Santa Marta and Colombia’s Lost City

Bienvenidos a Colombia - Welcome to Colombia! Your tour here is about to begin. 

A transfer is included from Simón Bolívar International Airport, your local English-speaking guide will greet you before accompanying you to your first hotel. 

Overnight: Santa Marta
Accommodation: Hotel Bonita Bay, double rooms
Transfer: 1/2 hour from airport

You will be picked up from your hotel and transferred by car to Mamey (3 hours approx) after a short introduction at our office. Any large luggage or items you don't need on the trek can be left at the office. In Mamey, you will enjoy a light lunch before starting the 8 km walk. Halfway, you will stop at the Mirador (look-out) of the three crossings to enjoy some delicious tropical fruits before continuing to the first lodging "Adam" or "Alfredo", where you will spend the first night. A special treat awaits you here, as you will be able enjoy the natural pools that the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta offers. A refreshing end to a perfect day.

Overnight: Camp 1
Accommodation: Adam or Alfredo, traditional trekking camps. Bunk beds or hammocks are available with electricity, bathrooms, and showers. 
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Hike: 8 km, approx. 4 hours
Elevation: start 135 m / end 450 m
Car Transfer: 3 hours

Another day, another adventure! After breakfast, you will start your hike from the first camp to the second "Cabaña Wiwa" where you can enjoy a refreshing dip in the Buritaca River before lunch. After a brief rest, the adventure continues into the Sierra Nevada, bordering an indigenous village of the Kogui community called Mutanyi. The Kogui are a group of indigenous people that have been living in this area since before Colombia's existence, their unique way of life is visible from the traditional clothes they wear to the native language they speak. You will continue on until reaching the third camp "Paraíso Teyuna", where you will spend the second night. 

Overnight: Camp 3
Accommodation: Paraíso Teyuna, a traditional trekking camp. Bunk beds or hammocks are available, and facilities include bathrooms and showers and electricity powered by a generator (from 6 pm to 9 pm).
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Hike: 16 km, approx. 7-8 hours
Elevation: start 450 m / end 860 m

The day starts very early with a hearty breakfast and the 2 km ascent to the Lost City or "Ciudad Perdida". Whet your appetite with a 360° tour of this area now! You will climb 1,200 steps that lead to this majestic stone city, made up of intercommunicating roads, retaining walls, and terraces with rings where the houses of the ancient Tayrona rested. All of it is surrounded by a magical jungle of fauna and flora that gives you different views of landscapes in any weather. You will be greeted by the Mamo, a spiritual leader who lives at this site and is charged with the protection of Mother Nature and the old Tayrona empire, giving you the unique opportunity to interact with these ancient peoples (availability of the Mamo cannot always be guaranteed). After the tour of the ruins, you will descend again to the third camp "Paraíso Teyuna" for lunch and then return to the second camp "Cabaña Wiwa", where you will spend the night.

Overnight: Camp 2
Accommodation: Cabaña Wiwa, a traditional trekking camp. Bunk beds or hammocks are available, and facilities include bathrooms and showers (limited).
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Hike: 9 km, approx. 8 hours
Elevation: start 860 m / end 450 m

After breakfast, you will leave on a walk of approximately 2 hours to Camp Adam/Alfredo where you slept the first night. Once at the first camp, you will take a quick break and enjoy some fruit and water before continuing for another 4-5 hours hike all the way back to Mamey, where you will have lunch (not included) and board a 4x4 that will bring you to your accommodation for the night Finca La Jorará. This beautiful eco-hotel is a refuge for anyone looking for peace and relaxation while surrounded by nature.

Overnight: Just outside Tayrona National Park
Accommodation: Eco-Hotel Finca La Jorará, double rooms
Meals: Breakfast, lunch
Hike: 13 km, approx. 7 hours
Elevation: start 450 m / end 135 m

What better way to celebrate a few days of difficult hiking than with a rest day! The Don Diego River is just the thing to revive your tired legs and immerse you in nature once more. First, you will enjoy a quick 15-minute walk before you jump into the refreshing river. You'll spend the remainder of your time here tubing downstream surrounded by the sights and smells of the Sierra Nevada National Park. As you drift downstream, you will see howler monkeys, a great variety of birds, butterflies, and even snowy peaks! Upon arrival at the mouth of the river, you will have the chance to explore a secret beach far removed from the normal tourist spots. Spend the rest of the day sunbathing, swimming, and enjoying the surroundings. 

Overnight: Just outside Tayrona National Park
Accommodation: Eco-Hotel Finca La Jorará, double rooms
Meals: Breakfast
Hike: Approx. 15 minutes

Today you are in for a special treat! You will have the unique opportunity to know the traditions, customs, and ancestral rites of Kogui indigenous community that lives in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. This meaningful experience will give you a unique perspective of the true value of this area for the local people. You can appreciate and enjoy lush green jungle full of birds, and wildlife and admire snowy peaks and crystalline rivers in tropical weather.

The day begins at 8:30 am, you will hike for about 2 hours (each way) along the Palomino River. Once you arrive at Seiviaka village, you will be welcomed with a refreshment and have exclusive entrance to the indigenous house of Mamo Agustin. This authentic experience is for those who want to immerse themselves fully in Colombia and her ancestral culture, those who wish to connect with the natives of the region and understand their myths and traditions. The Kogui, which translates to "jaguar", is unique among Latin America’s indigenous groups because the Spaniards never conquered them. They represent the most complete surviving civilization of pre-Colombian America. 

While you're here, remember to always be respectful to your hosts and to the natural environment - and we have an insider tip for you: The word “Anchica” will allow you to break the ice, strike up a conversation, and even get a smile from your hosts!

As the day comes to a closer, you can take a bath in the river and rest a bit on the beach.

You may choose to stay with the Kogui, along with your local English-speaking guide, in hammocks or return to your previous accommodation La Jorará (an additional 2-hour walk).

Overnight: Just outside Tayrona National Park
Accommodation: Eco-Hotel Finca La Jorará, double rooms
Meals: Breakfast, lunch
Hike: 4 hours

Today's activities depend on where you stayed the previous night. If you stay in hammocks with the Kogui community, you will enjoy your morning with them before walking back to Finca La Jorará (2 hours). 

If you decide to return to Finca La Jorará the day before, today can be used as a beach day, or we can arrange another hike, mountain biking, or even a gastronomic experience!

Overnight: Just outside Tayrona National Park
Accommodation: Eco-Hotel Finca La Jorará, double rooms
Meals: Breakfast

From the Cañaveral sector, you begin a walk through the tropical dry forest before arriving at the Arrecifes sector. Here, you will take a short break and refresh before continuing to Arenilla Beach, Piscina Beach, and Cabo San Juan, where you will have time to swim and enjoy the surroundings. At about 4 p.m. you will start the walk back to Cañaveral where the transfer car awaits you once more, and you return to the lovely La Jorará for another night.

Note: the roundtrip hikes up to Cabo last approx. 5 hours, but can be shortened to 2 or 3 hours by only visiting previous beaches. For guests who do not want or cannot manage this walk, we suggest spending the day at Playa Cañaveral. In this case, we can offer a short walk through the tropical forest (30-60 min) on the Trail Sendero 9 Piedras which also offers spectacular views of Playa Cañaveral.

About Tayrona National Park: The foothills of the Sierra Nevada of Santa Marta, the highest coastal mountain range in the world, dip their toes right into the sea, in which bays and coves of singular beauty are to be found. The sandy white beaches in this park are bordered on one side by tropical dry forests and on the other side by the crystal clear waters of the Caribbean Sea, making Tayrona Park one of the most beautiful in the country, if not the world. Here you can find a variety of trails that pass the rainforest and the dry forest, and have some amazing archaeological sites along the way.

The park normally closes in February and parts of June, October & November.

Overnight: Just outside Tayrona National Park
Accommodation: Eco-Hotel Finca La Jorará, double rooms
Meals: Breakfast
Hike: 2-5 hours
Elevation: start/end 
Car Transfer: 1 hour

Today you say goodbye to this beautiful area. Your local guide will pick you up at your hotel after breakfast (included) and will take you to the airport in Santa Marta (transfer time 1.5 hours).

We hope that you will have made many great memories and perhaps even want to come back to explore more of this magnificent country!