Paramo de Belmira hike

09 Februaty 2020 | It’s full moon on Saturday, a perfect time to hike in the Paramo de Belmira, altiture : 3 175m! We joined an organized tour to discover one of Colombia’s paramo, a kind of specific mountain and tropical ecosystem. The nature made us think of a tropical version of the Alpes with fields, cows, eucalyptus, bamboo, cactus and some tundra-like landscape on the top .

After a 2.5 hour bus ride, we started the hike around 22.30 (or 10.30 PM for some of you). Thanks to the moonlight, we didn’t need our front light for most of the hike. As you see on the pictures, the light is really impressive!

Although we were super happy about the surroundings and landscapes, our limits would soon be tested. The hiking organization recommended warm clothing for the walk. Sure, no problems, we packed whatever warm belongings we had here. Still, we smirked during the first steep climb, “Colombian cold… pff… we’re from Europe, the North, where the cold raises and embraces us from childhood.”

But then, an unexpected 2-hour break would smack that smirk out of our faces. Nobody had told us about a siesta break at around 3,000 meters altitude at freezing temperatures. Some people had blankets, they were somewhat happy for a while. Other people (us included) had nothing but a survival cover (you know, the aluminum ones people get after a marathon). With all our clothes on (but wet socks) we shivered through the 2 siesta hours.

The North has tought us well but it never prepared us for siestas at open air and 3,000 meters altitude. Nobody slept…

After lot of shivering, two hot chocos, and a spontaneous squat/lunge session, we started to walk and finally started warming up again. Time to see the sunrise from the top of the paramo.

From 2h to 7h it was still pretty cold. We got a beautiful sunrise (or moon down). And continued to discover the Parmo de Belmira before heading back to our starting point

At 3 175m the fauna is beautiful! There are a lot of Espeletia, or how the guide called it: frailejones. Our mnemonic technic: it sounds like Frijoles which means beans. That strange cactus looking tree is from the sunflower family, so it has yellow flowers.
There are many types of flowers, but we don’t remember the names…