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El Valle

A picturesque little town nestled 2,300 feet above sea level in the crater of a gigantic extinct volcano. Popular for its pleasant temperature, weekend handcraft market, canopy adventure tour, hot springs, and lovely waterfalls.

What to See & Do

Canopy Zip-line Tour. After a short hike to the top of the ridge, you strap in and soar through the treetops, where you will see a wealth of unexpected natural beauty and activity, swooping from platform to platform high among the sturdy cloud forest trees.

Hiking. Because the town is at the bottom of the valley surrounded by mountains, there are several opportunities for hiking and trekking in the area. The most popular is “La India Dormida” or “Sleeping Indian”, a mountain formation resembling the shape of a woman laying face up as seen from the center of town. For something a bit more adventurous, the “Cerro Gaital” is a Natural Monument with 335 hectares of protected forest and an altitude of 1,185 meters above sea level.

La Piedra Pintada. One of the most unusual sights in El Valle is an area with large stones covered with whimsical petroglyphs. Giggling local children will accompany you through the woods to the carvings. The biggest boulder is the size of a small house and one side is entirely covered in squiggles, spirals, and vaguely anthropomorphic figures etched by pre-Hispanic abstract artists.