Colombia's Lost City: the Teyuna Trek and the Caribbean Coast

1. Day 1: Arrive in Santa Marta, the trek briefing

   Simón Bolívar International Airport (SMR) to your hotel in Santa Marta's historic centre

   • Drive about 30 min
   • Dinner
   • Stay in Santa Marta
   Day 1 details

   Fly into Simón Bolívar International Airport (SMR), beside the sea about 16 km south of Santa Marta, and our driver takes you to a hotel in the historic centre, about half an hour away. Most flights from Canada and the United States connect through Bogotá or another Colombian airport, so aim to land by about 3 pm. At 5 pm your See Sight Tours guide and the trek leader from our licensed operator meet the group for a proper briefing: what goes in the small bag you carry for four days, what stays in the hotel's luggage room, how the camps work, what to wear for the river crossings and how the days are paced in the heat. Then a short walk at dusk along the bay promenade to the whitewashed cathedral and the Parque de los Novios. Santa Marta, founded in 1525, is one of the oldest Spanish-founded cities in South America. Dinner together is a welcome meal of coastal food: fried fish, coconut rice and patacones. An early night helps: the 4x4s leave at 8 am.

   Included

   • Pick-up at Simón Bolívar International Airport (SMR)
   • Trek briefing with your guide and the trek leader
   • Dusk walk on the bay promenade
   • Welcome dinner

   Free time: Free until the 5 pm briefing

   Activity: Pack your trek bag tonight; the main luggage stays at the hotel until day 5.

   

2. Day 2: Into the Sierra Nevada: the first camp

   Santa Marta to El Mamey (Machete Pelao) by 4x4, then on foot to the first camp

   • Drive about 2.5 h
   • Breakfast, lunch and dinner
   • Stay in First trek camp
   Day 2 details

   At 8 am we leave in the operator's 4x4s east along the coast road, then turn inland at El Mamey, also called Machete Pelao, and climb a rough dirt road into the foothills of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, about two and a half hours in all. Lunch is at the trailhead, and we start walking at around noon. The first afternoon is about 8 km and 4 hours: a long, steep climb on a red-earth track between cattle pasture and patches of forest, with stalls selling cold watermelon and oranges at shady bends, then a descent into the Buritaca valley. This is the hottest part of the day, often above 30°C and humid, so we go slowly and stop often to drink. The operator's local guides lead, and your See Sight Tours guide walks with the group the whole way. Camp is a simple shelter near the river with bunks or hammocks under mosquito nets and shared cold showers, and there is a swimming hole for tired legs before dinner.

   Included

   • 4x4 to the trailhead at El Mamey (Machete Pelao)
   • Lunch at the trailhead
   • Trek day 1 with the licensed operator's guides, about 8 km
   • River swim at camp
   • Dinner in camp

   Easier option: Send part of your load ahead by mule, arranged and paid locally.

   Free time: Late afternoon at camp and by the river

   Activity: About 8 km and 4 hours on foot, with a long, steep climb in the heat of the afternoon. Bring at least 2 litres of water; it can be refilled with treated water at camp.

3. Day 3: Kogi land and the Buritaca river

   First camp to the camp below Teyuna, on foot

   • Breakfast, lunch and dinner
   • Stay in Camp below Teyuna
   Day 3 details

   Breakfast is at about 6 am, because the cool morning is the best walking of the day. Today is the longest stretch, about 14 km and 6 to 7 hours, up and down forested ridges with views back over the green valleys of the Sierra Nevada. The trail passes Kogi land, including the village of Mutanyi, with its round thatched houses; families here live by their own rules, so ask the guide before you take any photo and never enter a house uninvited. Lunch is at a camp about halfway. In the afternoon the trail follows the Buritaca river, crossing it and its side streams on foot several times. In the dry season most crossings are knee-deep; after rain they can reach the waist, and the guides string ropes where the water runs fast. Change into sandals for the crossings or accept wet boots. We sleep at the camp closest to the Lost City, about a kilometre below it, so we can reach the site early tomorrow. Dinner is together, and most people are asleep by nine.

   Included

   • Trek day 2 with the licensed operator's guides, about 14 km
   • Kogi land and the village of Mutanyi with an Indigenous guide where the community allows
   • River crossings of the Buritaca with the guides
   • Lunch and dinner on the trail

   Easier option: Send your bag ahead by mule, arranged and paid locally, and walk with only water and a rain layer.

   Free time: Late afternoon at camp

   Activity: About 14 km and 6 to 7 hours on foot, with several river crossings. Carry sandals or water shoes and a dry bag for your phone.

4. Day 4: Teyuna, the Lost City

   Camp below Teyuna up to the Lost City, back to camp for lunch, then down the valley to the return camp

   • Breakfast, lunch and dinner
   • Stay in Return trek camp
   Day 4 details

   We leave camp at about 5:30 am, cross the Buritaca once more and climb the stone stairway into the Lost City, about 1,200 steps through the forest. The steps are narrow, uneven and slippery when wet, so take them at your own pace. Teyuna was built by the ancestors of today's Kogi, Arhuaco, Wiwa and Kankuamo peoples from around the 9th century, some 650 years before Machu Picchu, and outsiders learned of it only when looters found it in 1972. More than 160 stone terraces, linked by paths and stairways, step up a ridge at about 1,200 m. Arriving early means cooler air and fewer people. The guides explain what the terraces held and what the site means to the peoples who still treat it as sacred; we follow their lead on where we may walk. After about three hours at the site we walk back down to camp for lunch, then about 8 km and 3 to 4 hours down the valley to the return camp, with a swim in the river before dinner.

   Included

   • Teyuna (Ciudad Perdida) archaeological park entry and community fees
   • About 3 hours at the Lost City with the operator's guides and your guide
   • Trek day 3, about 10 km in all
   • River swim at camp
   • Lunch and dinner on the trail

   Easier option: Stay on the lower terraces and rest while others climb to the upper platforms; send your bag down by mule for the afternoon walk.

   More active option: Climb to the highest terraces for the view back over the site and the valley, where the guides allow it.

   Free time: Late afternoon at camp

   Activity: About 1,200 uneven stone steps up and down, then about 8 km and 3 to 4 hours downhill in the heat. The earliest start of the trip, for the site's cooler hours; every trek day begins with breakfast at about 6 am.

   

5. Day 5: Out of the hills, sunset at El Rodadero

   Return camp to El Mamey (Machete Pelao) on foot, 4x4 to Santa Marta, then El Rodadero

   • Drive about 3 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Santa Marta
   Day 5 details

   An early breakfast, then the last stretch, about 15 km and 5 to 6 hours, back along the valley and over the ridge we climbed on the first day. Much of it is downhill on steep red-earth sections that turn slippery after rain, so poles help. Lunch is at the trailhead in Machete Pelao, a farewell to the trek team, and then the 4x4s take us back to Santa Marta, arriving at about 4 pm. Hot showers, clean clothes and your main luggage are waiting at the hotel, and most hotels in the centre offer same-day laundry. At about 5:30 pm the van runs anyone who wants it 15 minutes south to El Rodadero, Santa Marta's beach district, where the bay is calm enough to float in as the sun goes down and families crowd the sand with plastic chairs and coolers. It is the easiest swim of the trip, and the best place to feel what four days on foot did to your legs. Dinner is your choice tonight; your guide has suggestions near the hotel.

   Included

   • Trek day 4 with the licensed operator's guides, about 15 km
   • Lunch at the trailhead
   • 4x4 back to Santa Marta
   • Sunset swim at El Rodadero beach, with the van

   Easier option: Hire a mule for part of the walk out, arranged and paid locally; skip El Rodadero and rest at the hotel.

   Free time: Evening and dinner free in Santa Marta

   Activity: About 15 km and 5 to 6 hours on foot, mostly downhill, then about 2.5 hours by 4x4.

   

6. Day 6: The Tairona Gold Museum and east to Palomino

   Santa Marta to the Tairona Gold Museum, then along the coast road to Palomino

   • Drive about 2 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Palomino
   Day 6 details

   A slow morning, with no alarm. At 10 am we walk to the Tairona Gold Museum in the old customs house on the bay, free to enter, where the gold pendants, nose ornaments and figures made by the people who built Teyuna make far more sense now that you have climbed their stairs. Your guide takes you through it in about an hour. Then it is about 80 km and an hour and three-quarters east along the coast road, past the turn for the trailhead at El Mamey and the edge of Tayrona National Park, to Palomino, a village where the Palomino river comes down from the Sierra Nevada to the sea. We stay two nights at a small hotel or lodge near the beach. Lunch together is a sit-down meal in the village, usually fresh fish and coconut rice. The afternoon is for doing nothing at all: a hammock, the sand, or the calm river mouth. The open sea here has strong currents, so swim only where your guide says. Dinner is your choice.

   Included

   • Tairona Gold Museum with your guide
   • Drive along the coast to Palomino
   • Sit-down lunch in Palomino

   Free time: Afternoon and evening free in Palomino

   Activity: Swim only in the river mouth or where your guide says; the open sea at Palomino has strong currents.

7. Day 7: Palomino: down the river to the sea

   Palomino, inland on foot, then by inner tube down the Palomino river to the beach

   • By boat
   • Breakfast and dinner
   • Stay in Palomino
   Day 7 details

   After breakfast, at about 9:30 am, we walk 30 to 40 minutes inland on a farm track through forest and plantations, then sit in inner tubes and float down the Palomino river back to the sea, roughly an hour, with the forested foothills of the Sierra Nevada behind and herons and kingfishers on the banks. In the dry season the river is slow and shallow, sometimes too shallow in places, when we walk a section; life jackets are provided and the local tubing guides float with the group. If your legs have had enough walking, ride a motorbike taxi to the put-in instead, or skip the float and stay in a hammock. The rest of the day is free. For anyone who wants more, a day in Tayrona National Park, about an hour west, can be arranged at extra cost, with the price shown when you book; our Caribbean coast trip gives the park a full day. In the evening the group meets for a farewell dinner, with a toast to the trek and the people who walked it with us.

   Included

   • Palomino river float in inner tubes with local guides and life jackets
   • Farewell dinner

   Optional experiences

   • A day in Tayrona National Park, at extra cost (price shown when you book), arranged on request

   Easier option: Ride a motorbike taxi to the put-in, paid locally, or skip the float for a hammock day.

   More active option: Walk further upstream with the tubing guides for a longer float, where the river allows.

   Free time: Afternoon free in Palomino

   Activity: A 30 to 40 minute walk, then about an hour on the water. Bring swimwear, sandals and a dry bag.

8. Day 8: A last swim, then home

   Palomino to Simón Bolívar International Airport (SMR), Santa Marta

   • Drive about 2 h
   • Breakfast
   Day 8 details

   The last morning is unhurried: a slow breakfast, a final swim in the river mouth, a walk along the beach, then packing. At about 10 am our driver takes you west along the coast road, past the Tayrona park and around Santa Marta, to Simón Bolívar International Airport (SMR), about 85 km and two hours, and your guide sees you to check-in. Flights from Santa Marta to Canada and the United States usually connect through Bogotá or another Colombian airport, so confirm the routing when you book, choose a flight leaving after about 1:30 pm and allow time for the connection. If you would like more time on the coast, ask us when you book: our Caribbean coast trip, from Cartagena to Santa Marta's airport, ends where this one starts, so you can do it first and run the two back to back for 16 days. Extra nights in Santa Marta or Palomino can also be added.

   Included

   • Drop-off at Simón Bolívar International Airport (SMR), Santa Marta

   Free time: Morning free in Palomino

   Activity: Book a flight leaving Santa Marta after about 1:30 pm.

Wildlife and weather: December to March is the dry season on Colombia's Caribbean coast and in the lower Sierra Nevada: hot, humid days around 30°C on the trail, cooler nights at the camps, and the lowest river levels of the year. Showers still happen in the forest, which turns the red-earth sections slippery. On the trail look for blue morpho butterflies, toucans and the leaf-cutter ants that cross the paths in lines; Palomino's river banks have herons and kingfishers.

• Santa Marta1 night
• First trek camp1 night
• Camp below Teyuna1 night
• Return trek camp1 night
• Santa Marta1 night
• Palomino2 nights