Itinerary

Day 1

Fly from Bogota to Santa Marta. A Travel The Unknown representative will meet you at the airport and transfer you to your hotel. Afternoon tour of the city. Overnight in Santa Marta. Meal plan: N/A

Positioned between the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountains and the Caribbean Sea, Santa Marta’s history, colonial architecture and beaches make it one of the most popular tourist towns for Colombians. Santa Marta is the oldest remaining city in Colombia, founded in 1525 by Rodrigo de Bastidas in order to exploit the gold treasures of the Tayronas. By 1600, the Tayronas tribe had been wiped out and the gold had all been taken. La Casa de la Aduana is the museum dedicated to the Tayrona’s history. Simon Bolivar, who played a key role in Latin America’s fight for independence, died in Santa Marta in December 1830. His house Quinta de San Pedro Alejandrino is now a museum.

Day 2

Transfer to Machete Pelao by 4x4 (3 hrs). A guide will take you through El Mamey region, stopping for lunch at a peasant farm. Walk through Buritaca river valley (2hrs 30) until Asario’s farm where you can bathe in a natural pool and shower in a waterfall. Overnight in hammocks (with mosquito nets) on Asario’s farm. Meal plan: B,L,D

Day 3

Breakfast at 7am, then walk through a small valley formed by the Buritaca river where there are some indigenous constructions forming the small town of Mutanyi. You will have 4 more hours of walking before we reach the farm where you will spend the night. On arrival you can cool off in the natural pools formed by the Buritaca river. Overnight in Mamo Kogui’s farm in hammocks. Meal plan: B, L, D

A Mamo is a spiritual leader of the Kogui people, descendants of the Tayrona people. These Mamos are part of a priesthood who believe that the spiritual balance they keep in their land directly affects the cosmic and ecological balance of the entire world.

Day 4

Breakfast at 6.30am, then walk to Lost City entrance. Climb 1200 steps up to the Tayrona terraces (1hr 30) and visit the archaeological zone of the Lost City. Learn about the pre-Hispanic Tayronas, their culture and customs, and how they adapted to their environment. You can also visit ceremonial houses of the present day Tayronas. En-route it is also possible to take a bath in the Pool of Youth, which, legend has it, has magical powers of preservation. Lunch and free time to explore. Return to Mamo’s farm for dinner. Overnight in hammocks on Mamo’s farm. Meal plan: B, L, D

Around the year 700, the Tayrona people arrived in the Sierra Nevada mountains of Colombia from Central America. Ciudad Perdida (Lost City) took them 200 years to construct and is 600 years older than Machu Picchu. In the year 1300, it had a population of 300. However, the site was abandoned in the 1600s when trade routes were cut due to the arrival of the Spanish. Fish and salt could not get through resulting in the spread of disease. The Tayronas had many unusual customs and beliefs one of which was that they thought they could be reborn as parrots, bats and jaguars, hence their prominence in Tayrona art. Another was the relationship between men and women. Men married at 15 after living for 6 months with a women of around 20 years who taught him about procreation as well as work. At this stage he built 2 houses, one for himself and one for his wife (large houses were for men and sons, smaller ones for women and daughters). Only chiefs could have 2 wives. Women were not allowed in men’s huts and men only entered the women’s house to cut the umbilical cord with a palm tree to prevent infection. Women would leave food and firewood at the door of the men’s huts and a special area in the fields was reserved for procreation. When indigenous women had twins they would suffocate the weaker as they could not go about their work and raise two sons/daughters. Blind and disabled babies were treated the same.

The Lost City disappeared for hundreds of years until its discovery in 1973 by grave robbers. It became widely known about in 1975 after ancient urns and other treasures started appearing on the black market. Prior to its official discovery, local tribes visited it called it Teyuna. It is believed that Ciudad Perdida was the region’s political and trading centre on the Buritaca River until it was abandoned during the Spanish conquest. Ciudad Perdida lies at an altitude of 950-1300 metres in the Buritaca valley. Surrounded by dense jungle, the only way to get there is through a three day trek and a climb of 1200 stone steps. This isolation (there are no roads and it is hidden between mountatins) and overgrown state gives the city a mysterious air that makes it so unique and an experience of a lifetime.

Day 5

Breakfast at 6.30am. Walk along the Buritaca river on indigenous paths to the cabins at Mutanyi where lunch will be served. Then walk for two hours through El Mamey region to Honduras where dinner will be served at Alfredo’s peasant farm. Overnight in hammocks on Alfredo’s farm. Meal plan: B,L,D

Day 6

Visit of the waterfalls and pools in the morning for bathing. Three hour walk back to Machete Pelao where you will have lunch and meet the 4x4 to take you back to Santa Marta. You will arrive mid afternoon and have the rest of the day free until dinner. Meal plan: B,L,D

Day 7

Breakfast, relax. Fly to Bogota. Transfer to city for half a day. Transfer back to airport for onward flight. Meal plan: B

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