Peru has Machu Pichu, Mexico has Teotihicuan, and Guatemala has Tikal.
For Colombia, it’s La Ciudad Perdida.
The ruins of “The Lost City” are perched on a steep mountainside deep within the Sierra Nevada mountain range near Santa Marta and the Caribbean coast. Getting there isn’t easy, requiring a 4-day hike through muggy, muddy rain forest.
Sounds like some serious Indiana Jones shit, right?
Just the sort of thing that I like to do. So that’s why I enthusiastically signed up for the experience when planning a trip to Colombia.
I strongly recommend visiting Colombia in general. The country has so much to enjoy and experience: vibrant cities, incredible mountain landscapes, Caribbean beaches, Amazon rainforest, beautiful and friendly people, history, great food, quality museums, etc.
LOST CITY TREK
But now that I’ve done the Lost City Trek, I’m afraid I wouldn’t recommend it.
While there were no doubt some memorable moments, overall the Lost City Trek was too crowded and too regimented for my liking. The tour groups collectively were pushing the limits of how many people they could bring in at one time. The over-crowded situation caused several issues, most importantly broken water purifiers.
Mules carry food and beverages to the nightly hiker camps.
Anyone who reads reviews about the Lost City Trek will notice many complaints about people getting sick from the drinking water provided at the camps. Sure enough, two people in our group got sick on the third day after unfiltered water was served in haste. We were the final group to leave camp and the filters weren’t able to keep up with dozens of hikers filling up water bottles. Our guides acknowledged that there was little doubt they were served tainted water.
Because I had read the reviews before the hike, I brought water-treatment pills and used them the whole trip. I recommend everyone who does this trip to do the same. The other option is to continuously purchase plastic water bottles at every shop along the way.
Another disappointing aspect of the trip was that our group saw NO wildlife in FOUR days in the rain forest. Not even an interesting bird, neat-looking insect, amphibian, or reptile.
Cuidad Perdida itself is impressive yet falls short of spectacular. If you’re in Colombia for 7 to 10 days, I just don’t think it’s worth spending four or five days doing this.
IT WASN’T ALL BAD
My group of 16 travelers was great. I was the only American and enjoyed making new friends during our four days together sharing this challenge. There were four Germans, two Argentinians, two Danes, two Austrians, two Canadians, one Mexican, and two Dutch. It was exactly the type of cultural exchange that I cherish while traveling.
Another highlight are the interactions with the local indigenous people that live there and descend from the Tayrona who are believed to have built the Lost City around 800 AD. The Wiwa and Kogi people use the same trails, many wearing their traditional all-white clothing and woven satchels. On two different occasions our group received short lessons from tribesmen about their way of life.
WHAT TO EXPECT
If you do choose to go, I have a few tips and suggestions.
First of all, it’s not easy: 40 miles of hiking over 72 hours. In conditions that include high humidity, heat, mud, steep climbs and descents, and mosquitos. So make sure you have good footwear and limit the amount of weight in your backpack.
It rains nearly every day even in the dry season, making it impossible to keep your clothes dry. Definitely bring a bag to keep wet clothes separate from dry, because nothing will dry out in the humidity once it’s wet.
Sleeping accommodations are bunk beds under open-air roofs. The mosquito nets are in good shape and the mattress pads are comfortable enough, just a little musty. I was happy that I brought a light-weight sleeping bag liner to sleep in.
The food served is fine. Neither bad nor great. There are drinks and small packaged snacks available for purchase at each camp and at some of the rest stops along the trail.
SCHEDULE
Most of the first day is eaten up by orientation and driving from Santa Marta to the trailhead. The next three days are 5 a.m. awakenings, on the trail by 6 a.m., and at least 10 miles on the move. The morning of the third day is when you visit the Lost City.
There are options to extend the hike to five or six days. The four-day version is by far the most popular choice.
In 2023 it costs between $1,750,00 COP, or around $425 USD, for the trip.
Tours are commonly available all year except in September when the Kogi and Wiwa perform traditional community ceremonies.
SANTA MARTA
Every Lost City Trek leaves from Santa Marta on the Caribbean coast. Santa Marta happens to be the oldest Spanish colonial town in South America, and today is a medium-sized city and a popular tourist destination. There’s luxury international hotel resorts as well as a large choice of budget hotels and AirBnBs.
Besides the Lost City Trek, Santa Marta serves as a launching spot for Tayrona National Park, the mountain-retreat village of Minca, or the beaches of Palomino.
One multi-day adventure travel experience I DO enthusiastically recommend is Tao Philippines.
