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4-Day Lost City Trek Santa Marta: 1,200 Steps to Ruins

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1/7

Duration4d

GroupUp to 16

LanguagesEN · ES

PickupAt your hotel

Four days in the jungle vs day trip: reach ruins and stay overnight in camp

You hike four days through jungle and cloud forest to reach Ciudad Perdida, sleeping in camps and walking past indigenous villages. SENA-trained guides handle the history and anthropology. Pickup from Santa Marta, meals and snacks included, and your luggage can stay behind or be sent ahead — so you only carry what you need for the trail.

Step-by-step itinerary

Day 1 — Travel to El Mamey and Camp 1

Meet at Expotur office 9:30 am
Drive 2.5 hours to El Mamey
Have lunch at El Mamey
Begin search for Tayrona sacred place
Arrive at Camp 1 late afternoon
Relax at rivers, pools, waterfalls
Dinner and rest in hammocks

Day 2 — Hike through Buritaca valley to Camp 3

Early breakfast at Camp 1
Walk through Buritaca river valley
Visit indigenous Kogui village Mutanshi
Hike 7 hours through Sierra Nevada jungle
Arrive at Camp 3 for lunch and rest
Dinner and overnight at Camp 3

Day 3 — Ascend to Lost City and return to Camp 2

Early breakfast at Camp 3
Climb 1,200 Tayrona steps to Lost City
Tour Lost City with guide
Enjoy landscapes and take photos
Lunch at Lost City
Return hike to Camp 2
Dinner and overnight at Camp 2

Day 4 — Return from Camp 2 to Santa Marta

Breakfast at Camp 2
Hike back passing rivers and waterfalls
Lunch at El Mamey
Truck ride back to Santa Marta
Arrive in Santa Marta around 5 pm

The Experience

There's something that pulls you toward this trek before you even lace your boots. Maybe it's the idea of walking the same stone steps the Tayronas built centuries ago, or maybe it's just the thought of being unreachable for four days in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. Either way, the hike starts at 9:30 am from the Expotur office in Santa Marta, where a 4×4 truck takes you two and a half hours inland to El Mamey. By afternoon you're at Camp 1, where the jungle opens up around you — rivers, natural pools, waterfalls close enough to wade into. That first night you sleep in a hammock, and the sound of water running somewhere in the dark becomes your only clock.

Day two is the long one: seven hours through the Buritaca river valley, walking past Kogui indigenous houses that make up the village of Mutanshi. Your guide — trained by SENA with years in the region — points out plants, explains the anthropological layers of what you're seeing, and introduces you to the people who live there. The jungle gets thicker as you climb, and by the time you reach Camp 3, your legs know they've worked. Day three comes early. Breakfast before dawn, then the 1,200 stone steps. They're steep, uneven, and built by hand centuries ago. When you reach the Lost City itself, the guide walks you through the terraces and explains the relics, the layout, the stories embedded in the stones. You have the morning to sit there, breathe, take photos. Lunch happens at the site. Then the same steps back down to Camp 2.

The last day is the return: breakfast, rivers to cool off in, and a truck waiting at El Mamey to drive you back to Santa Marta by around 5 pm. You'll have hiked roughly 30 kilometers over four days, stayed in camps run by local peasant communities, and slept in hammocks or beds depending on the night. The trek isn't easy — you need moderate fitness, and it's not recommended if you have spinal issues, cardiovascular concerns, or are pregnant. Yellow fever vaccination is advised. But what you get is not a tour of the Lost City; it's a four-day immersion in the Sierra Nevada, guided by people who actually know the region, with your money going directly to the communities you pass through.

What’s included

Your four days include pickup from Santa Marta at 9:30 am, transport by 4×4 to El Mamey, accommodation in three jungle camps with beds and hammocks, all meals and snacks, a SENA-trained regional guide, and entry to Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta National Park. You can leave extra luggage at the Expotur office or have it forwarded to El Mamey if you're continuing elsewhere after the trek.

Good to know

Moderate physical levelPets welcomeNot for pregnant travelersNot for heart conditionsNot for back problemsInfants must sit on laps

Operated by Expotur

Is this one for you?Right for travelers with moderate fitness who want to hike to the Lost City with guides who know the region and communities firsthand. Plan for four full days of hiking and jungle living — that's what makes reaching Ciudad Perdida and visiting Kogui villages possible without rushing.