Travel insights from Latin America
Lost City Trek: What You Should Know Before You Go
Are you thinking about trekking to the Lost City – Colombia’s most famous archaeological site, embedded into the Caribbean jungle?
Before you go; here are some tips from a guide that has been walking the trail for the past six years.
Few people know the Lost City trek better than Marco Pollone. Having walked the trail over 200 times, Kagumu’s main tour leader gives you his top tips for making the most of your journey to the Lost City.
How to get to the Lost City
Every trek starts at around 8:30am in the morning (except for September, when the site is closed) from the centre of Santa Marta.
You can drop into one local tour operator’s office in the centre of the city to join a trip. If you would like to be more prepared, you can choose from one of these pre-planned Lost City trips.
The ride from the city to the start of the trek is about 2.5 hours in a 4×4 truck. You will travel along a coastal road that connects Santa Marta with Venezuela and then head along a bumpy off-road track to reach a village called Machete Pelao.
After lunch in a local restaurant, and a brief from your guide, you will start the trek. You can choose beforehand the length of the trek – 3, 4 and 5-day treks are available with the 4-day option the most popular.
Packing List
Packing is never easy. It’s even more difficult when you know you will be carrying the weight on your shoulders for 4 days! That’s why it is essential to follow this Lost City trek packing list.
- Sneakers or boots and sandals or flip-flops
- T-Shirts – (fast drying if possible)
- Shorts
- Sweatshirt or long trousers for the nights
- Bathing suit
- Towel – microfiber is the best option
- Socks (long ones to protect against bites)
- Product against insects
- Personal hygiene Items
- Flashlight
- Water bottle 1-1.5L
- Personal medicine
- Camera
- Waterproof or plastic bags for rain
Believe me, having patience and packing as light as possible are the keys to success on the Lost City trek.
Length of the trek
Hiking between four and eight hours every day is not always easy. However, you just have to stop and admire the beautiful, wild place and realise how rewarding it is.
Don’t be fooled by the distance from a map – 46.6 km there and back as the crow flies is really about 50 km overall.
Climate and Elevation
The weather on the Lost City trek is unpredictable. The rainy season usually starts around June and ends at the beginning of December.
The temperature depends on elevation; the higher you go, the colder it gets. During the day, the air will get to around 30 degrees Celsius, dropping to 15 at the highest point at night.
The thermal excursion may make you feel chilly – this is where long trousers and a long-sleeved shirt come in handy!
In terms of elevation, the trek starts at 150 meters above sea level and reaches 1200 meters. The highest point is actually Ciudad Perdida, the Lost City itself.
Best time of year to visit the Lost City
The trek is open all year long, with the only exception of September. The trail is closed during this month for members of native tribes – Kogui, Wiwa, Arhuaco and Kankwamo – to take part in spiritual cleaning rituals in the ancient site.
The rainy season lasts from June through the beginning of December while August is the peak time for European travelers. Easter, December, and January are popular dates for South American travelers.
February or April/May is much dryer with fewer travelers.
Type of accommodation on the trek
After a day of trekking, you will spend evenings in a jungle campsite. Every campsite has a kitchen, showers (no hot water), and toilets. You will sleep in a bunk bed or a hammock depending on availability. Beds and hammocks have mosquitos nets and a blanket and you can recharge batteries for your camera or cellphone too.
Each day, you will arrive at a campsite in time for dinner so around 4pm. You will usually have time for a swim in the rivers and/or under waterfalls. In my experience, this is a real highlight for many travelers.
You can buy snacks and a beer or two from the small shops and we will eat each dinner in the camp in the main dining area.
Even though there’s no signal, all campsites are connected by radios and Wi-Fi, which you can access at an extra cost.
After dinner, our native guide from the Wiwa community will tell us stories of the land and about their traditions that have barely changed since the 7th century,
Lost City trek operators
All Lost City trek operators are local companies based in Santa Marta. At Kagumu Adventures we work with the most socially and environmentally sustainable company and have long-standing relationships with local tour guides.
When you look at reviews all over the internet, on TripAdvisor or Colombian Reddit, you may find posts like: “I went to the Lost City with G Adventures” or “I did the Lost City trek with Intrepid.” It’s not completely false… but it’s not true either: companies usually hire a local operator and send one of their local leaders too.
Kagumu Adventures operates in a similar way, except the tour leader is me. I live in Santa Marta and have spent the last six years guiding groups on the Lost City trail.
I’d like to think I know a lot about the route, the history, the stories and the culture and I share this with you along with our supporting a local native guide from the Wiwa community.
What does the trek include
Prices for the Lost City trek increase slightly every year as agreed upon by local guides, cooks, operators, and local communities.
Every trek includes guides, accommodation, food, and transport to and from Machete Pelao – the village where the trek starts and ends. Health insurance and entrance tickets to the archeological site of the Lost City are also included. The money you pay includes a contribution to local farming and native communities too.
Many of the Kagumu packages include airport transfer, indigenous weaving workshop with the Arhuaco community. We also include one night in a jungle-embedded eco-lodge after the trek, extra meals and a tubing journey down a winding and to a deserted beach.
Food on the Lost City trek
Each group travels with a cook and food is transported to each camp by local mules. Your breakfast, lunch and dinner will be prepared for you and your group.
Typically, traditional meals are plentiful, with a lot of rice and grains, vegetables, fish, and chicken. Delicious fruits add to the wholesome breakfast and you can enjoy sliced watermelon, freshly squeezed orange juice and bananas at certain points on the trail.
Special food requirements
Guests are often surprised at the options we can give to people with specific food requirements and allergies. I personally buy food from the local market in Santa Marta the day before the trek.
If you are vegetarian, vegan, celiac or anything else, don’t worry; we will make sure you have a wide variety of foods to eat.
Lost City trek difficulty
So, as you may have read on Reddit or in Lonely Planet; the trek is challenging and the climate is often the biggest hurdle to overcome.
If you are an expert hiker but are not accustomed to high temperatures, mosquitoes and humidity, then you might find it challenging. But that is half the fun, right?
On the other hand, rainy weather makes the experience more adventurous. Trudging through mud can be quite the experience.
My tip is to pack light and be patient. Basically, it means controlling things you can and letting go of the things you can’t control like the weather. Enjoy every second of it, because it’s going to be worth every drop of sweat.
Here are some questions I often get asked
Do I have to carry my backpack all the way up and down?
Yes. But I have a few tips to make life easier.
You can leave your big rucksack in the hotel to pick up afterwards. In terms of your backpack for the journey, you can store things you don’t need at the campsites on the way to the Lost City. You will return along the same trail so you can leave them and pick them up.
How much money should I take?
I would suggest around 400.000 Colombian pesos which is around $80 USD. This means you’ll be able to buy drinks on the way, purchase handicrafts or bags from locals and enjoy a nice beer at the end of each day.
Should I tip?
Tipping is completely optional and there is no pressure in Colombia to tip in general. However, if you feel you’d like to show gratitude to locals then tipping, guides, cooks, helpers and the native guide would be appreciated. Bear in mind that you will be with a guiding team of around five people.
Is the Lost City trek safe?
Yes, I still get asked this question. Nowadays, La Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta is safe, since drug trafficking and illegal cultivation have disappeared. However, like any place you visit, you should look after your belongings and listen to instructions from the guide. That’s what we are here for!
In case of a serious accident, evacuation methods are in place for you to be transported by helicopter or by mule, motorbike and/or car to the nearest hospital. In recent years, improved communication has helped make the procedure much faster and more efficient.
Of course, guides, cooks, helpers and staff on the way have been trained in first aid and basic survival too.
Do I need a vaccine for the Lost City trek?
As of 2019 (and pre Covid-19), no vaccines were required to enter the Lost City. There haven’t been any cases of malaria or yellow fever in recent years even though some travelers get the vaccine and take malaria pills for peace of mind.
I have found that sometimes taking malaria pills can make people feel weak, which results in a more difficult trek. I’d say refer to your local doctor if you want to know more about the side effects.
The only thing left to do is decide when to visit us! If you have any other questions about the Lost City trek, please comment below and I will get back to you.
Fancy joining Marco on an adventure? Click here to view our Lost City trips or contact our team on [email protected].