Jericó and Jardín are two (colorfully painted) peas in the same pod. Both are fiercely traditional Paisa pueblos, and they won’t change for anybody. Although it is the closer of the two to Medellín, Jericó feels more remote, and less visited, and therein lies its charm.
Set on a gentle slope of a mountain overlooking a valley dotted with cattle ranches and farms of coffee, tomato, plantain, and cardamom, Jericó still is very much a Paisa cowboy outpost. Colombians know Jericó for two very different reasons. The first is its unique handicraft, the carriel, a shoulder bag made out of leather and cowhide that is a symbol of Paisa cowboy culture. The second is its homegrown saint, Laura Montoya, who was canonized in 2013.
The colorful Paisa town of Jericó. Photo © Flaperval/123rf.
Jericó is a pleasant place to hang one’s (cowboy) hat for a night, and its sleepy streets lined with brightly colored wooden balconies and doors are a playground for shutterbugs.
On the same street is a sweets store, Delicias del Cardamomo (Cra. 5 No. 2-128, tel. 4/852-5289, 9am-6pm daily) that sells cardamom candies, cardamom cookies, and plain old cardamom seeds. Cardamom is a relatively important crop in Jericó.
Excerpted from the First Edition of Moon Colombia.
