Lost City Hike

When I first booked the 4 day trip to the Lost City of Teyuna/La Ciudad Perdida, a bit inland from the northern coast of colombia, I did not anticipate it to be incredibly challenging. Boy, was I surprised. We hiked 40 miles, involving about 9,000 ft of elevation gain and loss through the dense jungle. Despite the challenge, I had an amazing time and it was an unforgettable part of my trip.

Thursday

Surprisingly the 4 day trek to the lost city did not require an early wake up. Around 10am the guides picked me up from my hostel and we started our journey. After almost 2 hours in the car with half the time spent down an incredibly bumpy road, we arrived in the town of Mamey for lunch. There I met the group with whom I would be hiking: a Colombian/Dutch family with two teenage kids, two German friends, a man from Barcelona, a woman from Poland, and a daughter and father from California! We also had three guides, one of whom was the translator and my new friend - Justin.

After lunch we started the hike! That afternoon involved 4 hours of hiking, part of which included the “Hammer” - hiking straight up for about 30 minutes under direct sun. Eventually it began to rain, which in some ways gave us respite from the heat, but led to lots of mud and slippery conditions hiking downhill.

Towards the end of the first day we came to a crossing - the guides promised us that it is typically a stream, but at that time it appeared as a river with rapids. So, the guides set up a line across the river and stationed themselves such that they could pass us through. We ended up about shoulder deep in the water, so they collected our backpacks and slung them across the line suspended over the river.

Eventually we arrived at the first camp and I was thrilled to shower, put on dry clothes and have a hot chocolate.

Friday

The previous night I knocked out at 8pm, so the early rise at 5am wasn’t too bad. We continued our hike and stopped to learn about the traditions of an indigenous community from a Wiwa man, one of the four indigenous communities in the Sierra Nevada. The indigenous people are the only Colombians who are able to legally possess coca, and he shared how it’s an integral part of their culture.

From there we passed a series of huts used for meetings between the leaders of the four indigenous communities.

Later in the afternoon we faced another challenging uphill hike, sarcastically termed “happy hour.”

Arriving to the next camp tired and hungry, we had an enormous heaping of popcorn followed by a dinner of pasta - big carbo load for the following day at the Lost City!

Saturday

Early Saturday morning we began the final trek to the Lost City. It involved a lot of incline and climbing 1,200 steps into the city. These steps were built for very small feet, so I had to take it slow.

As you can see in the below pictures, I came prepared in full coverage with my long pants, jacket and hat; the Lost City was swarming with mosquitos and I did not want any part of it.

At the first stop on the way up, we saw the ancient stone displaying a map of the areas indigenous communities and landmarks, in the center of which marks the location of the Lost City.

From there we continued up more stairs to reach our target. The views of the Sierra Nevada were so incredible. Seeing the ancient city was so worth the journey.

In the photos you can see circular stone platforms where homes once stood. The Tairona empire built this city over 200 years, and completed it around 700-800 AD (650 years before Macchu Piccu). It is believed that it was the heart of the Tairona empire, involving areas for living, working, and performing religious celebrations. Around the time of the Spanish conquest,  the Tairona experienced a foreign illness that they couldn’t manage, so they split into different indigenous communities - four of which remain in the Sierra Nevada today.

The greater public (aside from the indigenous communities) did not know of its existence until the 1970s, when grave robbers came upon and looted it. Eventually the Colombian government became involved and began to excavate. The indigenous communities implored the government to stop the excavation as to not alter the sacred ground.

As you can see, we were so joyful to make it to the top of the Lost City! A local dog - Soche - even made it to the top after hiking with us for three days!

After soaking up the views and learning about the site, we began the hike back to camp. Our group shared another night of fun card games and laughter.

Sunday

On last day of the trek, we hiked for 6 hours with a few breaks. The hardest part was definitely the steep decline, leaving my knees sore and wobbly. Around 12 we made it back to our starting point! Exhausted but satisfied, I said farewell to the amazing hiking group. Currently missing them all greatly!!

Also, shout out to Mike, Della, and all of the other group members who shared photos with me to contribute to the blog post! I know my family is grateful for all the pictures :)

Now I’m off to Minca to rest and recover!

¡Hasta pronto!

Ellie