Orilla Mansa
Norcasia, Caldas, Colombia
Waters from the heart of the Andes.
A four-room house on a hill above the Amaní reservoir. You come by road from Bogotá or Medellín; the waterfalls you reach only by water.
The place
Norcasia sits where the central Andes come down to the Magdalena valley, in the east of Caldas. The Amaní reservoir has held back the La Miel river since 2002: twelve square kilometres of still water between hills, 445 metres above the sea. The house is higher up, in the vereda, with its terrace turned to the water.
It is warm and humid all year, and almost four metres of rain fall. April and May are wet, and so are October and November; January and July are the driest months. On the slopes there is cacao and avocado; on the shore, boats.
- Water level
- 445 m
- Mean temperature
- 24.7 °C
- Rain in a year
- 3,886 mm
- Days with rain
- 143
- Driest months
- January and July
- The town
- 700 m, six thousand people
Four rooms
Each one is named for what you see from the bed. None has a television. All have a fan and a mosquito net, and every shower has a window.
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What you see from the terrace room The terrace room
Sleeps two
The bed faces the door and the door faces the water, far below. The hammock net hangs just outside, and the sun goes down on the left.
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What you see from the east room The east room
Sleeps two
Looks down the long arm of the reservoir towards the dam. The sun comes in at breakfast and is gone by ten.
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What you see from the hill room The hill room
Sleeps two
Faces the slope behind the house, where a field of young trees goes up the hill. The quietest room, and the coolest.
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What you see from the creek room The creek room
Sleeps four, in two beds
Opens onto the trees at the back. At night you hear the creek; in the morning, the birds before anyone is up.
A day
This was one in January, the driest month. In April and October it rains in the afternoon and the water comes up.
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Fog sits on the water at dawn. Coffee is on the terrace, watching it lift.
The hill from the terrace -
The boat leaves from the landing. The reservoir sits at 445 metres and the house higher up, so going down is part of the plan.
The bow, leaving -
The waterfall. The water comes down green and cold from the hills, and you swim.
One of the falls you reach by water -
Lunch at the house. Then nobody does anything; at that hour the heat decides.
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The net over the drop, feet in the air. If it rains, it rains: almost four metres of water fall here in a year.
The net on the terrace -
Down to the town. The lookout with the flags, the lights on, the reservoir already dark.
The lookout in Norcasia
On other days the boat goes further, up to the Moro river. Or nobody goes anywhere, and from the shore you sometimes hear howler monkeys.
Getting here
Norcasia is a small town in the east of Caldas, 45 km past La Dorada. The three roads meet there, and the last stretch runs along the reservoir.
- From Bogotá, 234 km
- Out on the Medellín highway through Villeta and Guaduas to Honda, then north on the Ruta del Sol to La Dorada. About five hours.
- From Medellín, 277 km
- The Medellín–Bogotá highway to the Ruta del Sol, then south past Puerto Boyacá to La Dorada. Five and a half hours.
- From Manizales, 214 or 262 km
- Over the mountains by Manzanares and Marquetalia, which is shorter and slower, or down to Mariquita and Honda and along the valley to La Dorada.
- By bus
- Coaches from Bogotá and Medellín stop in La Dorada. From there a minibus takes about two hours to Norcasia.
- The last twenty minutes
- Tell us how you are coming. A boatman meets you at the landing in town, or we send the directions to the vereda if you drive.
Ask for dates
Write with your dates and how many you are; we answer within a day. With four rooms we fill up on long weekends. Breakfast is included, and so is the boat down to the water on your first morning.
Check-in from two in the afternoon; check-out by eleven. Children are welcome in the creek room.