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The small coffee producing town of Balboa is located in the mountains of Colombia’s department of Risaralda. It’s a tiny town with one main road and some incredible views.
Balboa doesn’t have any interest to tourists, but has a laid back atmosphere. It’s part of the UNESCO World Heritage listed Coffee Cultural Landscape of Colombia and is on the way to the more interesting town of La Celia.
Getting to Balboa
To get to Balboa, the bus terminal in Pereira has a couple services. Flota Occidental has a few departures throughout the day, but Transportadores de la Virginia has buses every hour on the hour from 8am to 7pm. The trip to Balboa takes about 90 minutes.
On the way to Balboa, sometimes the bus passes just outside the main road into town. Make sure you tell the driver to let you off at the roundabout at that road if he isn’t entering town.
Main Road Through Town
The main road through Balboa contains all of the town’s shops and restaurants and can get crowded at times. On our most recent visit in December 2020, there was a nice mural painted on a building at the north end.
Our Lady of Perpetual Help
The small church, Our Lady of Perpetual Help (Nuestra Señora del Perpetuo Socorro) dominates the town “skyline”. It’s painted differently every few years and is pretty plain on the inside. The church is located at the north end of the main road.
Traditional Buildings
The road leading uphill from the church to the town’s entrance has a few colorful traditional buildings that are worth a quick look.
Views from Balboa
For the views, climb the stairs near the church up to the next road. It’s a residential street that has a couple small spots with benches. It’s incredibly peaceful and beautiful from up there.
You can also climb up some of the steep staircases found throughout town to get some more incredible views, and get a good workout in the process.
Parque Jacobo Ruiz
At the south end of the main road is Parque Jacobo Ruiz, which is the town square. It’s nothing to write home about but has a few benches under tall shady trees to sit and take in the atmosphere. There was also a nice mural on a building on the park.
