Samaria Valley

The wax palm is Colombia's national tree, reaching sixty metres or more, which makes it the tallest palm in the world, and it grows on high Andean slopes between roughly 2,000 and 3,000 metres. Samaria, above San Felix in northern Caldas, holds an estimated six hundred thousand of them across the valley - a far greater density than Cocora in Quindio, which gets the visitors. The reason the palms are there in such numbers is also the problem: they stand in cattle pasture, and while the adults survive, seedlings do not because the cattle eat them and the wax palm takes decades to mature, so the population is old with little regeneration. Restoration and fencing projects have been running. Access is by rough road.

The landscape

• An estimated six hundred thousand wax palms - the densest stand known.
• The tallest palm in the world - reaching sixty metres and beyond.
• Palms standing in cattle pasture - which prevents regeneration.
• Very few visitors - compared with Cocora.

When to go

December to March. A full day.

Before you go

The road is unpaved and rough; local direction helps as signage is minimal. There are almost no facilities. Cloud and rain are frequent. The palms are ageing without replacement, which is visible once pointed out.

Nearby

San Felix is at the valley; Salamina is west.