Zone F is one of the patches of the Coffee Cultural Landscape of Colombia, a World Heritage site spread across the steep green slopes of the Central and Western Cordilleras. This part lies in western Risaralda, around the towns of Santuario, Apía and La Celia, on hillsides so steep that you wonder how anyone stands upright to pick the beans. The answer is that people have been doing it for well over a century, by hand, on slopes where no machine could follow.
The landscape is the attraction. Coffee bushes cover the hills in neat rows, shaded by plantain and guamo trees, with stands of guadua bamboo along the streams and small farmhouses perched on the ridges. The houses are built in bahareque, a mix of bamboo and earth, with colourful balconies and tile roofs. Towns like Apía and Santuario have central plazas with churches and cafés, where farmers gather at weekends. The jeeps that carry people and sacks of coffee up and down the mountain roads, old Willys from the post-war years, are a symbol of the region.
The riding is spectacular and demanding. Roads climb and twist through the mountains with endless hairpins, steep gradients and constantly changing views. Surfaces vary from good asphalt to rough, broken concrete and dirt tracks, and landslides are common after heavy rain, which can fall at any time of year. Traffic is light but unpredictable, with jeeps, buses, trucks and animals sharing the road. A bike with good suspension and brakes will make life easier. The driest months tend to be December to February and July to August.
To the west, the Tatamá National Park protects a wild area of cloud forest and páramo, rich in birds, orchids and frogs. Colombia has more bird species than any other country, and in this region you might see toucans, tanagers and hummingbirds. The coffee harvest happens twice a year, with the main harvest in the last months of the year, when the farms are busiest.
Santuario, about five kilometres away, is the nearest town with fuel, food and accommodation. Apía and La Celia also have basic services. Stop at a local café for a tinto, a small black coffee, or visit a farm to learn about the process from bush to cup, often ending with a tasting.