Colombia’s Parque Nacional Los Nevados is a unique place. Over five days, we trekked through cloud forests dripping with mist, across high-altitude páramos dotted with strange, otherworldly plants, and up to the glaciers clinging to Santa Isabel’s summit.
We started in Salento, a colorful mountain town famous for its coffee and charm, before setting out into the rain-soaked wilderness. The first stretch tested our gear (and patience), but by the time we reached the páramo, the landscape shifted. Golden grasses swayed in the wind, and frailejones—tall, fuzzy plants that look straight out of a sci-fi movie—dotted the hills. These plants aren’t just cool-looking; they’re essential for capturing water, a lifeline for the region.
Laguna Otún, a mirror-still lake cradled by mountains, gave us a chance to catch our breath and chat with park rangers about the area’s fragile ecosystems. Their work, balancing conservation with tourism, left us thinking about how we show up in places like this. The highlight? A pre-dawn push to the summit of Santa Isabel. At 16,240 feet, the air felt thin, but the views were limitless. We lingered there, soaking in the quiet before heading down toward Santa Rosa.
