If you’re looking to ride horses in Salento and don’t want to spend too much money then keep on reading. I have just the solution for you.
I’ve been to Salento a few times over the years, but it wasn’t until my last trip there in 2024 that I tried horseriding. And dang, I wish I had done it sooner.
Riding horses through a small river with some of the most beautiful lush green scenery surrounding you? Who wouldn’t want to do that?
I went on a river-crossing tour, in which the main selling point is that you get to ride along a river and cross back and forth a bunch of times.
And… I did the same exact tour twice within a few days.
On this route, there’s a bit of road riding necessary before you get out of town. This isn’t all that fun because it’s the most bumpy for you and also the hardest on the horses, but it doesn’t matter which tour you do… I think there’s some road riding at the beginning of each.
I don’t remember exactly how long we were on the road, but I’d say at least 10 minutes going and coming and within this time there was a mix of concrete and dirt/gravel.
Once we started to get out of the town more and more we eventually were on roads wrapping alongside the mountain hills with some of the best views that I’ve seen around Salento.
Eventually, you get on small dirt trails down by the river and that’s where the fun begins.
The horses were very well trained and we really didn’t have to do anything at all. They all knew what to do and listened to guide over anything we said or did anyhow.
The best part of the tour for me was the deepest spot that we went through (the pic above), which went up over the top of my boots at one point (or maybe there was a hole in my one boot – who knows..).
The other river crossing points weren’t as extreme but were still fun nonetheless.
At one point the horses galloped through a field, but mine didn’t tend to galop all that much in general. Others did more sporadically trying to stay in the lead at various points.
How much does horseback riding cost?
Of course, if you go to some of the more well-known tour spots in town you’ll get the higher prices.
I paid 100k pesos (~$22.5) for my tour and it lasted a little over 3 hours, but you’ll see prices up to around 200k pesos (~$45) in the town for the same amount of time.
Of course, these higher-priced tours have some advantages. For example, I know that some offer insurance in case you end up having an accident.
But for people who like to travel on a budget like me, we take that risk and hope for the best.
Different routes you can take
Most of the tour places offer similar, but slightly different routes. Some go to waterfalls nearby, some take you through coffee plantations, and some, like the one I did, go along the river… where you get to cross back and forth a dozen or so times.
They’re similar but different. For example, we didn’t see any other horse tours when we were on ours. While there are many other agencies offering a river crossing tour of some kind, I suppose they do theirs at different sections of the river or maybe different rivers altogether.
Besides the river option, I know when I was there that the one popular waterfall route that used to be offered was closed. This had something to do with the road leading out there being paved and this was too hard on the horses’ hoves.
My recommendation
Look, I can’t say too much because I only rode horses at one place. Yes, I did go there twice and did the same river crossing tour… but still… it’s only one place that I’ve tried and tested.
This said, I really recommend it and it’s the cheapest horse-riding tour operator I’ve found (and I’ve asked around quite a bit).
The name appears on Google Maps as Cabalgatas San Pablo, but the location isn’t exact here if I remember correctly.
It’s a bit hard to find. If you’re walking from the center of town, you have to walk over to the west side of town and then instead of going over the bridge, you’ll go down into the valley on a small mostly-dirt trail (there were some painted tires made into steps on the way down).
Once you get to the bottom you’ll see a place on the left with a sign offering horse riding tours.
That’s our guy.
It’s run by a very Colombian rancher-styled guy named Oscar with a really good mustache and a habit of describing everything as ‘expectacular’ (spectacular). He has a dozen+ horses and rotates them as he gives tours, so that they can get some rest in between.
*If you can’t find the place, ask around for Oscar. I’m sure people will know him as he’s been there a while.
Bringing a hat and wearing some sunscreen would probably be a good recommendation, but other than that you don’t really need anything.
They provide rubber boots and, even though I had brought water with me, I don’t think I drank any.
*Oscar will bring you to a coffee plantation where you can get a cup or a snack near the end of the tour as you start to head back towards town.
Routes
Well, the river crossing option is good as you already know. This I can recommend.
Also, since Oscar is running things with his wife – just the two of them – and it’s not some structured tour operator, these tours are customizable.
I remember Oscar telling us about a group that was coming back to him for a second tour later in the day after ours and they were going on some sort of extended tour to cover more distance and see more.
Horse selection
I ended up really liking the horse I was given. Her name was Congola and she had a bit of an attitude, always wanting to be in the lead and even biting at the other horses a few times as they tried to pass her.
She was a little less trained than some of the others, according to Oscar and also my own observations, but I liked being able to see her personality like this.
If you go here, Oscar will give you a horse that he thinks will be a good fit for you. So if you have no experience and are a little scared, I’m sure he’ll set you up with one that’s calmer and better trained.
All this said, while the horse selection can vary, they are all trained enough to where you really don’t have to do much of anything. They know where to go; they know to get to the side of the road if there’s a car; they know to wait for Oscar if he’s too far behind. So there’s not much to worry about. Just focus on not falling off.
Takeaway
If you really want to take in the Colombian culture around the coffee region/Salento area, then you need to ride some horses. Horse culture is such a big thing here and not only do I think this is a great activity for everyone, but it’s also a great way to explore the area more and connect with the local way of life.
You’ll see kids riding them..
One time I swear the kid riding and directing a group of horses was no older than 4 years old, but I didn’t get a picture of that, unfortunately.
Sometimes I’ve even seen them roaming around in what appears to be complete freedom, although I’m sure their owner was probably nearby here..
To experience this culture, what better way to do it than with my recommendation Oscar?.. the small horse riding tour operation that’s probably your cheapest option in town.
PS: If you’re lucky, when you’re in Salento you might even get to see some goats.
But this was the only time out of the 3 times that I’ve been there that I’ve seen goats on the street like this.
