The coffee-growing zone is a geographic area that comprises three Colombian departments: Caldas, Risaralda and Quindío, with their corresponding capital cities of Manizales, Pereira and Armenia. Although the departments have a common coffee culture, its beautiful landscapes, and friendliness of their people, each city has its own characteristics: Manizales stands-out for its cultural life and its famous annual Festival held during the 1st week of January (Bullfighting Season, Miss Coffee International, Concerts); Armenia as the heart of the region, and Pereira with its commercial activity, gastronomy and famous nightlife.

Most coffee production in Colombia is based here and for that reason the region is named as the “Coffee Axis” or “Coffee Triangle”. The climate, with temperatures that vary from 8°C to 24°C degrees; the geographic characteristics, a tropical Andean forest raising 1,300 and 1,700masl; and other geological facts yield such top-quality coffee. The visitor will appreciate observing the fertile valleys, with their seemingly endless coffee plantations, the traditional wooden houses, with brightly colored balconies and constructions in ‘guadua’ – bamboo, the Wax Tree Palms – Colombia’s national tree – that mark the spectacular Cocora Valley, all of which blend together to create the typical and vibrant landscape of this region.

The coffee’s sole commercial activity drove the three departments to become a single region where landscapes vary in shades of green due to coffee plantations, clusters of banana trees and guadua; other bright colors can be seen in the region, such as in orchids, heliconias; hummingbirds, parrots and rare butterflies; at the National Park ‘Los Nevados’ which reaches heights surpassing 5,000masl; and in the beautiful architecture of towns like Salento or Filandia.