Experiences and local guides in Santa Marta

Nature

Santa Marta sits between the Caribbean and the Sierra Nevada, the world's highest coastal mountain range, rising from the beach to 5,700 m in 40 km. Tayrona park mixes jungle, giant boulders and turquoise beaches; Minca, at 600 m, is coffee farms, waterfalls and hummingbirds; and deep in the sierra lies the Lost City, the Tayrona Teyuna, with stone terraces in the mist.

Activities

• Lost City trek, 4 days and 46 km through the jungle with local guides and Wiwa and Kogui communities
• Tayrona park: hike from Cañaveral to Cabo San Juan, beaches, snorkelling and a night in a hammock
• Minca: Marinka and Pozo Azul waterfalls, coffee and cacao farms, birdwatching
• Diving and snorkelling at Taganga, tubing down the Palomino river to the sea, kitesurfing at Palomino
• Sierra Nevada: trails to Cerro Kennedy, Arhuaco villages and Tayrona culture

When to go

December to March is dry and windy, with clearer seas; July and August are a second dry season. April to June and September to November bring afternoon rain and fewer people. Tayrona closes a few weeks a year for ecological rest (usually February, June and October).

How to get there

Simón Bolívar airport (SMR) is 16 km away, with flights from Bogotá (1 h 30), Medellín and Miami. Buses from Cartagena (4 hours) and Barranquilla (2 hours). Tayrona is 45 minutes by bus to the El Zaino gate; Minca 40 minutes by shared taxi; Palomino 1 h 30. The Lost City trek leaves from Santa Marta with transport included.