Minca hiking & coffee workshop from Santa Marta

Walk through coffee farms and rainforest, then make your own chocolate bar

A full-day hiking class in Minca from Santa Marta combines trekking to a sacred waterfall with hands-on workshops in coffee roasting and cocoa making, led by local guides in English or Spanish. Pickup from Santa Marta hotels is included. The day runs about 7.5 hours with moderate hiking, a gourmet lunch in a bamboo house, and time to swim at the waterfall. Children from age 6 are welcome.

Step-by-step itinerary

Full-day hiking and workshops in Minca

• Pickup from Santa Marta at 8:45 am
• Group introduction and photo exhibition at 9:45 am
• Walk 30 minutes to coffee farm
• Coffee process explanation (45 min)
• Walk 40 minutes to Lost Waterfall
• Relax and bathe at sacred waterfall
• Walk 45 minutes to Jungle Joe Bamboo house
• Bamboo construction talk (30 min)
• Gourmet lunch with host Joe
• Biodiversity talk (30 min)
• Cocoa workshop and chocolate making (30 min)
• Visit cocoa by-products shop (20 min)

The experience

How do you actually learn where coffee comes from? This tour starts with a pickup at 8:45 am from Santa Marta, then a 30-minute walk through the Minca landscape to a working coffee farm. There a local farmer walks you through collection, fermentation, drying and roasting. You see the whole process from the plant to the bean, and the guide explains what makes the altitude and soil here different. It's not a quick stop. You spend 45 minutes on the farm itself.

After coffee, the route climbs to Lost Waterfall, a sacred site for the indigenous communities of the Sierra Nevada. The 40-minute walk gets you there, and the waterfall is deep enough to bathe in, most people do. From there it's another 45 minutes through the jungle to Jungle Joe's bamboo house, where the owner serves a gourmet lunch you don't have to think about. Before you eat, there's a 30-minute talk on bamboo as a building material in Colombia, and you can see how it's used in the structure around you.

The cocoa workshop happens after lunch. You learn the history of cacao and the techniques to bring out the alkaloid content, then spend 30 minutes making your own cacao bar. It's something you actually do, not watch. The guide covers biodiversity of the region in a separate 30-minute session. By the end of the day you've hiked roughly four hours total, learned from people who live there, and have a chocolate bar you made yourself. The tour wraps up with a stop at a shop where the owner sells cocoa by-products if you want to take more home.

What’s included

• Private transportation from Santa Marta hotels.
• a local guide in English or Spanish.
• entry to the coffee farm.
• the 45-minute coffee roasting workshop.
• access to Lost Waterfall for swimming.
• the 30-minute cocoa workshop where you make your own cacao bar.
• gourmet lunch at the bamboo house.
• a biodiversity talk about the Sierra Nevada region.

Options for this experience

2 options

Tour in English09:00Full-day Minca jungle tour with lunch, pickup is included

Tour in Spanish09:00Full-day Minca jungle tour with lunch, pickup is included

You'll see the exact price of each option when you check availability.See dates and prices

Before you book

Days and timesEvery dayDeparts at 09:00

Book up to2h before

AgesAdult (18 to 49 years) · Senior (50 to 65 years) · Youth (15 to 17 years) · Child (6 to 14 years) · Under 6: can't be booked

GroupUp to 12 · max 8 per booking

Live guideEnglish and Spanish

Meeting point and pickupHotel pickup included.

Cancellation and refundsFree cancellation up to 24 h before the start. After that, no refund.It may be canceled due to bad weather or if the minimum number of travelers isn't reached. If that happens, you're offered another date or a refund.

Prices and times updated 11 days ago

Good to know

Moderate physical effortPets welcomePublic transport nearbyNot recommended during pregnancyNot recommended with heart problemsNot recommended with back problemsInfants must sit on laps

Operated by Birdwatching Adventures Jungle Joe Minca Tours

Is this one for you?Choose this if you want hands-on time processing coffee and cocoa with local farmers rather than a tasting-only experience, and prefer staying based in Minca over visiting multiple towns in one day.

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Top questions

What languages is the tour guided in?

Live guide in English and Spanish.

Can children come?

Yes. Ticket types: Youth (15 to 17 years); Child (6 to 14 years). Children under 6 can't be included in the booking.

What happens if it rains?

It may be canceled due to bad weather. If that happens, you're offered another date or a refund. Free cancellation up to 24 h before the start.

How much actual hiking is involved in the Minca coffee and cocoa workshop?

The day includes four walks totaling roughly four hours: 30 minutes to the coffee farm, 40 minutes to Lost Waterfall, 45 minutes to the bamboo house, and shorter walks between stops. The terrain is moderate and the pace is set by the group, with time to rest and absorb each place.

What exactly do you learn to make in the cocoa workshop?

You make your own cacao bar from scratch during the 30-minute workshop, learning techniques to enhance the flavor and alkaloid content of the chocolate. It's a hands-on session, not a demonstration.

Can I swim at the waterfall, or is it just a viewing stop?

Lost Waterfall is deep enough to bathe in and most participants do swim. It's a sacred site for the indigenous communities of the Sierra Nevada, and the guide explains its cultural significance.

Is lunch included, and what kind of food is served?

Yes, lunch is included at Jungle Joe's bamboo house. It's described as gourmet and is served by the owner. The specific menu depends on the day and local availability.

Do I need to book the tour in English or Spanish, and can I switch?

You choose either English or Spanish when you book. That's the language your guide will speak for the entire day. Both options depart on the same schedule.