Tourism of adventure, rest, and knowledge of coffee production, warm, mild, and cold climates…you can find and do everything in the Southwest of Antioquia, subregion that is known to have the main paisa tradition. As you leave Medellín through the South Highway, a traditional road that invites you to travel to privilege lands which show diverse thermal grounds, one may go from hot to cold, and enjoy all types of tourism, from the person who is looking to just rest up to the most adventurous person.

The Coffee Road is the main way to this subregion. It crosses Amagá (municipality of coffee and coal vocation), it is located just one hour away from Medellín and it extends itself to various places until you arrive to Jardín, which limits with the department of Caldas.
This Road crosses a broken terrain which makes you think in the settlers' effort. Today's inhabitants also transit through it and maintain many of the old traditions, this is why this place is so interesting and cozy to tourists.
The average temperature in the coffee zone is around 24ºC. However, it is easy to find hotter temperatures, just go towards Bolombolo - a small town of the municipality of Venecia- or cross the Cauca River canyon, in places such as La Pintada. Nevertheless, these places mentioned above have been places of great interest to tourists and due to this they have the necessary hotel infrastructure to satisfy the different needs of all their guests.
In this subregion one may enjoy two routes: the known Coffee and Coal Route, which comprehends a group of municipalities that have sustained its economy in the exploitation of coal and coffee crop. These locations are Amagá, Angelópolis, and Titiribí, the most important instance. However some neighbors such as Fredonia have also taken advantage of some mines.
In these places it is possible to visit and get to know the process of exploitation and transportation of natural coal. At the same time, one may do the same thing with coffee since it is of great tradition in the Southwest and with various farm-hotels that offer accommodations.
Municipalities such as Angeló-polis, located just 45 kilometers from Medellín, offer other types of attractions such as the Self-sufficient Farm Los Yarumos, ecological paths, waterfalls, wild vegetation along the Park Road, located in the Forest and Productive Reservoir La Cuchilla. Moreover, at Alto Romeral you may observe the extreme magnificence of the flora and fauna of the place.
Nevertheless, the Coffee Road is not the only way. The road that communicates Medellín to the southwest of the country also goes through the subregion, and it visits municipalities such as Santa Bárbara and La Pintada.
Santa Bárbara offers the option of ecological walks and places of great natural value, where the pedestrians are continuous visitors. The small town of Damasco has hills where it is perfect for hangliding.
In another corner of the Southwest of the department, towards the banks of the Cauca River lies La Pintada, the youngest municipality of Antioquia, 100% touristic, since the years that it was part of the small town of Santa Barbará. It has a warm climate, like all of the near by lands of the Cauca River, it has hotels, inns, pools, nightclubs, and the practice of ecological sports, extreme sports, and adventurous such as kayak, rafting, and mountain biking, among others, have become important.
To return to Medellín from La Pintada is closer to take the road that goes to Alto de Minas and crosses Santa Bárbara, municipality of elevated agriculture production and where one may visit estates, coffee and cattle farms.
But to return to the Coffee Road, the road -with typical Colombian cuisine restaurants side by side- it interferes through the Amagá mountains, coal region of the department. For tourist it is the opportunity to acquire craftsmanship products, dairy products, rustic and hardware furniture, car maintenance, among others. After Amagá, the road has a detour that takes you to Fredonia and Venecia, two coffee municipalities by excellence. And descending from the Road, an hour and a half from Medellín, one arrives to the Cauca River canyon and to Bolombolo, which belongs to Venecia on its eastern bank and which owes its name to an indigenous chief of the region when the Spaniard settlers arrived.
The Coffee Route has municipalities such as Venecia, Tarso, Fredonia, and Jericó, with coffee farms where one may see the process of the production of the grain. Furthermore, the weather is perfect to enjoy the stay in comfortable farm houses, hostels, and inns that are located in the zone.
Venecia offers an attraction perfect for lovers of mountain hiking, the Cerro of Tusa-Tusa Hill (others say Cerro Tusa). It is the only pyramid looking mountain in the world of its gender, and it has been said to be an Indian center for worshipping. It takes three hours to reach the top.
In Bolombolo there are three ways: one that follows the course of the Cauca River and it communicates itself with Santa Fé de Antioquia, another that starts off in Jericó and it leads up to La Pintada, also near the banks of the Cauca River, and the same Road that leads up to Jardín.
In the Bolombolo way - La Pintada Old Cauca, there is a parceling which is a replica of an Antioquian town a century ago, and it is located near Jericó.
Now that Jericó is mentioned, its sky is flooded with kites of different colors that are elevated from the Cerro de Cristo Rey (Cristo Rey Hill) and it still conserves the natal home of Mother Laura, today it is a recognized museum which holds items used by her on her daily routines.
A few kilometers from Támesis, there is an urban site with writings in stone, petroglyphics, which Indians left behind during their stay. It is locates just two hours from Medellín, a 107 kilometer distance, and places such as Cristo Rey Hill, beaches at Frío River and bathing places are visited frequently due to its splendor; in addition, one may enjoy the fruits of the region. Cocoa is cultivated, and like it is usual in the Southwest, coffee.
Támesis belongs to the known Muleteering Route, which consists of a series of traditional paths that lead up to the municipalities of Valparaíso and Támesis and it is united with La Pintada, meaning, they are united with the coffee mountains of the Cauca River canyon.
Only 101 kilometers separates Valparaíso from Medellín, a less than a two hour trip. Rivers such as El Volcán and El Pescado, and the Museum-house of Rafael Uribe Uribe, Colombian general and politician native of this municipality and assassinated at the beginning of the XX century, one should visit.
Other departure which parts from the Coffee Road is the one that lead up Concordia, Salgar, Urrao, and Ciudad Bolivar. This last one is settled in between two mountains and it is cut through by a long avenue that separates the park in two. This is the obligated route for travelers that are going to the department of Chocó. Its coffee farms and bathing places are rural destinies which tourists prefer.
Two hours and a half from Medellín, in the western margin of the San Juan River, where one finds Hispania, municipality with a stone road named Lineal Park which takes you to Pedral River, famous for its natural pools and balconies.
Ten minutes from Hispania, there is a deviation towards Betania, where one may see the Citará Cliff, (it can be seen from Ciudad Bolivar and Andes from a side), which serve as a natural border between Antioquia and Chocó. It is an immense striking image that, in the mountains, the sun hits it when it rebounds from the rocks on the high peaks in the hills of San Nicolás, El Colón, and El de la Teta.
From Hispania you arrive to Andes, the most prosperous municipality in the Southeast in economic matter, with immediacy bathing places in the Tapartó River. Jardín is its neighbor, the biggest growing touristic destiny in the last lustrums. It has mild weather with some cold places; this place has wonderful architecture that made it possible for its church and Main Park to be declared national monuments in 1982.
Traditional sweets, antique homes, balconies, and walls full of flowers are a common denominator in Jardín. Its monumental gothic style church mixes together with muleteering paths, pulleys, sugar cane mills, and trout nesting. Its stone plaza, coffee shops, and restaurants with outdoor chairs and tables are ready to serve visitors.
The Southwest is full of surprises on its frame of mountains and cliffs, Cauca River canyon, and all its thermal grounds. There are so many options to see that one should not rush the stride. The Coffee Route has its rhythm, color. Visitor should only enjoy.

This subregion has the following internal route:

*The Coffee and Coal Route.
*The Coffee Route.
*The Muleteering Route.