Ciudad Perdida

Ciudad Perdida, the Lost City, is the ruins of an ancient city built by the Tayrona people deep in the jungle-clad Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, founded around 800 AD, some six centuries before Machu Picchu. Lost to the outside world for centuries and only rediscovered in the 1970s, its moss-covered stone terraces, plazas and stairways, climbing a jungle ridge, are reached only on a challenging multi-day trek through rainforest, rivers and indigenous lands.

History

The Tairona built the city around AD 800, some 650 years before Machu Picchu, as the political and craft centre of the Buritaca valley, home to perhaps 2,000 to 8,000 people, with 169 terraces cut into the mountainside linked by stone paths and reached by about 1,200 steps. The Kogi, among the last descendants of the Tairona, say their ancestors lived here for thousands of years, until the city was abandoned in the 16th century (Wikipedia, Ciudad Perdida).

What you'll find

• The terraced ruins - the ancient stone terraces and plazas on the ridge.
• The jungle trek - the multi-day hike through rainforest and rivers.
• The 1,200 steps - the ancient stone stairway up to the city.
• The indigenous culture - the lands of the Sierra Nevada peoples.

When to go

The drier months, roughly December to March and July to August, for the best trail conditions, though the jungle is hot, humid and can rain any time. The trek takes four to six days and can be done year-round except when it closes briefly for indigenous ceremonies.

Things to know

It can only be reached on a strenuous, guided multi-day trek of some 40 kilometres through hot, humid jungle, with river crossings, mud and basic camp accommodation, so it demands real fitness and a sense of adventure; it is not a day trip. All treks go through a handful of licensed operators. It passes through indigenous territory, to be treated with respect. The reward is a genuine lost-world experience.

Nearby

Santa Marta, Tayrona park and the Caribbean coast are the gateway region.

Key facts