NEVADO DEL RUIZ
The Nevado del Ruiz volcano is located in the department of Caldas near the city of Manizales. This beautiful volcano, which is considered one of the highest in South America, has an approximate altitude of 5,330 MASL. It is known for its flora, fauna and for being the home of the condor of the Andes among other important species. Throughout its history, the volcano has received many names such as Mesa de Herveo, Tama, which was the name given to it by the natives in pre-Columbian era meaning "Elder or Big Father", and Cumanday, meaning "White Hill".
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In addition to its great beauty, the volcano is known for the eruption that destroyed the town of Armero on November 3, 1985. It is widely considered as the second most tragic eruption of the twentieth century, as more than thirty thousand people were killed.
Currently the Nevado del Ruiz volcano is on yellow alert.
[See this post in Spanish version 🇨🇴 ]
WHAT DO YOU FIND 🏞?
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HOW TO GET THERE 🛣 ?
The first thing we had to do was to get to Manizales and once there, we rented a car, since there is no public transport for this area.
The car rental with driver cost around $ 300,000 COP for a maximum capacity of 6 people, picking us up at the Manizales terminal where we also dropped off at the end of the route. These costs may vary depending on the company you consult and the season. If you are traveling alone or with a few people, we advise you to book a tour with a travel agency. You can find the information of the agency we booked with at the end.
With each kilometer we travelling, 🚙 we were leaving the buildings behind 🌆 and and our excitement kept growing, especially when we saw the beautiful frailejones 🍃⛰.
To acclimatize our bodies to the height the driver recommended that we open the car windows a little and in doing so we could feel the weather getting colder. On the way, we took the opportunity to make some stops and observe the different landscapes such as the Laguna Negra (see map).
After taking photos of this beautiful lake, we continued our journey 🗻. We made our last stop in the sector called the Little Tree. If the weather is clear, one can see the gigantic Nevado del Ruiz from there.
In the sector, we found the closest restaurant and lodging to the entrance of the Nevado del Ruiz. There the following services are provided:
- Breakfast ☕️ for $ 8,000 COP.
- Lunches starting from 🍛 $ 14,000 COP.
- Lodging for 🛌 $ 40,000 COP per person (including breakfast).
- Glamping for 🏕 $ 300,000 COP, for 4 people (includes a bottle of wine and breakfast).
To stay at this place or hire breakfast and lunch services, it is advisable to make a reservation, as availability is not guaranteed.
After this last stop we got back into the car and continued for a few minutes until we reached the entrance of the Nevado del Ruiz 🗻.
⚠️ Camping is not allowed inside the park and pets are also not allowed 🚫🐶.
TO ENTER THE NEVADOS NATIONAL PARK WE HAD TO PAY THE FOLLOWING:
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Entrance to the park 🎟: Over 5 years old and under 25 years old $ 8,500 COP, over 25 years old up to 70 years old $ 16,000 COP, and foreigners $ 45,000 COP.
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Medical and rescue insurance ⛑: Insurance is mandatory to enter any National Park in the country. Its cost is $ 3,500 COP per day for Colombians, and around $5,000 COP for foreigners.
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Guide service 🧔: $13.000 pesos.
⚠️ The Nevado del Ruiz is on yellow alert, so it is only allowed to make the tour inside the park by a vehicle 🚙; this is done in order to evacuate people more quickly.
If you go by car, you will have to pay $ 6,000 COP for the entry of the vehicle to the park. If you go by motorcycle, you will not be allowed to enter and you will have to pay an approximate $ 15,000 COP per person to make the circular route by car. the cars that provide the service can be found at the entrance of the park. These cars will not start the tour until they fill the maximum quota.
The entrance to the park is from 8 am to 2 pm. It is recommended to arrive early as you must attend a talk that lasts about 30 minutes before entering.
THE PATH TO NEVADO DEL RUIZ 🚎
The tour lasted approximately 3 hours and below are some stops we made:
Sector of Aguaserales: The name refers to the water flowing through the rocks coming from the vegetation found in the mountain.
Arenales sector: In this sector, there is a terrace where you can view the immensity of the valley. There you can also find a small cafeteria ☕️🍞.
Tombs sector: Also called the desert of solitude, this sector was a place of pilgrimage and payment for the indigenous communities that inhabited the lower areas. We could observe one of the most immense craters created by the avalanche of November 13, 1985 that fell upon the town of Armero.
This brings us to the end of the route, but do not forget to follow us on our social networks to know more places like this 👉 Instagram and Youtube
This is the end of the route to Nevado del Ruiz volcano, do not forget to follow us on our social networks to know more places like this 👉 Instagram and Youtube
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