Sugar Cane Museum and Hacienda La María

I was under the impression I had written a review but apparently, it didn't go through so I am doing it again. This was the most beautiful experience I could ever have, María is my mom's favorite book, so going to the Hacienda was one of the main reasons for visiting Cali. The level of professionalism, attention to detail, kindness, and knowledge the staff demonstrated during the tour was beyond expectation. For the hours we were together their passion for their city made us fall in love with Cali and just the joy they had to share their city with us was a delight. We felt safe and definitely in good hands, any change was discussed with us beforehand and they went out of their way to accommodate our needs while still following the program. Please do yourself a favor and book this tour, it's absolutely worth it!

This was so much fun. It was a lot more than I'd ever spent on any tourist attraction, but absolutely worth it. I was really surprised my tour wasn't canceled, because I was the only person who signed up that day. But it was absolutely like having two best friends show me around. It was easy to forget that traffic outside was so intense because the driver was such a pro. The guide was great - had a ton of trivia, knew the ins and outs of both sites (at the sugar cane museum --plantation-- it was self guided and not much signage, at Hacienda la Maria, there was an official tour and she was quietly translating for me). If I'm ever back in Cali, I'll definitely do one of their hiking tours.

We learned lots more about the early 1800's and the beginning of the sugar cane industry in Palmira. The German Jewish family James Martin Eter and the fusion of several cultures; indigenous Colombians, African slaves, and German Jews resulted in an unusually rich culinary, music, and dance culture here in Colombia. The grounds show a time line of production methods from strictly hand labor to highly mechanized and specific equipment used to plant, harvest, and process sugar cane. The grounds themselves are like an African village in many ways. Don't miss this Museum.

The two locations we visited was beautiful and our driver/tour guide Gabriel, was knowledgeable and friendly. The tour was just the two of us plus one other person, so it was almost a private tour. The lunch was just so-so, but part of the experience is trying Colombian food for the first time, so this is no way diminishes to quality of the tour.

We went on the Sugar Cane Museum tour with Gabriel and it was a very rich and educational cultural experience! Learning the stories about the families in the Valle's rich history with sugar cane farming definitely helped to paint a picture about how the agricultural business came to be what it is today. I have taken several tours from Gabriel and Valley Adventours and they have yet to disappoint me! The team is always great at communicating how / when / where they will pick us up and always arrive on time. Once the tour is underway, the staff is knowledgeable and can speak in both English and Spanish which helps as I am American by my girlfriend is Colombian.

Our expectations of the tour were exceeded. Not only did our guide know all about the history, but he could tell our little group quite a bit about fruits, trees and plants. We were accompanied by a second guide who was learning her trade and spoke perfect English so that she could jump in when we did not understand. The tour in the Hacienda “Maria” was given by a local guide who could easily be an actor. No chance for a good translation into English. But even without speaking Spanish you will enjoy. On the way back we had traditional food in a very nice quiet country place. I recommend the tour to anybody who wants to get out of the city for a day.

Excelentes lugares para visitar en el Valle del Cauca, básicamente imperdibles si quiere conocer la región. Excelente tour, confortable, guías excelentes, comida expectacular. Muy recomendado

Los sitios fueron increíbles, el restaurante bastante ameno, pero lo mejor fue nuestra guía Marcela y el conductor don Armando. Fue la experiencia completa, un tour lleno de historia, conocimiento y lo mejor, se nota que los colaboradores de Valley Adventours aman lo que hacen y lo transmiten. Recomiendo mil veces esta compañía y especialmente a Marcela.

Nous avons passé une excellente journée avec la guide Marcela et le chauffeur Armando, ils sont super sympathiques et sincères. Marcela connaît très bien son pays et nous apprend son histoire. Les habitations coloniales visitées sont très bien entretenues et leur patrimoine bien valorisé. Nous recommandons sans hésiter cette agence ainsi que cette excursion si vous voulez mieux connaître l histoire du département valle del cauca.

El sitio es hermoso, tranquilo, se puede hacer el recorrido con o sin guía, lastima que la vía de ingreso esté tan deteriorada, pero la experiencia vale la pena.