How to get to the Lost City Colombia?
how to get to the Lost City Colombia

Let’s start giving you a clear idea of how to get to the Lost City Colombia and how you can make this magical adventure trek among the many What to do in Santa Marta Colombia

First of all, do you know where the Lost City of Colombia is?
This ancient Tayrona indigenous civilization, which are now archaeological ruins, are located within the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta National Natural Park and can only be visited by trekking or hiking.

There is no doubt that the Lost City of Colombia is an archaeological tourist destination very similar to the ruins of Machu Picchu in Peru and that you must visit during your visit to Colombia.

It is that you do not always have the opportunity to make a excursion in the jungles of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta by the hand of native indigenous guides, mountain trails, mighty rivers and most importantly, to learn about the culture of the local people. indigenous communities of the Sierra Nevada of Santa Marta.


How to get to Lost City Colombia Santa Marta

The Lost City Tayrona, also known as the Teyuna Archaeological Park, represents archaeological ruins of an ancient indigenous civilization of many years ago, called the Tayrona Indians, a people from which four indigenous communities descend today: the Koguis, the Wiwas, the Arhuacos and the Kankuamos responsible for the sustainability and spiritual maintenance of all the ecosystems of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta.

We can affirm that the only way to connect with our ancestral destiny is by means of an excursion (hike or trek) through rainforest trails, mountain trails and river crossings.
The Trek to Lost City Colombia It is partly a journey through peasant territories and territories of native indigenous communities of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta.


What is the Best Travel Agency to go to the Lost City?

There are several agencies that offer the Lost City Tour Colombia, all of them operate with traditional tour guides except for Wiwa Tours, which is the only agency that operates with native indigenous guides, direct descendants of the ancient Tayrona people.
The Adventure Trek to the Lost City It is much more enjoyed by the hand of the native indigenous guides who will make you live a unique experience.
Indigenous guides are people who all their lives have traveled the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta and thanks to their culture, they have very important ancestral knowledge.


How to get to the Lost City Colombia, Tour Features

The Lost City Trek is divided or segmented by several campsites, strategically located throughout the trail.
As the adventurers advance in the Trek, they will spend the night in the camps, in addition to stocking up with water, eating and resting a little from the fatigue of the trek, in some of them you will have accommodation in cabins or in hammocks depending on the season.


Campsites available all along the trail to Lost City Santa Marta:

  • Vista Hermosa Cabin – 500 masl
  • Adam Cabin – 450 masl
  • Wiwa Cabin – 400 masl
  • Paso Lorenzo cabin – 820 masl
  • Paraíso Teyuna Cabin – 830 masl


The total distance from the beginning of the hike to the Lost City of Tayrona and back to Mamey is approximately 60 km.
As a recommendation, it is very important to warm up your muscles before starting any walk, since any tears or cramps during the tour would be a problem, causing your experience to be very unpleasant.


Remember that there is an additional service of transporting suitcases from camp to camp. A heavy suitcase is uncomfortable and somewhat hot when walking on steep trails, that’s why this local mule luggage transport service, so you can walk lightly on the trails without any weight affecting you.


How long does it take to get to the Lost City, how to get there?

Well you know how to get to the Lost City, now you should know that there are three options or ways to make this excursion with Indigenous Guides.

Lost City Trek Colombia 4 days
5 days tour to the Lost City Colombia
Hike to the Lost City Colombia 6 days


Firstly we will tell you that the difference between the 3 options of trekking to the Lost City, is that in the 5 and 6 days tours, you will visit a Wiwa Indigenous Community, called Gotsezhy.

Lost City Trek Packing List


How to go to the Lost City from Santa Marta

Day 1 – Beginning of the Adventure – Vista Hermosa Cabin – Peasant Territories of the Sierra Nevada of Santa Marta


During the first day, all travelers look forward to meeting the indigenous guide or guides who will take them into the jungles of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in search of the Lost City of Colombia.
Important information will be shared by the indigenous guide during the induction to the Lost City Trek, very early in the morning the tour starts at the Wiwa Tours main office and a van or 4×4 truck takes the adventurers to the Mamey (Peasant Territory).


After lunch the adventurers get ready to start the walk along an ecological path where they will find majestic landscapes full of vegetation typical of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta.


The indigenous guide takes advantage of any pause or rest in the Trek, to give directions and check the status of the hikers.


Practically the walk on this day is somewhat gentle compared to the following days, the journey runs through steep trails that cross the peasant territories of the region.
Hikers can take pictures of special places and natural settings full of life and vegetation.


After approximately 5 hours of hiking through rocky trails and some muddy sections, you will arrive at the first campsite, Vista Hermosa Cabin, where you can rest and have a cup of coffee or chocolate before going to bed.
As a recommendation before going to rest, be attentive to the guide’s instructions, he almost always informs travelers of the next day’s itinerary


Day 2 – In search of the Lost City Tayrona, Wiwa Cabin, Paso Lorenzo Cabin

On this day they must hydrate and eat very well, since they need extra energy for this long walk, during the journey the hikers will climb uncovered paths full of jungle and vegetation.
Well, the moment of truth has arrived, on this day the adventurers will have a lot of time to meditate as they advance with the walk, but do not worry, all this effort is worth it, I assure you.


When it is noon or earlier, everything depends on the rhythm of the group, the walkers begin to reach the Camp Wiwa, place where you rest a bit to have lunch and immediately continue with the Trek. In this Camp, travelers will have the option of knowing a very beautiful waterfall called Wiwa waterfall, a place where you can cool off and take a delicious bath.


Then after having lunch the adventurers continue with the walk, observing a more pronounced jungle and the weather begins to change, giving us a warning that the Lost City of Teyuna is near.
This section of the trail lasts approximately 4 hours and in my opinion it is the segment of the route that is most demanding since at this point the body begins to feel physical exhaustion, well the adventurers reach the Paso Lorenzo Camp and we start to feel a cold that tells us that we are very close to our goal.


In this Camp, travelers find accommodation and can enjoy a well-deserved rest.
Before going to bed the indigenous guide will give a very detailed talk about the Lost City Tayrona , its history and the sacred meaning for the native indigenous communities descendants of the ancient Tayrona.


Day 3 – The Lost City Tayrona, Archaeological Ruins of an Ancestral Indigenous Civilization

This day is one of the most important of the excursion, since all the hikers look forward to knowing the archaeological ruins of the Lost City .



The day begins very early and with a lot of motivation on the part of the travelers, the journey of approximately 1 hour of crossing through trails full of jungle begins until reaching the crossing of the Buritaca river .



When all the hikers have crossed the Buritaca river they will be able to see the first stone stairs of these ancient archaeological ruins, they go up 1,200 steps approximately to reach the first terraces of the Lost City Tayrona, in this place we wait for all the travelers in the group to be together to follow the protocol to enter the Archaeological Park.



The admission protocol by Wiwa Tours to the Lost City is a pagamento made by our indigenous guides, no agency has this ancestral ritual where all the members of the group make a small spiritual pagamento, getting rid of all the negative energies and asking permission to the ancestral Tayrona, since these are sacred territories.



On this day the adventurers will say “It was worth this personal challenge” to arrive on time to the highest terraces of Teyuna (1200 meters above sea level) and to be able to take the best photographs of the place, it is undoubtedly the best of the trip and if you are lucky you will be able to meet and interact with MAMO ROMUALDO (Spiritual leader of the Kogui culture), this person will help you see life from another point of view, since he will advise you to leave bad habits and negative energies and put your spiritual and material life in order.


You will know through the indigenous guide all the history of the Lost City Tayrona and the events that marked the life of one of the most important indigenous civilizations in Colombia.
The relationship that indigenous cultures have with Mother Nature is spectacular, as they protect the ecosystems and sustainability within the territories of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta at all costs.





After the internal tour of approximately 3 hours you will have an unforgettable feeling, you will see that the Lost City of Tayrona is more ancient and magical than you expected.



After the tour in the Lost City Tayrona, you will begin to descend by the stone stairs until you reach the Buritaca River, just after you arrive at the Paso Lorenzo Camp, where you will have lunch and almost immediately continue with the descent to the Wiwa camp, where you will spend the night.

Day 4 – Return to the city of Santa Marta, meeting again with civilization.


On this day the travelers only want to return to where it all started and rest, they will spend the last effort walking for almost 5 hours approximately through difficult trails, from Wiwa Camp until they reach the point where it all started, the Mamey.

If physical exhaustion overcomes you, you have the option of the mule that will allow you to descend comfortably until you reach the Mamey, this option is the one commonly taken by travelers who became ill or had an injury on the way.


Here at the mamey a delicious lunch will be waiting for you and the vehicle that will take you back to Santa Marta, therefore, it is here where the experience of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta we are finished, tired and happy, without a doubt the experience is gratifying and will leave a lesson in our hearts.

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