Cheeses of Guamo, Tolima
A town in Colombia's Tolima known for quesillo, a soft double-cream cheese wrapped in leaves.
Made, aged and sold here
Best time: December to March and July to August, the drier months.
Guamo is a town in the warm valley of the Magdalena river in Tolima, central Colombia. It is the place most associated with Colombian quesillo, a soft, slightly stretchy cheese wrapped in plantain or bijao leaves. The cheese is sold along the roads of Tolima and eaten with achiras, the crisp cheese biscuits of the region, and with the local tamales.
Quesillo
Colombian quesillo is a double-cream cheese: cow's milk curd is soured, heated and kneaded until it stretches, then folded into flat rounds and wrapped in leaves, which keep it moist and add a faint green aroma. It is mild and milky. Tolima's quesillo is now made commercially in other dairy regions too, but Guamo is still the name tied to it.
Tolima's table
Tolima is known for lechona, a whole roast pig stuffed with rice and peas, and for tamal tolimense, wrapped in leaves. Breakfast or an afternoon snack often brings quesillo with arepas, achiras or hot chocolate. The Magdalena valley around Guamo is hot, flat farmland of rice, cattle and cotton, with the Andes rising on either side.
A trail idea for Guamo, Tolima
- Guamo roadside stalls Buy leaf-wrapped quesillo from local vendors.
- A Tolima bakery Taste achiras and cheese biscuits with coffee.
- Ibagué The city of music, Tolima's capital.
- Magdalena valley Drive through the rice and cattle country.
Written by the EveryCheese desk with AI assistance. Background: "Guamo" on Wikipedia. Opening hours, markets, caves and tours change; check locally before travelling. If something is wrong, tell us.
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