Back on the travel path, I decided to take a bus trip from Medellin which more or less is a 2nd home to me at this point to Manizales, a city of hills. I wanted to get a glimpse into this city mainly because I heard it was very conservative and a hidden gem within Colombia. Upon my arrival, I found the cable car station and the bus station are one terminal together. And to make it into downtown Manizales, I needed to take the cable car which cost around 2,500 COP ($.63 USD). This journey took about 10-15 minutes as I obtained a picturesque view of the city.
Before going forward, I need to mention some distinct differences I saw in this city versus Medellin, Colombia in particular. The first being the city is composed of many rolling hills and is at a higher overall altitude. The second difference is that the party scenes are not up to par at all in comparison to Medellin. Third, I did notice more Asian Americans in Manizales than I see in Medellin. And fourth is that I noticed more 2 parent families out in the parks and happening areas with their kids. These were the most striking differences that I saw between the 2 cities.
I did visit several places within the city such as Chipre, which is an area with great views and several food venders. They have a tasty desert called “Oblea” which is like their version of a wafer crepe that I recommend trying on your visit there. During my walk around Manizales, I did go to their major sports complex on the east side of the city that includes several clay tennis courts, a roller skate court, and of course several soccer fields which is located right beside their major futbol stadium and across the street from Catholic University of Manizales.
Other forgone conclusions I have made were that Manizales is good if you are taking tours to surrounding sites like coffee farms and the nearby volcano. It is a good city if you like milder temperatures as it gets a little cool during the evening hours due to its high elevation. The last conclusion I can make is that Manizales is great for university students as their are several major universities in the city and is considered the education hub of Colombia.
