The Cocora Valley near Salento is famous for its wax palms which are the tallest palms on the planet and the national tree of Colombia. However, the best wax palms in Colombia aren’t in the Cocora Valley. They exist one valley over above the town of Salento. Here you’ll find much larger, denser groups of palms than you’ll ever see in the famous Cocora Valley, guaranteed. We visited the area twice and here are our favorite photos of these amazing stands of wax palms. Don’t miss details about how to get to these palms and our drone footage at the end of the post for a birds-eye-view of these awesome palms.

The best wax palms in Colombia

Willy's Jeep Yipao from Salento, Colombia to La Carbonera

Karen on the way up to see the wax palms near Finca La Carbonera above Salento.

Wax Palms Salento La Carbonera

The best wax palms in Colombia are not in the Cocora Valley but above Salento near a farm called La Carbonera where the palms grow taller and denser.

Wax Palms La carbonera Salento Cocora Valley Colombia

The best wax palms in Colombia are not in the Cocora Valley but above Salento near a farm called La Carbonera where the palms grow taller and denser.

Wax Palms La carbonera, Colombia

The best wax palms in Colombia are not in the Cocora Valley but above Salento near a farm called La Carbonera where the palms grow taller and denser.

Palma de cera Cocora valley La Carbonera Colombia

The best wax palms in Colombia are not in the Cocora Valley but above Salento near a farm called La Carbonera where the palms grow taller and denser.

Wax Palms Palma de Cera Colombia

You are not going to see wax palms in dense stands like this in the Cocora Valley.

Salento La Carbonera, Colombia Colombia

The best wax palms in Colombia are not in the Cocora Valley but above Salento near a farm called La Carbonera where the palms grow taller and denser.

Wax Palms Salento La Carbonera, Colombia

The best wax palms in Colombia are not in the Cocora Valley but above Salento near a farm called La Carbonera where the palms grow taller and denser.

La Carbonera, Colombia

The best wax palms in Colombia are not in the Cocora Valley but above Salento near a farm called La Carbonera where the palms grow taller and denser.

Hillside of wax palms

The best wax palms in Colombia are not in the Cocora Valley but above Salento near a farm called La Carbonera where the palms grow taller and denser.

Finca La Carbonera, Colombia

This is Finca La Carbonera.

Wax Palms Colombia

The best wax palms in Colombia are not in the Cocora Valley but above Salento near a farm called La Carbonera where the palms grow taller and denser.

Wax Palms La carbonera Cocora Valley Colombia

The best wax palms in Colombia are not in the Cocora Valley but above Salento near a farm called La Carbonera where the palms grow taller and denser.

Armadillo Colombia

If you’re lucky your Jeep taxi driver may find and catch a wild armadillo along the way too.

Get a birds-eye-view of these amazing trees in our drone travel footage, below, taken over the wax palms near La Carbonera above Salento, Colombia.

Getting to the best wax palms in Colombia

Hire a Jeep taxi in the square in Salento for the three hour round trip drive up above Salento along a dirt road toward a farm called La Carbonera and back down again (150,000 COP or about US$50 round trip for the whole jeep which will seat five people in addition to the driver, allow four to five hours for the full excursion).

Here’s more about travel in Colombia

See all of our Photo Essays

 

Share via