Balsaje on the Río La Vieja

A Willys jeep, the old coffee-country workhorse, brings you down to the river at Puerto Alejandría in rural Quimbaya, where the rafts wait on the bank. Each is lashed together from about 17 thick guadua bamboo canes, roughly nine metres long and two and a half wide, with wooden benches and room for 12 to 15 people. A boga stands at the back and steers with a long bamboo pole. The Quimbaya people used rafts like these to move people and food before the Spanish arrived.

The Río La Vieja flows slowly here, near the border with Valle del Cauca, deep in some stretches and shallow in others, and in several places the boga lets you swim in a life vest. Herons and parrots work the banks. Lunch is fiambre: rice, cassava, potato and chicken wrapped in leaves. Allow four or five hours on the water, and some trips add a short walk to a waterfall. Children must be at least four. Wear swimwear under your clothes and keep a dry set for the end.