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Route:
Technical Characteristics:
Route Profile: Medium. You will be hiking on a trail with continuous line and balanced ascent. The terrain is partially steep, fall hazard is possible. Some sure footedness and experience with hilly terrain would be of benefit.
Total Distance: 46 km
Travel Season: Any date on request from January 2 to December 31, 2023
The Lost City trek closes once a year for a period of a month, usually around the beginning of September. This is due to Indigenous religious ceremonies.
*Group rates available for this tour. As this is a guided tour, the pricing improves with more people participating. Please ask us for details
Accommodation:
3* hotel and oversized hammocks
La Ciudad Perdida of the Tayronas, known in English as The Lost City, is one of the best restored and preserved archeological sites in the country. It is located in the Buritaca Valley in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, the highest costal range in the world. There are only two ways to visit the citadel; one is trekking or the other is a helicopter flight. The trek implies not only a challenge, but also an additional experience that enriches the trip. The trek to the Lost City is an adventure in itself with its beautiful and varied landscapes, fauna and flora. Trekking in a tropical rain forest is hot and with high levels of humidity, which can be challenging for some. One of the main rewards of this program is getting an insight into the traditional way of living of the indigenous groups of the Sierra.
Itineraries
Day 1
Arrival in Santa Marta
Upon arrival in Santa Marta, transfer (30 to 45 minutes) to a centrally located hotel. In the evening, briefing and preparations for the coming trek to the Lost City. Night in hotel.
Day 2
Lost City – Trekking: “Donde Adan” lodge (480 m) 8.9 km + 490 m - 160 m Highest altitude: 640 m
Morning pick up at hotel and transfer, in 4WD cars, driving northeastwards along the Caribbean coast. After one to one and a half hours, we leave the paved road and here the adventure begins! After about a one hour drive on a dirt road, through a beautiful landscape, the village of “El Mamey” (150 m) also called “Machete Pelado” appears. Lunch will be served upon arrival and then the hike to “Ciudad Perdida” starts. This day’s hike is exposed to the sun or the rain, therefore it is important to have a good amount of water and sunscreen. Tropical fruit will be offered along the trek. The group will take the river trail, which is a more pleasant walk than the main road. This trail follows the “Quebrada del Alto Mamey” river valley for about one hour and then ascends steeply (1.5 hours) to “El Mirador” pass (640 m) that has a great view down to the Mamey town and the Buritaca River. From this point, a constant descent (1.5 hours) to the “Quebrada Honduras” River, where the “Donde Adan’s” lodge is located. It is possible to take a swim in a beautiful natural river pool at the lodge. Dinner will be served in this rustic lodge.
Day 3
Trekking: “El Paraiso” lodge (870 m) 13.6 km To Mumake pass: + 200 m - 250 m Highest altitude: 680 m To Koskunguena pass: + 394 m To Buritaca River: -77 m To “El Paraiso” Lodge: + 127 m Highest altitude: 824 m
This is a longest day on the program. After an early breakfast, the ascent begins right away taking a well-marked trail that gently gains altitude up
to “Mumake” pass (680 m). Before the pass, there is the invisible border between “Colonos” lands (Peasants not originally from the area) and the “Kogi’s” Indigenous territory. From now on, the trek will be done in an
area protected and ruled by this tribe. There are also “Wiwa’s” Indians,
originally from another sector of the Sierra, who had settled in these
valleys and now are running some of the lodges. It is also noticeably the
change from extensive farmland into a better preserved and much less exploded area. From the mountain pass, there is a relative quick descent to the “Buritaca” River Valley (430 m), where the only Kogi settlement on the trek is placed. This settlement is called: “Montangi” and is a perfect spot to get a glimpse into the local lifestyle and traditions. After about
one hour, a river crossing over a hanging bridge leads to a second ascent (two hours) up to “Koskunguena” pass (824 m) and then back down to the “Buritaca” River (743 m) for a last crossing. The last part of the day is an almost flat area up to “El Paraiso” rustic lodge (870 m), the place for the night. This lodge is just by the shores of the “Buritaca” River, a fantastic place to relax and swim.
Day 4
Trekking: Lost City (1175 m) 1.9 km one way To Lost City: + 305 - 305 m / Highest altitude: 1175 m Activity duration: 5 including a 3 hours visit. 7.5 km one way To Koskunguena pass: + 77 m To “Mumake” lodge: - 481 m / Highest altitude: 870 m
Very early departure taking the trail on the right margin of the Buritaca River for about 25 minutes up to a crossing, once on the other margin,
the archaeological stairway begins ascending rather steeply all the way
to the first terraces of the Lost City (1175 m). From here begins a journey through time, to one of the most interesting archaeological sites of Colombia’s pre-Hispanic period. The Lost City of the Tayrona is known worldwide. Its original Indigenous name is “Teyuna” and is one of the
three large citadels of vanished Tayrona civilization. Teyuna is the only city that has been discovered until now and thus partially restored. Tayrona’s cities were connected by a complex network of trails, from the Caribbean coastal area to the high mountain in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. The Tayrona had a well-developed social organization and an effective system of products and goods exchange between the different settlements. Although there is no precise information of the role of Teyuna in the Tayrona culture, it is believed that it was a place for religious worship and center of political power. During the course of a four hour visit to the archaeological complex, the group will learn about the different types of terraces and how the city was divided into areas according to hierarchy and types of work. During the visit, it is possible to see the home of a Kogi Mamo (shaman wise person) who lives in the same traditional way, as it is thought the inhabitants did. It is also believed that the Kogis are descendants from the Tayronas, pushed to the higher lands during the Spanish conquest. After the visit, hike down to “El Paraiso” lodge to have some lunch and then continue (four and a half hours), back on the same trail as the day before, but this time a bit further out, crossing the hanging bridge and down the Buritaca River Valley, passing once again the “Montangi” Kogi settlement to “Mumake” lodge (389 m), just at the foot of the “Mumake” pass.
Day 5
Trekking: El Mamey (150 m) – Santa Marta 14.2 km To Mumake pass: + 291 m To “Donde Adan” lodge: - 200 m To El Mirador pass: + 160 m - 490 m / Highest altitude: 680 m
Last trekking day! From “Mumake” lodge (389 m), the ascent being right from the front step, leading up to “Mumake” pass (680 m) and after descending to “Quebrada Honduras” River to ascent (1.5 hours) to the last pass: “El Mirador” (640 m) and then to the final destination “El Mamey” town (150 m). Upon arrival there will be lunch and then a transfer to hotel in Santa Marta (2-2.5 hours).
Day 6
Departure from Santa Marta
Pick up at the hotel and transfer to Santa Marta’s airport (30 to 45 minutes). End of services.
Prices
Included:
- Shared international or private group according the chosen program
- Local Spanish speaking guide trekking guide
- Transfers from airport to hotel and back in Santa Marta
- 2 nights in shared double rooms in the City of Santa Marta
- Shared transport to and from head of trail for both shared and private groups
- Hammocks or mattresses for the Lost City trek (mattresses according to availability)
- Entries to the Lost City
- Cook for campsite
- Meals as specified in the itinerary (5 breakfasts, 4 lunches and 3 dinners)
Not Included:
- Domestic and international flights
- Meals not mentioned in the program
- Alcoholic and soft drinks
- Personal expenses
- Tips
- Everything not mentioned in the “Included” list
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