jerico, CO

Oh Jerico. This was the greatest surprise of all the mountain towns that I went to in Colombia. It personifies the line I always use about this country; the magic of this country lies outside of the towns with international airport, in the mountains. That is exactly Jerico. It’s about an hour or so drive from Jardin and its very infrequently visited or even mentioned. I learned about it from a Colombian friend I was traveling with. It’s similar to Jardin in a lot of ways but in my opinion, it is much more beautiful and much more authentic. You won’t run into the tourism that you see in Jardin, Salento, or Barichara for that matter. The place is going to be filled, for the most part with locals. It’s a very religious town, in this small place there are 17 churches. Which is absolutely crazy considering the small size of the place. But a few of them are absolutely beautiful. I personally liked one that is massive and entirely painted pink. It’s very cool to look at. This little colonial town for me just had so much heart. While I was there, I just walked around, took pictures of, and observed the mountain people living their relaxing, tranquil and humble way of life. Dressed in cowboy hats, work pants and boot most of them it really feels like you are in the real Colombia. If you ask me this is a must see in Colombia, and if you can only choose between Jardin and Jerico, I would say go off the beaten path a bit and decide on Jerico.

GENERAL OVERVIEW

LOCATION - Jericó, considering its close proximity to the extremely popular Jardin, is surprisingly unvisited. It's actually closer to Medellin than Jardin, and on the way. But people hardly ever visit it. I am going to assume that you are coming from Medellin when you are on your way to Jericó. I am only going to get into the bus and drive methods of traveling because, well I guess that's actually all there is.
- BY BUS - You have to go to the Terminal del Sur in Medellin, where you can travel on the bus line that will take you directly to the town. Busses will run from 5 inthe morning until 6 in the afternoon. Go to booth number 18 and buy your bus tickets there. The trip will be about 3 hours.
- BY CAR - Its a few hour drive from Medellin up and around windy mountain roads. The distance isn't so far but the road is slow as is the case throughout most of Colombia. The google map route is fine and is linked. It should take between 2.5 and 3 hours depending on traffic.

ACCOMODATION - It's a small place and not all that frequently traveled. Theres I'm sure a lot of places to sleep from a small hotel perspective but I just stayed at the one hostel in town that I loved.
- El Fin de Afan - This is really the only hostel in town that I know of but its lovely. Its relatively new to town and the owner is a lovely guy who just loves Jericó. Definitely stay here, its home like and small and cozy. You'll meet some cool other travelers and locals to explore the place with. The name means, the end of rushing essentially, so its a chill little spot.

EATS - The food around the town square is where I did the majority of my eating. Its the center of town and where everything is happening so just focus on that area if you want good food. Theres certainly stuff away from the center but I just didn't explore enough to get there. You should though. Here are a few places I ate ate.
- Bendito Cafe - Basic spot with cheap and good breakfast and coffee right on the square.
- Cafe Don Rafa - Right on the park, I had a nice pastry and a coffee here.
- Cafeteria Macondo - A cool little cafe right off the park. It was always chalk full of locals drinking a coffee or talking. Cool spot to go in and get a snack and a coffee or a beer.
- Bon Appetit Jericó - Restaurant with some diverse food off the square. Nice for dinner, not the cheapest option in the world.
- Street Carts in the Square - I ate a lot of the cheap street food that's in the park in the middle of the night. The little carts have options like arepas, salchichon, empanadas and other Colombian staples.

NIGHTLIFE - Theres really no nightlife to speak of here in Jericó. Theres little bars all over the place, but there wont be a party scene. You can certainly find little places to get drunk, and I like those little haunts but from a nightlife scene, it doesn't exist here.

SIGHTS - Jericó is a small town. Theres not a whole lot to do and you can realistically do it all in a few hours. My favorite thing to do was to just walk around and take pictures and look at all the pretty pictures. But below are the things to do and see.
- Santuario Santa Laura - Theres a ton of churches here. But the most interesting to see and really one of the only times I will recommend a church is this one. Its right outside of town and its painted all pink. Its pretty cool to look at.
- Jericó Botanical Garden - Theres a pretty botanical garden you can go walk around here.
- Mirador parque natural Las Nubes - Theres a nice mirador you can walk to easily from town.
- Cristo Redentor Jericó - like some other places in Latin America, a big Jesus watches over this city. You can walk up here and see the city from it. It wasnt my thing, but do you.
- Town Square - this is obvious, but the town square here is just great. Spend an afternoon sitting on a bench and just watching as the classic old men lounge around in the temperate weather.

SURFING - Absolutely nothing considering you are in the mountains.