The best Tourist sites in Santa Marta, are a perfect combination between nature and culture, where we find first of all the best beaches in the Tayrona National Park, crystal clear rivers, beautiful waterfalls and tourist sites that are born in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, in addition to finding communities and indigenous peoples descendants of the Tayronas, ecological hiking trails, wonderful viewpoints, endemic bird watching, typical Colombian Caribbean cuisine, among many other attractions that are also very important for travel and tourism. tourism in Santa Marta.
There are many tourist places to visit in Colombia, but undoubtedly the city of Santa Marta brings together cultural attractions and magical destinations in terms of Ecotourism, Rural Tourism, Indigenous Tourism, Ethnotourism, Adventure Tourism, Sun and Beach Tourism.
Here are the top 10 tourist sites in Santa Marta that you have to visit
GOTSEZHY REFUGE
This ethnic destination is ideal to learn a little more about the Native Cultures of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta and how the Wiwa manage Indigenous Tourism, these activities are typical of Ethnotourism in Colombia.
El Refugio Gotsezhy is located in the village of El Encanto, Guachaca, a trip to this indigenous Wiwa community is made, travelers can come alone or in groups to live a unique experience in a unique place. Wiwa Indigenous Community, during the tour you will learn about the native cultures of the Sierra, beliefs, customs, values and sustainable knowledge systems that articulate the life of the Wiwa Indians of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta and the balance they maintain with nature.
You will learn in detail how the indigenous people maintain sustainable customs with the environment, learn how they work their weavings based on the MAGUEY, this native plant of America that is used for the production of various products such as: handles, backpacks, key chains, and hammocks.
The Gotsezhy Refuge, is a small indigenous Wiwa village embedded in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta at 150 meters above sea level that is home to approximately 50 Wiwa families, the region is crossed by a river that bears the name of the village “El encanto”. It is considered a cultural, educational, administrative and political center of the Wiwa people of the department of Magdalena.
How to get here? To get to this community, you must contact our travel agency Wiwa Tours and book one of our options:
LOST CITY TAYRONA
This destination for me is the best tourist site of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, this ancestral city was built approximately in the year 650 AD and its population ranged between 1500 and 2000 Tayrona Indians, who occupied this territory for approximately 500 years, until the time of the Spanish conquest, a cultural event that triggered the extinction and mass eradication of this ancestral indigenous community.
First, the Lost City of Teyuna is a sacred city for the indigenous people and therefore has a special and mystical energy that makes this place a magnificent place to purify the spirit and recharge clean vital energies that help us to renew our being, in the same way through an adventure tour, and by the hand of our Indigenous Guides, you can visit this magical place in an expedition whose duration can be 4 days, 5 days or 6 days, depending on your choice and the difficulty of the Lost City Trek.
During the tour that will take you to Lost City We will oscillate between 900 and 1200 meters above sea level on the northern slope, you will be able to appreciate the marvelous richness of the flora and fauna of this region. Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta and thanks to the extensive knowledge of our Indigenous Guides who preserve their traditions and are bearers of millenary knowledge, you will be able to observe and appreciate nature and your environment differently.
This trekking has three options, 4, 5 or 6 days of travel, in which you must walk about 8 to 10 hours a day, so it is always recommended to prepare a little in the physical aspect and be open to the expectation that the tour is a personal challenge, where the greatest satisfaction is to be in this ancient city and of course, take the best panoramic photos of these ancient archaeological ruins.
How to get there? You must arrive in the city of Santa Marta and go to our main office of Wiwa Tour and manage your reservation, remember that you can reserve your space 24 hours in advance.
We also have the option to book online through our website, you will find our catalog of activities: Tours, Hiking, Trekking and Excursions with Indigenous Guides.
TAYRONA PARK
The Tayrona National Park is one of the most visited destinations in Colombia in terms of National Parks and Beaches. It is one of the most preserved natural reserves, biodiversity in fauna and flora, you will see my titis monkeys, crabs on the ground and the best beaches of Santa Marta.
There is the option of entering and leaving in the afternoon or spending the night in Cabo San Juan del Guía, Arrecifes or Playa Cristal, where there are lodging services in tents or hammocks, restaurants and cabins.
In the year (2022), spending a night in a hammock will cost $10 USD per person, a 2-person tent will cost $30 USD and lunches will average $8 USD per plate.
How to get there? To get there is super easy, tell the cab driver to take you to the public market in Santa Marta where the buses leave for the Tayrona Park, I recommend leaving very early to take advantage of the day.
From Santa Marta to the main entrance of the park (El Zaino) it is about 1 hour to where the bus drops you off, you have to pay the entrance fee to the park, when you enter you can start walking in an hour and a half to Cabo San Juan.
MINCA
Lately, with the paving of the road to Minca, it has become very important for Samarians and tourists who visit this tourist destination.
The corregimiento of Minca is a rural village nestled in the foothills of the la Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, here you can find the river, waterfalls, natural pools, viewpoints overlooking the city of Santa Marta and the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, coffee farms where tourist activities such as the coffee tour take place.
How to get there? There are several ways, the easiest is to take a cab and ask for a ride to Minca, the time it takes is 40 minutes to an hour. The other possibility is that you can go to the public market in Santa Marta, tell the cab to take you to where the cars leave for Minca. And as a last option is to go to Yucal, you can also tell the cab driver to take you to Yucal where the motorcycles that go to Minca are, it is economical by motorcycle, but it is up to you to compare the options and make the decision.
When you arrive in Minca, you will find many options, it is a matter of finding out where you want to go in advance, I think the fact of going to Minca, you should not deprive yourself to visit the Marinka Waterfall and Pozo Azul, Minca motorcycles can take you there, or you can walk about 30 minutes. Also if you are going to need accommodation, I recommend 2 special places to visit, Hostal Casa Elemento or Hostal Sierra Minca, the latter is a very interesting project because it mixes permaculture and the ancestral practices of the indigenous and peasant peoples of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta.
LA TAGUA
La Tagua, is a new destination in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta that Wiwa Tours is operating with indigenous guides from this year 2022, this tourist destination is located 50 minutes from the village of Minca and 2 hours from the city of Santa Marta.
There you can see several Indians and peasants working for their village and a coat of arms of Colombia, perhaps the largest in the country. From there you can see Barranquilla and Ciénaga Grande at night, if you love silence, nature and indigenous cultures, you should schedule your trip to this new destination.
How to get there? To visit this destination, you must book one of our Tagua Tours through our website.
OLD CITY TOUR, CONGO
This tour to the Ancient City, Congo is an adventurous journey through the foothills of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta to the archaeological ruins of the Tayrona Indians, very similar to those of the the Lost City Teyuna, It is an archaeological destination where millenary architecture has been found, consisting of housing terraces, stone roads and ceremonial sites.
TAYRONAKA
Taironaka, is a tourist complex located in the Don Diego River, this place was one of the indigenous cities where the Tayrona inhabited; the archaeological remains are there for the enjoyment of visitors through a mini-museum.
To walk along the stone paths, terraces, stairways and drains is to return to the past of this great culture. His pottery and lithic pieces can also be seen in the Tayronaka Museum.
In addition to the Tayrona culture exhibition and restaurant, this place offers ecological hiking, river activities (tubing) and interaction with the Koguis, descendants of the Tairona Indians.
TOUR ZANAÑI
Zanañi is an indigenous Wiwa village embedded in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta at 200 meters above sea level, home to approximately 50 Wiwa families. This indigenous community was formed with the purpose of strengthening identity, culture and territory through ancestral education.
CERRO KENNEDY
This destination is unique in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta and very few people know about it. To reach San Lorenzo, they ascend from sea level to reach about 3,000 meters above sea level in a couple of hours. The site is called Finca Santa Elena, the mountain is called Cerro Kennedy or Cerro Pankú in Wiwa name.
I recommend you to visit this tourist destination if you want a unique trip and most importantly, if you want to connect with nature, the melody of the birds, see the snow-capped peaks of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta and the magical sunrises.
PALOMINO TOUR
This destination is composed of several activities, the panoramic view of the snow-capped Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, the Palomino River, the lodging and the different options you can choose from. If you like to appreciate nature, beaches, hiking and love landscapes, Palomino is your next destination.
How to get there? To get there you do the same procedure to go to the Tayrona Park, you take the transport in the public market of Santa Marta only that you get off further ahead, the buses will indicate you when you get to Palomino.
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