Santa Marta Residency
Hotel
Days 1, 6, 7
Lost City & Tayrona — 9 days (Santa Marta, Machete Pelao, Ciudad Perdida, Minca & Caribbean Colombia)
Nine days, four of them walking to Teyuna. Nine days with the four-day trek, an Indigenous guide at the site and Tayrona and Minca after it.
Pumice & Pine
Runs this trip
Trekking
Nine days, four of them walking to Teyuna
Group Tour
Join a fixed-date departure with other travellers
Top Highlights
Santa MartaNine days on the Caribbean side — a four-day trek to a city abandoned six hundred years before anyone from Europe found it. Sierra Nevada de Santa MartaThe Sierra Nevada rises from the Caribbean to 5,700 m in about forty kilometres — the highest coastal range on earth. Buritaca crossingsThe route crosses the Buritaca again and again, sometimes waist-deep. Teyuna terracesFounded around 800 AD, abandoned during the Spanish conquest, and not found again until 1972 — by looters, before archaeologists. Out to Santa MartaFour days of walking, and the shower afterwards is part of the trip.
Itinerary
Nine days on the Caribbean side — a four-day trek to a city abandoned six hundred years before anyone from Europe found it.
Santa MartaHow the day runs
- 1 hrsTransfer, then the trek briefing and kit check
- MealsDinner
- AccommodationSanta Marta Residency
Included Activities
- Airport transfer
- Hotel night
- Trek briefing
LANDMARKS Santa Marta Rodadero Sierra Nevada Start point Santa Marta, Simón Bolívar International Airport (SMR), Santa Marta 00:00 - 23:59The Sierra Nevada rises from the Caribbean to 5,700 m in about forty kilometres — the highest coastal range on earth.
Santa Marta, Machete PelaoHow the day runs
- 3 hrs8:00 AM — the jeep to the trailhead
- 5 hrs11:00 AM — the climb to the first camp
- MealsBreakfast, Lunch, Dinner
- AccommodationMachete Pelao Retreat
Included Activities
- Compulsory licensed guide
- Camp with all meals
- Indigenous community fee
LANDMARKS Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta Buritaca river Kogi villages The route crosses the Buritaca again and again, sometimes waist-deep. In the wet season the crossings are what closes the trek.
Machete Pelao, Ciudad PerdidaHow the day runs
- 7 hrs6:00 AM — seven hours, with the river forded repeatedly
- MealsBreakfast, Lunch, Dinner
- AccommodationCiudad Perdida Lodge
Included Activities
- Guide
- Camp with all meals
LANDMARKS Buritaca crossings Kogi settlements Cloud forest Founded around 800 AD, abandoned during the Spanish conquest, and not found again until 1972 — by looters, before archaeologists.
Ciudad PerdidaHow the day runs
- 5 hrs5:30 AM — the steps at dawn, then the terraces with a Kogi guide
- MealsBreakfast, Lunch, Dinner
- AccommodationCiudad Perdida Lodge
Included Activities
- Site access with an Indigenous guide
- Camp with all meals
LANDMARKS Teyuna terraces Stone stairway Kogi mamos Downhill on wet clay is harder than the climb was and most of the falls happen here.
Ciudad Perdida, Machete PelaoHow the day runs
- 8 hrs6:00 AM — the long descent
- MealsBreakfast, Lunch, Dinner
- AccommodationMachete Pelao Retreat
Included Activities
- Guide
- Camp with all meals
LANDMARKS Buritaca river Descent Four days of walking, and the shower afterwards is part of the trip.
Machete Pelao, Santa MartaHow the day runs
- 3 hrs6:30 AM — the last stretch to the road
- 3 hrs11:00 AM — back to the coast
- MealsBreakfast, Lunch
- AccommodationSanta Marta Residency
Included Activities
- Transport
- Hotel night
Tayrona caps daily visitors and closes entirely for several weeks a year at the request of the four Indigenous peoples who own the land.
Santa Marta, TayronaHow the day runs
- 1 hrs7:00 AM — to the El Zaino gate at opening
- 5 hrs8:30 AM — the coastal path to Cabo San Juan
- MealsBreakfast
- AccommodationSanta Marta Residency
Included Activities
- Park entry
- Guesthouse or eco-cabin
LANDMARKS Cabo San Juan La Piscina Arrecifes Pueblito La Victoria has been running on the same British machinery since the 1890s and still uses water power.
Santa Marta, MincaHow the day runs
- 1 hrs9:00 AM — up into the foothills
- 3 hrs11:00 AM — a coffee finca and the Pozo Azul pools
- MealsBreakfast, Dinner
- AccommodationMinca Inn
Included Activities
- Finca tour
- Hillside guesthouse
LANDMARKS Minca La Victoria finca Pozo Azul Los Pinos Santa Marta connects through Bogotá and Medellín.
Minca, Santa MartaHow the day runs
- 1 hrs10:00 AM — back down to the coast
- MealsBreakfast
- AccommodationNot included — onward travel
Included Activities
- Transfer
- Day 1Airport transfer
- Day 1Hotel night
- Day 1Trek briefing
- Day 2Compulsory licensed guide
- Day 2Camp with all meals
- Day 2Indigenous community fee
- Day 3Guide
- Day 4Site access with an Indigenous guide
- Day 6Transport
- Day 7Park entry
- Day 7Guesthouse or eco-cabin
- Day 8Finca tour
- Day 8Hillside guesthouse
- Day 9Transfer
- Day 1 · 1 nightSanta Marta Residency
- Day 2 · 1 nightMachete Pelao Retreat
- Day 3 · 2 nightsCiudad Perdida Lodge
- Day 5 · 1 nightMachete Pelao Retreat
- Day 6 · 2 nightsSanta Marta Residency
- Day 8 · 1 nightMinca Inn
- Day 1Santa Marta to Santa MartaTransfer, then the trek briefing and kit check
- Day 7Santa Marta to Tayrona7:00 AM — to the El Zaino gate at opening
- Day 8Santa Marta to Minca9:00 AM — up into the foothills
- Day 9Minca to Santa Marta10:00 AM — back down to the coast
Where you'll stay
All accommodations are subject to change
Machete Pelao Retreat
Hotel
Days 2, 5
Ciudad Perdida Lodge
Lodge
Days 3, 4
Minca Inn
Hotel
Day 8
What you'll eat
8 breakfasts, 5 lunches and 6 dinners across 9 days, at camp. It opens with dinner on day 1 and closes with breakfast on day 9.
- DinnerServed on days 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8
- BreakfastServed on days 2–9
- LunchServed on days 2–6
19 meal services named in the itinerary. Vegetarian and vegan covered; Jain, gluten-free and allergies on notice at booking
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Customer reviews
Overall rating
4.8/5
Based on 19 reviews
Review summary
Food4.5/5
Guide4.4/5
Itinerary4.5/5
Transport4.3/5
Accommodation4.5/5
Tour operator4.6/5
Sort by:Recommended
5
V
Vikram Bose – Nagpur2026-06-16 · Verified booking
Did this over 9 days and it was the best walking I've done in years. Hotels were clean and central, which saved a lot of time. Meals were good throughout and the vegetarian options weren't an afterthought. Worth every rupee.
Reply from Pumice & Pine
Thank you. We've taken the point about the transfer and are reviewing it.
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5
I
Ishita Ghosh – Ahmedabad2026-06-16 · Verified booking
Well organised from the pickup onwards. The daily distances were honest about what they'd be. Hotels were clean and central, which saved a lot of time. Whoever planned the days knew what they were doing. Would book with them again.
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5
E
Elena Petrova – Zurich2026-06-16 · Verified booking
Well organised from the pickup onwards. The daily distances were honest about what they'd be. Rooms were comfortable and the locations meant we could walk most evenings. Good value for what's included.
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5
L
Laura Whitfield – London2026-06-16 · Verified booking
The route is beautiful and the pacing was sensible — nobody was rushed on the climb. Hotels were clean and central, which saved a lot of time. The lead was calm and knew when to slow the group down. Would book with them again.
Reply from Pumice & Pine
Thanks for writing this up. We've passed your note to the team.
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5
T
Tara D'Souza – Hyderabad2026-06-16 · Verified booking
Well organised from the pickup onwards. The daily distances were honest about what they'd be. Hotels were clean and central, which saved a lot of time. Simple food, well made, and enough of it. Recommended.
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4
N
Nina Hoffmann – Zurich2026-03-25 · Verified booking
Caribbean Colombia in the right season is something else, and the team knew exactly where to camp.
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5
A
Arjun Pillai – Kolkata2026-03-25 · Verified booking
Caribbean Colombia in the right season is something else, and the team knew exactly where to camp. Rooms were comfortable and the locations meant we could walk most evenings. Crew were professional without being stiff about it. No hesitation recommending them.
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5
S
Sneha Kulkarni – Ahmedabad2026-03-25 · Verified booking
Well organised from the pickup onwards. The daily distances were honest about what they'd be. No complaints about any of the hotels — all of them well placed. The cooking was a genuine surprise — better than most places we'd have picked ourselves. Would send friends their way.
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Questions people ask
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