Nevado del Ruiz
It's possible to hike to the snowline at 5200m of this volcano. You can take a lechero to the park entrance Las Brisas, $58,000 for non-Columbians and from there walk all the way with a guide. There are also organized tours which take you to 4800m to hike only the last few hundred meters and visit a thermal afterwards. Alternatively, you may consider renting a car from $100,000 per day and drive up to the 4800m-point El Refugio and walk from there. The road is in a decent enough condition to allow Twingos and such-like to safely complete the tour. Do not forget to bring sunscreen and warm clothes.Reserva Ecológica Río Blanco
Permission is required to visit this cloudforest park. From the park entrance it is a 4 kilometer walk through the park to Fundación Ecológico Gabriel Arango Restrepo. It is possible to see 'Anteojos' bears there and hundreds of hummingbirds sipping sugarwater at the 'finca'. A few hundred meters further is a mirador with views over Manizales.Ecoparque los Yarumos
This is a rain forest. Los Yarumos offers several things such as, a walk along an ecological footpath and spectacular views of a forest reserve inside Manizales City. It is possible to see 26 species of birds and different types of flowers and trees. It is also possible to undertake extreme sports; rock scaling with a cave, canopy, aerial cable, rappel. As well, every day they have concerts outdoors, cinema functions, nice viewpoints of the city ,lecture rooms, environment library and natural history museum.Ecoparque los Alcázares
Chinchina -- This city is called the "Colombian coffee heart". It's possible to visit or stay at a coffee 'finca'. It's only 30 minutes by bus from Manizales
Villa Maria -- Known as the Colombian Garden due to the variety of its flowers and the fertility of its soil. The Roble Hill; this is a natural observatory, covered with pine trees and with nearby waterfalls that can be visited. It´s more or less 2 ½ hour walk through the forest until you reach the waterfalls.
