The Coffee Route through the Andes (Colombia)

Eleven nights and around 746 miles in a loop from Medellin on a Royal Enfield, through the coffee triangle, and it is the operator’s first Colombian route.

Medellin opens it in El Poblado, a city at around 1,500 metres whose climate has earned it the name city of eternal spring, with the Botero sculptures in the plaza. Jardin follows by way of the colonial architecture at Santa Fe de Antioquia, through coffee country to one of the prettiest villages in the country.

Salamina comes next on Caldas back roads, a coffee village few visitors reach, then Termales de Ruiz, climbing into the highlands for the natural hot springs there. Salento follows through Manizales, capital of the coffee triangle, with off-road sections along the Otun river.

A rest day at Salento covers the Cocora valley, where the wax palms grow to sixty metres and are the tallest palms in the world, and a traditional finca for a tasting that explains what the region actually does for a living. Ibague is next by way of Armenia and a second wax palm sanctuary, then Honda, a colonial river town on the Magdalena a little over 400 metres above sea level. Rio Claro follows on back roads past haciendas and horsemen, with a swim in the reserve, marble caves, and an optional stop at a house that once belonged to Pablo Escobar, which some riders will want and others firmly will not. Bike rental is included and the price is quoted per person in US dollars.