Pereira

Introduction

Coffe fields Pereira

© natewhd

Pereira is the capital of the Riseralda department in the central west of Colombia and has about 600,000 inhabitants. It is located in a small valley that descends from a part of the western Andes mountain chain. It is an urban center in the coffee producing region. Located in the middle of the triangle formed by the 3 main cities in the country : Bogotá, Medellín and Cali and about 3-5 hour drive from these cities.

Sights and Activities

• The Cathedral "La Pobreza" is the city's easy to see sight, why the Spanish would choose locations high up for planting cities, and why the later Colonialists from Medellin and State of Antioquia who founded this city choose this relatively high location to mount a new city 130 years ago. The climate is moderate and very healthy, and nothing like the humidity and heat you'll find in valleys down below!
• Olaya Herrera. There is a beautiful park called 'Olaya Herrera' on a mount overlooking the city and beautiful coffee rich valleys down below. The view is 360 degrees, and to east, north and south are views of city that's nestled up against the western side of central Cordillera (Colombia, in the western part of country, is basically divided into sections by three large, wide mountain ranges) and to west are views of the valleys, rivers and coffee plantations down below which contain the famous coffee cities of Santa Rosa de Cabal and La Virginia.
• El Cedral. The city has a important eco-park called El Cedral. It contains beautiful views overlooking the city and affords views of mountains. There are many hiking trails and nature walks, Also, there is also a large conference center and restaurants.
• Plaza Bolivar and Ciudad Victoria. There are two main plazas : Plaza Bolivar and Ciudad Victoria, where people can go to sit and to chat with friends, or to shop and to watch others in afternoon and evening. Plaza Bolivar contains the Municipal Palace administration buildings, as Pereira city is also the seat of Risaralda state.
• Museum of Modern Art.
• Orchids and Catleyas Garden.
• Museum of Technology in the Univeersity U.T.P.
• Museum Gilberto Toro García.
• Gold Museum (at Republic Bank Building).
• Cesar Gaviria Trujillo Viaduct, Av 30 de Agosto, Pereira, Risaralda, Colombia, ☎ +57 3248179 ().
• Centro Cultural Lucy Tejada, Cra 10 No. 16 - 60, Risaralda Pereira Colombia., ☎ +57 6 3116544.

Weather

Getting There

By Plane

Matecana International Airport, the largest and busiest airport in the region. Receives domestic flights of Avianca, ADA airlines, LAN and the new low-cost airline VivaColombia. Also charter flights from Aexpa, etc. Domestic non-stop flights go to Bogotá, Medellín (Serves both airports: Mainly to Olaya Herrera domestic airport, but also flights to Jose María Córdova - International Airport), Cartagena and San Andrés island. There is an international direct flight to Panama City operated by Copa Airlines.

Matecaña International Airport features Wi-Fi access to the Internet from almost every location. Taxis are regulated, reasonably priced and safe from the airport. Taxis are metered; there is a COP$2,100 surcharge from and to the airport. A taxi ride from the airport to downtown takes approximately 15 minutes, and can cost COP$8,000.

There are 3 additional airports within the range of one hour drive to Pereira, they are located in Manizales, Cartago and Armenia. There are non-stop flights to Madrid (Spain), Miami, New York, Quito and Guayaquil from the airport in Cali (3 hour-drive from Pereira).

By Car

Pereira is about 6 hours from Bogota by car, in the Bogota-Melgar-Ibague-Armenia road.

The trip is about 4 hours from Medellín and 3 hours from Cali (Pereira-Cartago-Buga-Cali).

By Bus

Currently buses run in and out of Pereira's main station, Terminal de Transporte de Pereira. The station is clean and has standard amenities. Multiple bus companies have regular routes to destinations around the country. To get there from the airport you can take a taxi ride.

• Cali : COP$29,000 / 4 hours
• Bogotá : COP$50,000 / 9 hours
• Medellín : COP$33,000 / 6 hours
• Manizales : COP$11,000 / 1.15 hours every 15 minutes with a minibus
• Armenia : COP$7,200 / 1 hours every 15 minutes with a minibus
• Santa Rosa de Cabal : COP$5,000 / 0.15 hours

Getting Around

By Car

Taxis are relatively cheap but make sure the meter is on. Some taxi drivers are dishonest and try to take advantage of foreigners. For example, if they stop along your route they will charge you an additional fare, and use standing charges while waiting. Some don't have meters, so ask for cost in advance. It's possible to negotiate as well. Standard daytime fare is 3,900 COP and rises to COP$4,700 after 7PM and on Sundays and holidays. As of August 2011, you could hire a taxi by the hour; the fare was $COP15,000.

By Public Transport

There is an extensive network of buses running around Pereira connecting most parts of the city. Costs are around COP$1,600. It runs 3 miles along the main avenues, including numerous nearby neighborhoods (barrios) and surrounding barrios. Use caution when visiting lower-income barrios (as you should in any other city). Types of buses range from large buses to smaller vans, and Wilys jeeps are also available for side trips to outlying areas including local mountains and valley floors (prices vary depending on destination but generally are very cheap).

Inaugurated in 2006, the Megabus is Pereira's version of bus systems developed in Curitiba - Brazil and Ottawa - Canada, later adopted in Bogotá's Transmilenio: a mass transport system with exclusive lanes for large buses and enclosed stations. Buses are painted green, very comfortable, inexpensive, clean and fast. Buses run from 4:30AM to 11:35PM. You need to get a Megatarjeta to access, available at the stations at a cost of COP$4,400 which are your credit good for 3 trips. Fare COP$1,600.

Eat

The traditional food comes from Antioquia, the region to northwest and famous for the city of Medellin. Lunch-time meals usually consist of a soup made from plantain (a variety of green bananas), followed by a plate of rice and selection of fried pork, beef, or chicken, with small cabbage salad in vinegar dressing, a natural juice drink made from mango, or if you are adventurous, try one of native fruit flavors, they are delicious but hard to pronounce, this will usually be followed by a coffee. Sometimes, you might be offered a dessert called mazamorra, which is corn and milk with local sugar, called 'panela'. They also use panella and water in making coffee, but don't recommend it, as the taste is very sweet, actually coffee served here is exceptionally sweet and unless you are a fan of sugary tasting coffee, ask for coffee made from plain water.

If you're visiting the 'Los Nevados' Natural Park, ask for 'aguapanela con queso' while going there. It's a hot beverage made of sugar cane served with cheese. Also look for cheese ice cream, chorizos from Santa Rosa and obleas.

• Kilaba. Delicious Arabian food on Circunvalar avenue. Their lovely owner Sammi will make you feel very welcome!
• Sayonara. Hamburgers, Hot Dogs and much more. Colombian Style of Course. Try the Pepper burger.
• La Estancia. International food. Try the Trucha Marinera

* "Tradiciones Peruanas" - Peruvian Restaurant. Original Peruvian food, prepared like in Peru. With Peruvian ingredients. Ceviches, Parihuela, * Lomo Saltado, Arroz Chaufa and more.

• Mamá Flor restaurant. Offers local food and drinks, nice balcony in a quiet location. Opens late. Do not miss the traditional Sopa de Guineo, a tasty soup made with an unusual type of plantain, served with avocado, ground beef and rice.
• Delight, a great display of dishes in a bar, mostly for lunch. Burgers and lasagna for dinner. Not very light, but savory. Two locations: Victoria shopping mall and near Avenida Circunvalar.
• La Gran Manzana, Cra 7 No 23-74. An Ice Cream Parlor where you can find the best fruit salad of Pereira and surroundings.

Drink

• El Rincón Clásico (La Tienda de Olmedo), Carrera 2 at Calle 22 (downtown). A tiny bar with thousands of vinyl records, mostly tangos and Spanish music.
• Zanzibar Club, Centro Comercial Bolívar Plaza (downtown), ☎ +57 6 334 6955. Until 2:00am. Cocktails, beer and food served. Pool tables. Terraces with great view of the Plaza de Bolívar.

Sleep

• Hotel Abadia Plaza, Cra. 8 No.21-67.
• Benidorm Hotel, Calle 21 No. 7-20, ☎ +57 6 334 0587. An upscale hotel in the heart of downtown. Price includes breakfast, WiFi and gym. 80,000 COP.
• Hotel Central La 18, Calle 18 No. 7-32, ☎ +57 6 333 4493. A cheap, basic, but clean and safe hotel downtown. Cable TV and big rooms with large windows; but no hot water and too soft beds. 25.000.
• Gran Hotel, Calle 19 No.9-19.
• Hotel Pereira Lago, Calle 25 No. 7-10, ☎ +57 6 333 6813. Located downtown, right across from Parque El Lago. Reasonable rates. Rooms include a mini refrigerator. 35,000.
• Hotel Polo, Calle 20 No. 4-19 (200m North of Plaza Bolivar), ☎ +57 6 3255420. Rooms with private bathrooms, wifi, newspapers in lobby, luggage storage, friendly owner, good location. double with bathroom COP50,000.
• Sazagua, Km 7 towards Cartago. Hotel and Spa.
• Hotel Suite Center, Calle 16 No. 7-56, ☎ +57 6 333 0989. An inexpensive but nice hotel downtown. Pretty lobby. Breakfast available. Friendly staff. Free WiFi in lobby, plus one internet computer available for 2,000 COP/hr. Cable TV, hot water, rooms with views. Laundry service available. from COP$69,000.
• Sweet Home Hostel, Carrera 11 No. 44-30, ☎ +57 6 3454453. The first hostel in Pereira. Free breakfast, cooking facilities, wifi, laundry service, dorms and private rooms.
• Kolibrí Hostel, Calle 4, no. 16-35, Circunvalar, ☎ +57 6 331 39 55. Kolibrí hostel is a well located hostel in Pereira, Colombia. Enjoy the view of the mountains and the numerous hummingbirds during your stay. Prices starting from 20.000 COP.
• Hotel Castilla Real Pereira, Calle 15 No.12B-15.
• Hotel Dann Soratama, Cra 7 No.19-20. Downtown at Plaza de Bolívar. Comfortable but small rooms. Nice restaurant with great views of the plaza. Parking included but not in the premises.
• Hotel de Pereira, Cra 13 No.15-73. Renovated in 2009, it is the largest and best hotel in town. Formerly Hotel Melia Pereira.

You can use the form below to search for availability (Travellerspoint receives a commission for bookings made through the form)

Keep Connected

Internet

Internet cafes are easy to find in any city or town. Expect rates to run about $1,250-2,500 (around $US 0.50-1.00) per hour, depending on how much competition there is (i.e., cheap in Bogotá, expensive in the middle of nowhere). Quality of connections varies enormous and tends to better in populated places and tourist areas. Wifi is getting more and more popular in some hotels, restaurants and bars, but don't count on it and be careful regarding your privacy.

Phone

See also International Telephone Calls

The country calling code to Colombia is: 57. To make an international call from Colombia, the code is: 005.

Using your own phone and SIM card is expensive so if you are planning to do quite a few calls, buy a phone or just a SIM card. It's simple enough to get a SIM card and even an unlocked phone at the international airport in Bogotá, although there is, of course, a price hike. They're not hard to find in any city either, just ask your hotel or hostel staff where to go. Topping up is also easy, and can be done pretty much on any street corner. The carriers you'll most likely see are Claro, Tigo, and Movistar. Claro is the most expensive (by a little bit), but has the widest coverage in the country, if you expect to get off the beaten path.

Post

4-72 is the unusual name of Colombia's postal service. They have post offices throughout the country, which are open usually from 9:00am to 5:00pm Monday to Friday and sometimes on Saturday mornings as well. That doesn't apply to all offices though, only the larger ones in the big cities. But for example along the Caribbean coast, offices tend to close between noon and 2:00pm. But even at the ones that are officially open all day long, it might be difficult to get anything done during those hours. For domestic services, sending letters and postcards is mostly reliable but takes days, for international services don't hold your breath. Eventually, a postcard or letter might arrive in the country of destination but it's almost not worth it. For parcels, you are better off using companies like FedEx, TNT, DHL or UPS.

External Links

• Official Website