Pereira.
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Overview

Pereira is the capital city of the department of Risaralda in Colombia's Zona Cafetera. It is in the center of the western region of the country, 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.

Understand

Pereira is a beautiful university city with a population of 482,000 (2023). The city's motto is "Pereira con Vida".

Get in

Matecaña International Airport , the largest and busiest airport in the region. There are also international routes to Panama City operated by Copa Airlines and Miami operated by American

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

Pereira is about 7 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 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.

Some common bus companies in Colombia that are found in this terminal are:

Expreso Bolivariano : This company has one of the most extensive networks. Some international destinations as well. Coomotor : Mostly destinations in Southern Colombia Expreso Palmira, Expreso Trejos, Expreso Alcala, Flota Magdalena Municipal Transport - to small towns nearby : Lineas Pereiranas, Transportes Giraldo.

Get around

There is an extensive network of buses running around Pereira connecting most parts of the city. It runs 5 km 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).

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.

Taxis are relatively cheap but make sure the meter is on. Some taxi drivers are dishonest and try to take advantage of foreigners. It's possible to negotiate as well.

See

Pereira is a beautiful university city with many things to see.

La Pobreza. 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!.

Parque Olaya Herrera. Urban park with colonnades and other sorts of monuments, and old train station.

Alto del Nudo. The city has an important eco-park 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 the 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. 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, and to look at the Naked Bolivar statue. Adjacent sits the Municipal Palace administration buildings, as Pereira city is also the seat of Risaralda state.

Pereira Art Museum. Little cutesy things and other sorts of art.

Cesar Gaviria Trujillo Viaduct. An impressive bridge.

Centro Cultural Lucy Tejada. Pereira library and cultural events center.

Universidad Tecnológica de Pereira Botanical Garden. Here you can get the low down on botany at this center for academia. Lots of birds and butterflies too.

Parque El Lago. Another city square next to San Antonio Maria Claret Church.

Do

The city has a municipal auditorium and theaters where you can attend concerts, operas, and listen to symphonic music. There are lots of night clubs, discos, and bars that serve up lively house, trance, rock, salsa, and tango music. Pereira offers an exciting nightlife along the main avenue Simón Bolivar, where you will find many of the best discos and restaurants, but there is another smaller in upscale residential neighborhood located in south part of city. On weekends, starting on Thursday night, this is where many of younger crowd and students like to gather. There are many fast food restaurants in this area also. Pereira is also home to famous football (soccer) club, 'Deportivo Pereira'. Viewing football is a very important activity here and Once fans pack the 30,000-seat stadium to cheer for their team. La Popa, a hill, gives you a scenic view of Pereira.

Bioparque Ukumari. Zoo with giraffes, rhinos, jaguars, etc.

Parque Consotá. Theme park with a lot of water rides and also a miniature replica of Pereira.

Buy

Parque Arboleda. The newest and largest mall boasts a wide array of shops including Victoria's Secret, Zara, H&M, Falabella, Bershka, among other renowned brands. It also features a quality food court, supermarkets and a cinema.

Centro Comercial Victoria. A mall near downtown, Cinemas, clothing, cafes, A supermarket nearby and restaurants. Indoor parking. Near a Megabus station.

Unicentro. A beautiful mall with a beautiful ambientce, large variety of shops, a Jumbo supermarket and a cinema. The best place to spend the afternoon.

Pereira Plaza. Behind the Movich Pereira Hotel, Hanging out, buying groceries and a stationery store, Houses upscale stores.

Bolivar Plaza. Downtown location, right on Plaza de Bolivar. Many shops and also cinemas, food court, cafes, indoor parking.

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 cane, called 'panela'. They also use panela 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. Sayonara. Colombian-style hamburgers and hot dogs. Try the pepper burger. La Estancia. International food. Try the Trucha Marinera. Mi País Café: International dishes and coffee. Address: Calle 19 # 12 _ 69. "Tradiciones Peruanas" - Peruvian Restaurant. Original Peruvian food, prepared like in Peru. With Peruvian ingredients. Ceviches, Parihuela, Lomo Saltado, Arroz Chaufa and more. Location C.C. Santa Mónica Plaza

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. An ice cream parlor where you can find the best fruit salad of Pereira and surroundings.

Drink

El Rincón Clásico. A tiny bar with thousands of vinyl records, mostly tangos and Spanish music.

Zanzibar Club. Cocktails, beer and food served. Pool tables. Terraces with great view of the Plaza de Bolívar.

Sleep

Hotel Central Park Plus. 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.

Hotel Polo. Rooms with private bathrooms, Wi-Fi, newspapers in lobby, luggage storage, friendly owner, good location.

Hotel Boutique Sazagua. Hotel and spa.

Hotel Suite Center. An inexpensive but nice hotel downtown. Pretty lobby. Breakfast available. Friendly staff. Cable TV, hot water, rooms with views. Laundry service available.

Kolibrí Hostel. View of the mountains and many hummingbirds.

Hotel Dann Soratama. Downtown at Plaza de Bolívar. Comfortable but small rooms. Nice restaurant with great views of the plaza. Parking included but not in the premises.

Movich Hotel de Pereira. It is the largest hotel in town. Formerly Hotel Melia Pereira.

Hotel Sonesta. Discover a luxury hotel on "Via a Cerritos" where the warm weather complements the coolness of the pool and the serenity of a lake. Additionally, the hotel boasts "Octavo by Rausch" a unique restaurant that slowly rotates, offering diners a 360° panoramic view of the surroundings without ever leaving their seat.