La Carbonera Valley in Salento, Colombia.
Who goes to Colombia without diving into its coffee culture? I mean, Colombian coffee is practically legendary—I’ve known about it since I was a kid. So naturally, we made our way to Salento, the unofficial coffee capital of Colombia. Unfortunately, the day we planned to visit a coffee farm, a sinkhole blocked the road and ruined our plans. But hey, coffee isn’t the only thing Salento is famous for—it’s also home to the tallest palm trees in the world.Â
These trees are absolutely surreal. They’re so skinny they look like a good gust of wind could knock them over, yet they stretch impossibly high into the sky. Seeing them was a goal of our trip, which led us to Salento Cycling. Most people flock to the Cocora Valley to see these iconic trees, but honestly, the crowds outnumber the palms.Â
Salento Cycling takes you to La Carbonera, a lesser-known area boasting the largest concentration of wax palms in the world. We’re talking millions of these towering wonders in a setting that feels straight out of a dream. After cycling through this surreal landscape, you’re treated to a peaceful picnic overlooking a palm tree-filled valley—a moment of calm before the next adventure. The experience doesn’t stop there. Salento Cycling offers a 33-kilometer downhill ride along the Golden Road, the longest downhill route in Colombia, cutting through the breathtaking Andes. With state-of-the-art mountain bikes, the ride is accessible to almost anyone, combining adrenaline with awe-inspiring views.
What truly made the trip unforgettable, though, was our guide and founder, Eduardo Villegas. Eduardo knows the region—and Colombia as a whole—like the back of his hand, weaving fascinating stories and facts into every part of the ride while ensuring the experience is both safe and exciting. Having started Salento Cycling in 2014, Eduardo witnessed firsthand how the 2016 peace accord transformed tourism in Colombia, allowing his business to flourish. Of course, a stellar product helps, too.
When I interviewed Eduardo later, the first thing he did was hand me a hot chocolate – best I’ve ever had. That conversation was an eye-opening dive into the effect of Colombia’s complex history, how it’s gotten to where it is today and hints at some of the most unknown gems in the country.
Disclaimer: I hope not to do this all the time but I do want to apologise for any times it sounded like I interrupted Eduardo. Wasn’t meant to be done intentionally, I kind of got a bit caught up in the conversational aspect of this chat. This is completely uncut and I hope you enjoy it. PS, there is a bit of cursing in it (as again it was a very natural conversation), just so listeners are aware of it.
Eduardo Villegas. Photo provided by Eduardo.
Eduardo Villegas Interview Transcript
Zach: So, um, can I just first get you to say your name and what you do for a living and anything else you want to say about yourself?
Eduardo: My name is Eduardo Villegas, I’ll send you later the name if you need it. I grew up in the coffee area, seeing that everything was fucked up. I studied finance in England. I lived in London like 4 years. I knew how the system worked, so I sent it to hell man. And I came back to Colombia to start something on my own. And I ended up showing what you saw today to the world. But I was supposed to be a successful finance guy, but I wasn’t. So I hated the system and came back, discovered the place, and I came back during the Olympics. So in 2012, I moved to Salento in 2014. I started a business, and discovered La Carbonera in 2017. So it was like 8 years ago now, and now you know what I do. And you know the rest.
Zach: And so growing up in Colombia, I mean I know you said the system is fucked up, probably both there and here.Yes. But what is something that you remember from growing up that was really, you know, one of your favorite things about the country? It’s a tough question I know.
Eduardo: Good question, my favorite thing of being a Colombian, I hated this place when I was a kid man. Because it was scary, like traumatizing. My favorite thing? Could be from now, you know, like I guess in the future, you know, after seeing it in a different light I guess in recent years. What’s my favorite thing from this place? My favorite thing of this place is that it had been so underrated, always. In history, by the media and stuff. I mean, Pablo Escobar, I mean, violence. It had been so underrated that now it’s really cool to show how underrated it was. So you really like that, there’s a lot… Because what you saw, because what they show us on the media, I mean, Colombians have made an amazing country. Now you see, now you have seen it. But, wait I’m gonna get this off the wall (Moves map off the wall).Nah no worries.Âit’s really cool to show it to people like you and blow your mind with my backyard for example. See, 20 years ago it wasn’t possible. Like sad and depressive and hateful to live in this country. Fuck, why the fuck I was born in this fucking country all my life? Why the fuck it happened to me? I want to live like in peace and have a cool life, I don’t know. And what changed everything was the peace agreement of 2016. Before the peace agreement I was just trying too hard. After the peace agreement I got fucking rich. Because Colombia became a sustainable country on the terms of business. Before the peace agreement it was impossible to run a business like ours. It was impossible because in 2016 I was just trying too hard. My favorite thing is that it was so underrated. It was what I used to hate and now it’s kind of the thing that I like the most. But then it was kind of sad. And it became such a happy place that nobody knows, that it’s easy to blow people’s minds.Â
Zach: I mean, a lot of people in Australia don’t necessarily come travel in this part of the world, and so you don’t really know what to expect, and it’s truly been breathtaking. And that being said, since so many people haven’t still seen it, what do you actually recommend people go do here? What’s the, I guess, something you recommend they do?
Eduardo: Wait, where have you been? So I’ve been to Medellin, Jardin, and here. Yeah, so I haven’t been here for very long. So I guess even someone like me, other than I guess those two other places, you know, where would you recommend I go? It’s probably so many great things to see. Colombia is like 100 Colombias, man. That’s what they say. I mean, you can go to the Caribbean, which is full of mosquitoes, but I know everybody loves the Caribbean. The Pacific coast is amazing. It’s like the difference in between Bocas del Toro and Santa Catalina. The Pacific is amazing, man. You’ve been in Santa Catalina, no?Yeah, we have, yeah, yeah. I really like the vibe of the Pacific because it’s way more quiet. The Colombian Pacific is amazing, man. No key. No key.(Starts pointing at the map for the most of the rest of this answer) This is the Coiba National Park. Wait, Panama? This is the Coiba National Park and Santa Catalina at this point. The no key on the Pacific, and the most underrated part, man, that is not discovered yet. Like there is flat lands on the border with Venezuela. Okay, so close to, I guess, you know, Amazon, close to the Amazon.Â
They call it the, do you know what is the French Guyana? The Guyana Belt.The Guyana Belt. Hmm, that’s interesting. Yeah, because like, you know, when you, most of the people travel here, they stay in this middle region.Claro(Clear, like exactly in spanish), like Colombia is divided. Colombia has a line that divides the known and the unknown. Like this. Like under Bogotá. Yeah, okay. So everybody hangs on this half. Yeah. The other half, that is the bigger half. Yeah, yeah.It’s completely unknown. There is nothing, no roads, nothing. Right. Like the, like, has to be like the outback. Outback, yeah. I mean, the equivalent, but I don’t know, Australia has to be, is bigger than Colombia? Yeah, no, I mean, that makes perfect sense. Australia is pretty much just the coast. You know, you have a few spots in the outback, you could say, but most of it’s untraveled, unlivable. This is the Guyana Belt. Okay, right, yeah, okay. Crazy, it’s this like flat, like tabletop mountain. Mmm, a lot of plateaus, fucking huge plateaus. It’s the biggest in the world. Yeah. And it’s the biggest waterfall in the world. Yeah, right, okay. I did not, they don’t tell you about this when you come to Colombia. No, no. They give you this middle section, MedellÃn,like somewhere around Bogotá, Cali. Claro, the northwest half. Fucking heaven.Oh, yeah. From close. This is like a set of waterfalls. Oh my gosh. Flat like heaven, man. Right, okay.This is Caño Canoas. Caño Canoas is like… There, okay, so you’re still sticking. The Andes is here, on the east side of the Andes. Right, okay, yeah, wow. This is where youshould go? As east as possible, man. East as possible.Yes. Okay, so somewhere in this region?(I Accidentally mixed up east and west on the map) This is west.No, yeah, oh, east. I just messed it up, yeah.As east as possible, man. As east as possible.Yes. All right. See, that’s a good answer. It’s a good insight, because you’re like… All of this is in the east, on the east side. On the east side, yeah. Crazy, man. That is beautiful. Yeah, wow.Wait, wait, pause you one second. No, no worries.It’s a good idea. I’ll tell you. Apaporis. Apaporis. The Apaporis River. Apaporis river? Yes. The Apaporis River.
I know the graphic isn’t perfect, I made most of it on a bus so forgive me for not whipping out the camera. Also it’s not spot on, mostly what I can remember while he was pointing at the map, but it is very close.
Cross the Amazon.Oh, my gosh!But the skeletons that they say the biggest stones of gold in the planet are inside the rapids of this river, man. Wow.Inside the rapids so nobody can get it.Yeah, right. Like down, like in the rapids, like here, like down there,so nobody can get it. And they say the biggest rocks in the planet, like inside the waterfalls, so it’s impossible to get, like here, like down there. How do you get the gold, how do you get the gold that is down there? Yeah, I mean, I guess that’s… It’s like, they say it’s like 10 meters away, but nobody can get it. These are the rapids. Too much rapids, yeah, yeah, yeah. This is too crazy, man. That’s insane. That is as easy as possible, man. This is, this river is the Volvo de Venezuela.Wow, yeah, okay, yeah, right. No, man. That’s insane. So many, like, so many places you just mentioned have not been suggested once by… I’m going, these are my next holidays in Colombia. The Mavicure Mountains. Cerros, Cerros is mountains. Cerros, Cerros. Montañas, las Montañas de Mavicure. Wow. Oh, my Lord. And that’s in the middle of the Amazon. But you can fly there, hike to the top. But it doesn’t, I mean, the Lonely Planet hasn’t got there yet. Yes, no, they haven’t.But now it’s getting famous, the side of Colombia that was the most dangerous part, now it’s getting, now it’s safe, after the peace agreement, so you can visit. That’s crazy.Wait. Or… Guaje. Cool.Oh, my Lord. And the company that does the rafting, the companies of the rafting, are former FARC soldiers. FARC. Oh. Do you know who is, what is Las FARC? Las FARC? Las FARC was the rebel army that negotiated with the government and made a peace agreement in 2016. So the biggest motherfuckers in the planet. They negotiated with the government, and now, for example, the people from this area now have like a rafting company. Wait, wait. No, motherfuckers, I want a picture. Guaje. Guaje, guaje, guaje. Wait, wait, wait. You can do tubing, tubing, people tubing on the canyon.You’re right. That’s… I just can’t believe how many, how much stuff you’re pulling out of the hat.The thing is to choose what to skip, man. Choosing what to skip? Yes, that’s the biggest responsibility as a good traveler, choosing what not to do.Yeah, yeah. Usually the choice is so wrong.You can only pick and choose, but like, you know, with so many good options, like, there’s clearly some that are…Claro. Too many different Colombias. Yeah. It depends. And it’s so big. The Pacific, while watching the Pacific, she’s so big that 25 years traveling haven’t been enough.Wow. That’s crazy. Most of this, I haven’t seen most of these places, man, that I plan to visit in the next couple of years. I mean… Yeah, right. It’s a good place. Everywhere.Whatever is not… Whatever is not… Whatever is not famous. Yeah, yeah. Whatever a bunch of people are walking around, I guess.Claro.Â
Zach: Yeah, yeah. And so, I guess this is one of my last questions that I wanted to ask, and I kind of ask everybody I talk to about this just to get perspective. In the world right now, so much is going on. What do you think is the biggest issue we see today? With what? Anything. It could be big, small. It could be just a concept. It could be an actual thing. It’s a hard question right now. Like, it gets people off guard sometimes.
Eduardo: That the society is fucked up because people… The society is fucked up because people trust the system blind. People don’t ask question the system. And the system is fucked up, man. And that’s why depression is like a thing. I was a depressed guy in London, working in finance, and I’m like, fuck this man, fuck this. I want to be happy and send the system to hell, man. I will never be part of the system again. More than this. People don’t want to enjoy life as much as… Exactly.People think that they will live forever. They will live forever. And life is 30,000 days, man. Why to spend 20,000 working for an asshole, trying to enjoy 30,000 days? Yeah, and so many people do that. So many escape out of the system, man. Basically, that’s it, man. For me, that’s fucked up. Yeah. Well, thank you so much. I appreciate your time.Thank you.
Once again a huge shoutout to Eduardo and the Salento Cycling team. If you are ever in Salento, make sure to check them out using this link. If you don’t, you must like being able to see more people with cameras then enormous Palm Trees you’ll never see again.