Parrilla Vinos & Café . We ordered a dozen BBQ wings and excellent smoked ribs. Plus a bottle of wine. This “splurge”, a meal we’d be hard-pressed to find in the US, came to for 90000 COP ($28.29). That’s including the bottle of wine, which was an afterthought. We had originally ordered a half carafe of what we thought to be some kind of summer wine (vino verano). What arrived at our table was a carafe of somewhat sweet wine with two large glasses filled with ice and a bit of sugar water at the bottom. When we realized our faux pas, the manager/owner(?) graciously replaced it with a bottle which he recommended.

We visited these restaurants based on the recommendations from Dorene and Troy of Travel Life Experiences.

Jericó Wrap-Up

All in all, we had a very pleasant relaxing three days in the countryside with fresh air. We both decided that we could consider spending an extended period of time in Jericó if it was closer to Medellin and a major airport.

Next Up: Another three-day getaway, this time to Jardín.

Ian and Ann