Colombia: Cartagena & Lost City Trek

DAY 1 – CARTAGENA ARRIVAL DAY

Meet your AJ trip leader and group at 7:00 pm.

Welcome to Colombia and Cartagena! Officially named Cartagena de Indias, and once known as Calamari, this romantic city of Colombia is home to more than one million inhabitants. The city is located on the northern coast of Colombia in the Caribbean coast region. Cartagena offers residents and visitors a wide variety of activities and amenities, combined with the picturesque beauty of its cultural and architectural past. Enjoy colonial churches and pre-Colombian art in contrast with the futuristic high-rise buildings of a busy metropolis. There are no planned activities on your arrival day, so check into our hotel and enjoy the city. Your trip expert leader will hold a general briefing in the evening, normally between 7pm and 8pm (a note will be posted in the arrival hotel with details).

Accommodation: Hotel Don Pedro de Heredia or similar

Meals included: None

DAY 2 – CARTAGENA

After breakfast enjoy a walking tour through the old part of town, visiting key sites throughout the historical center of the city that were inspiration for Colombia’s most famous author, journalist and Nobel Prize winner; Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

Enjoy a beautiful afternoon at leisure exploring the old city by yourselves, particularly the inner walled town, perhaps visit San Felipe de Barajas Castle, the largest of the fortresses, or head out of town for a mud bath at Volcan de Lodo El Totumo. The nearby group of tiny coral islands and stunning expanses of Playa Blanca (White Beach) reveal the hidden beauty of Colombia’s Caribbean coast. Maybe choose to end this adventure people-watching in the heart of Getsemaní, Plaza de la Trinidad, where kids play soccer and singers strum their guitars.

Accommodation: Hotel Don Pedro de Heredia

Meals included: Breakfast, Dinner

DAY 3 – SANTA MARTA

Travel in the morning to Santa Marta for around 5 hours by the coastal shore of the Caribbean Sea. You’ll pass by important cities like Barranquilla, among the biggest in Colombia, also see large sea ports located in the delta of Magdalena River, the largest in the country. Take the afternoon at your leisure to explore the colonial old city of Santa Marta.

Accommodation: Hotel Santa Marta Real or similar

Meals included: Breakfast

DAY 4 – LOST CITY TREK CAMP I

Start your Lost City adventure travel with a  2-hour drive on a 4×4, on a small road climbing up to the Santa Marta Range, to reach a small countryside town called Mamey. Here, we will have our lunch and get ready and start our trek to the magical Lost City. After 4 hours (5 mi/8 km), arrive to camp 1 to spend the night in this impressive tropical forest.

The overall climb on the first day is about 520 meters. We will have a hearty, well-earned, and relaxing dinner by candlelight.

Accommodation: Camp I

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

DAY 5 – LOST CITY TREK CAMP III

Continue the journey and hike for approximately 5 to 7 hours (9.5 mi/15km) on the second day. Along the way, we will stop for lunch and pass camp 2 on our way towards campsite 3 and make a stop at the Indian Kogui’s settlements in the valley of the Buritaca River to get a feeling for the local Indigenous cultures and their way of living in these pristine villages; later we will arrive at camp 3 located on the foothills of Teyuna Lost City. You can also take a refreshing dip in the Buritaca River.

Accommodation: Camp III

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

DAY 6 – TEYUNA SACRED CITY (LOST CITY)

Finish the remaining climb to the Lost City. We will start early in the morning, climbing up steps for one hour in the last part of the well-designed Tayrona trail that will take us to the monumental city of the royal Tayrona Culture. On the way, we will have magnificent views overlooking the dense jungle and rugged terrain, feeling the weather changing and the ecosystems morphing as we get higher in altitude and closer to the sacred place. Once we arrive, appreciate the magnificent terrain and the beauty of this place along a guided tour around the Lost City for about 3 hours. The local guide will give you a better understanding of how large and spectacular this place originally was and of the importance of the Tayrona Culture. Afterwards, trek back down hill for about 3 hours to camp 2 where we will spend the night.

Accommodation: Camp II

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch, DInner

DAY 7 – RETURN TO SANTA MARTA

On the last day of our trekking expedition up in the sierra range, we will hike 5 hours back to Mamey town, our starting location. We will enjoy a last lunch provided by our trekking team and then get our transportation to take us back to the hotel in Santa Marta. We’ll have a celebration dinner tonight after the accomplishment of our challenging hike.

Accommodation: Hotel Santa Marta Real or similar

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch

DAY 8 – DEPARTURE

International departures, end of services. Take with you memories and photos and leave a piece of your heart, as you will want to return to Colombia soon to experience more of this enchanted land. We wish you a “buen viaje”!

Meals included: Breakfast

 

Inclusions:

Transportation: Comfortable land transportation, Jeep 4×4, trekking.

Activities: Cartagena Gabriel Garcia Marquez walking tour, Experience dinner at the local women’s jail, Salsa lesson in Cartagena , Santa Martha City, Lost City Trek 4 Days / Five nights, Half a day guided tour of Teyuna City (Lost City), Local encounter with the defenders from Tayrona tribe kogui.

Accommodation (based on double occupancy): Comfortable 3 to 4 star Hotels (4 nights) and 3 nights at basic camps along the Lost city trek ).

Meals: 7 Breakfasts, 4 lunches & 4 dinner Allow USD 120-200 for meals not included.

Staff & Trip Leader: Certified AJ expert English-speaking adventure leader and local guides.

 

Exclusions:

• Single supplement
• Entrance fees not listed
• International air (also applied to trans-border flights)
• International airport transfers
• Applicable tourist visas
• Incidentals
• Mandatory Travel Insurance
• Airport taxes
• Tips or gratuities (recommended: $8 per trip leader, $5 per local guides, $2 for drivers. NOTE: keep in mind that this is all per day per traveler)
• Beverages
• Meals not mentioned above
• Optional tours or optional admissions not listed above