Risaralda Department · Colombia
Pereira travel guide
Pereira is a city in Risaralda Department, Colombia, home to about 591,000 people.
- Nearest airport
- PEI5 km · Matecaña International Airport
- Currency
- COPColombian peso
- Time zone
- America/Bogota
- Language
- Spanish
About
About Pereira
Pereira is the capital city of the Colombian department of Risaralda. It is located in the foothills of the Andes in a coffee-producing area of Colombia officially known as the "Coffee Axis".
Pereira is a beautiful university city with a population of 482,000 (2023). The city's motto is "Pereira con Vida".
Wikipedia and Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Things to do
What to see and do in Pereira
See
- La Pobreza
- Parque Olaya Herrera
- Alto del Nudo
- Plaza Bolivar and Ciudad Victoria
- Pereira Art Museum
- Cesar Gaviria Trujillo Viaduct
- Centro Cultural Lucy Tejada
- Universidad Tecnológica de Pereira Botanical Garden
- Parque El Lago
Do
- Bioparque Ukumari
- Parque Consotá
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
When to go
The best time to visit Pereira
Pereira has no month that is both mild and dry by the measure used here. February is the warmest month, with average highs of 27 °C; November is the wettest, with about 258 mm of rain.
Comfortable means average daytime high between 18 °C and 29 °C and under 80 mm of rain in the month. Averages for 1991–2020 over the surrounding area, a grid square about 50 km across, so a coast or a nearby mountain can make the town itself warmer or cooler. Data: CRU TS v4.10, Climatic Research Unit, University of East Anglia (Open Database License).
Getting there
Getting to Pereira: airports and arrival
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Matecaña International Airport (PEI), about 5.0 km from the city centre in a straight line; La Nubia Airport (MZL, 35 km) and El Eden Airport (AXM, 41 km) are also within reach.
Getting in
Matecaña International Airport (PEI), the largest and busiest airport in the region. Receives domestic flights of Avianca, LATAM, The low-cost Wingo, JetSMART, And ClicAir, Domestic non-stop flights go to Bogotá, Medellín (serves both airports: mainly to Olaya Herrera domestic airport, but also flights to Jose María Córdova - International Airport), Cartagena and San Andrés island. Matecaña International Airport features Wi-Fi access to the Internet from almost every location. Taxis are regulated, reasonably priced and safe from the airport. Taxis are metered.
Getting around
There is an extensive network of buses running around Pereira connecting most parts of the city. Costs are around COP$2,000. It runs 5 km along the main avenues, including numerous nearby neighborhoods (barrios) and surrounding barrios. Use caution when visiting lower-income barrios (as you should in any other city). Types of buses range from large buses to smaller vans, and Wilys jeeps are also available for side trips to outlying areas including local mountains and valley floors (prices vary depending on destination but generally are very cheap).
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
PEI · Matecaña International Airport
MZL · La Nubia Airport
AXM · El Eden Airport
Local knowledge
Eating, drinking and staying safe in Pereira
Eat
The traditional food comes from Antioquia, the region to northwest and famous for the city of Medellin. Lunch-time meals usually consist of a soup made from plantain (a variety of green bananas), followed by a plate of rice and selection of fried pork, beef, or chicken, with small cabbage salad in vinegar dressing, a natural juice drink made from mango, or if you are adventurous, try one of native fruit flavors, they are delicious but hard to pronounce, this will usually be followed by a coffee. Sometimes, you might be offered a dessert called mazamorra, which is corn and milk with local sugar cane, called 'panela'.
Stay safe
Be careful in some parts of Cuba and Villa Santana. They are colorful and lively but somehow risky. The water quality here is excellent (Pereira water is on the top 20 of best quality drinking waters in the world). It is very pure also it is possible to drink straight from the tap here (but not in all parts of Colombia is this true), so no need to purchase bottled water and taste is great!
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Questions
Pereira: questions travellers ask
When is the best time to visit Pereira?
Pereira has no month that is both mild and dry by the measure used here. February is the warmest month, with average highs of 27 °C; November is the wettest, with about 258 mm of rain.
Which airport is closest to Pereira?
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Matecaña International Airport (PEI), about 5.0 km from the city centre in a straight line; La Nubia Airport (MZL, 35 km) and El Eden Airport (AXM, 41 km) are also within reach.
What currency is used in Pereira?
Colombian peso (COP).
Nearby
Destinations near Pereira
Sources: city facts from Wikidata and Wikipedia; airports from OurAirports; climate from CRU TS v4.10 (University of East Anglia Climatic Research Unit), 1991–2020 monthly means, 0.5° grid; places to stay, guest scores and amenities from each operator's own public pages. How this guide is made.