Colombia is a land of Volcanoes and the Andinean Mainchain is one of the most active areas of the Planet.Colombia Outdoor Experience is offering a Volcanoe tour which is included in the Package of Hacienda CARDONAL. This wonderfull horse and cattle Ranch with all accomodations for travellers, jungle and grassland, is situated just on the Border of the volcanoe national park in Tolima. From there you can reach the Nevado del Ruiz in a two hours ride by car climbing up the Andinean Main Chain to about 4.500m.
The Nevado del Ruiz (5.300m) is an active Volcanoe and just ten years ago 20.000 people were killed when the nearby town Armero was whiped out in a catastrophic outbreak. You can imagine what occured when you have seen the movie "Dante's Peak".
Yust now the giant is sleeping controlled and watched constantly by the cientists. The trip by car is really spectacular
the street winds up trough a scenery changing every couple of minutes according to the different climate zones you cross. On the foot of the volcanoe constant local rainfalls produce a spectacular Jungle similar to the amazon biotop.
Than you come to a biotop that is very similar to an asian bambus jungle dominated by bambus that reaches a hight of more than ten meters. Later you cross dense eucalyptus forests that seems to come directly from Australia (just the Koalas are missing). And finally you reach the "alpine Panorama". All this is decorated with spectacular waterfalls. Sometimes you look from the street into an abyss of more than thousend meters.
Finally you reach a scenery that seems to be from another planet. Bromelids and other plants that grow just here in the national park area, watched by majestic snowcovered volcanoes.
The place where you have to leave the car is not far from the snowline. You are now in a heigth of more than 4.500m. The best way to reach the top of the volcanoe is to take a rest and stay there overnight in the Volcanoe Observatory to adapt the body a little bit to the hight.
At 2.00 in the morning we start with a experienced guide to do the peak.
There are yust a few hundred meters left but in this hight it is extremly difficult to go. And it will take us hours to cross the last snowfield. We will be back at 10.00 in the morning what is necessary because if anything goes
wrong we need daylight to organize help in the hotel. We have the rest of the day to return in car to CARDONAL.
You need good trekking shoes, warm cloth, temp. 0 Celsius if weather is good - (impossible to do the tour if weather is bad).
Special Tours with several days of trekking in the volcanoe national park and trips to other peaks can be arranged.
The 2 Day tour to the Nevado del Ruiz can be done by all persons with normal physical condition. Special Tours need excelent physical condition (you have to carry a lot of Equipment in a hight of above 4.000m and eventually to sleep outdoor)
Regular tours run by Colombia Outdoor Experience include: