The Misplaced Metropolis trek is a bucket list jungle hike in Colombia the place you may see the ruins of the Ciudad Perdida, an historical metropolis constructed by the Tairona individuals greater than 1,000 years in the past.
This can be a guided trek that usually takes 4 days, and there’s loads of problem. The trekking packages embody lodging, meals, and a few very educated, form, and useful native guides.
I did the Misplaced Metropolis hike lately and it was an excellent expertise. We had a enjoyable group and we went far into the Sierra Nevada mountains, visited indigenous villages, crossed rivers, swam every single day, and hiked until our legs damage.
On this weblog publish, I’ll clarify every thing it’s worthwhile to know concerning the Misplaced Metropolis trek earlier than you go!
Fast Info*
- Distance: 49 kilometers (30 mi)
- Elevation Acquire: 2,650 meters (8,700 ft)
- Max Altitude: 1,190 meters (3,900 ft)
- Length: 3 – 5 days
- Issue: Laborious
*These stats are for the spherical journey journey
Huts on the indigenous village
How To Get There
The Misplaced Metropolis is situated within the mountains close to Santa Marta, in northern Colombia.
There are many direct flights every single day to Santa Marta from airports like Bogota, Medellin, and Pereira, and the flight time is simply about 1.5 hours. You possibly can shop for flights on Skyscanner.
The trekking excursions embody a switch from Santa Marta to the beginning of the path, after which again to city afterwards, so that you gained’t want to fret about transportation.
For those who’re on the lookout for a spot to remain in Santa Marta the evening earlier than your hike, I’d suggest Hotel Boutique Casa Chunuu.
The Misplaced Metropolis
Misplaced Metropolis Trek: What To Count on
The Misplaced Metropolis is an all-inclusive, absolutely guided trek that features lodging in camps with beds and mosquito nets, plus 3 meals a day.
It’s an out-and-back trek with about 5-7 hours of mountain climbing per day, and it may be executed in 3, 4, 5, and even 6 days. Most individuals do it in 4 days, and I believe that’s the right size of time for the typical particular person.
For those who’re a really match hiker who’s restricted on time in Colombia, then the three day choice might be just right for you. In any other case, if you wish to decelerate and spend extra time within the mountains, then 5 or 6 days could also be proper.
Nevertheless, for most individuals I’d suggest 4 days. It offers you sufficient time to expertise the sights with out feeling too rushed, and it’s not too troublesome for many hikers.
Mutanyi village
You’ll be waking up at 5 AM every single day of the trek, and winding down exercise at round 3-5 PM.
That appears like an terrible lot, however don’t fear, there will probably be loads of breaks to eat, swim, and relaxation in between. It’s not all mountain climbing.
There are river crossings on every day of the hike, however all of those have bridges now, which is nice. You gained’t have to fret about wading by way of the rivers like within the previous days. Some journey guides on the web had been written earlier than this modified.
Within the subsequent few sections, I’ll share my very own expertise on every day of the Misplaced Metropolis trek and what you may count on by way of sights, actions, camps, and challenges.
There’s a number of good surroundings
Day 1: Begin Of The Trek
My trek started with a 7 AM pickup from my resort in Santa Marta. I used to be joined by my cousin and his spouse, and we had been first delivered to the tour firm’s workplace in Santa Marta, the place we had a snack and met the remainder of our group.
There have been precisely a dozen individuals in our group — 10 hikers and a couple of guides. Many of the hikers had been from the Netherlands, plus a number of Individuals (us) and a German couple.
We had been all herded into the again of a van collectively, after which drove 1 hour on the freeway to the primary entrance, the place we stopped for a 15 minute break to stretch and pee (map here).
Entrance to the mountain street
Subsequent, we drove 1 hour on a mountain street to the city of Machete. This a part of the journey was very uncomfortable due to the cramped leg room, aspect going through seats, and bumpy street circumstances.
We stopped for lunch at a restaurant in Machete and met our Colombian guides, who gave us a briefing on the hike and what to anticipate. Then it was time to start out mountain climbing!
For the primary day, we solely needed to hike about 9 kilometers (~6 miles), which wasn’t too arduous, though we bumped into some heavy rain that turned the trail into pure mud and sludge, inflicting us to slide round for the remainder of the afternoon.
Lastly we reached Camp Alfredo, the place we ate supper and stayed the primary evening.
Eating room at Camp Alfredo
Day 2: Villages & Tradition
The second day was one of many longest and hardest elements of the trek, though we had significantly better luck with the climate in comparison with the primary day.
This time, we wakened at 5 AM for breakfast and hiked all the way in which from Camp Alfredo to Camp Paraiso, which took us deeper into the jungle one other 14 kilometers (~8 miles).
There have been a number of steep hills and it was a killer exercise. Alongside the way in which, we acquired to see the normal thatch hut village of Mutanyi, belonging to the Kogi indigenous individuals.
Mutanyi village
We additionally stopped for lunch at Camp Mumake and swam within the river, which was a really enjoyable break from mountain climbing. The water was surprisingly chilly and that’s simply what we wanted.
Many of the day was spent mountain climbing close to the river, and this time, the rain held off till we reached Camp Paraiso.
The rain didn’t begin up till after we went to mattress, after which it was only a good background noise as we fell asleep.
The rivers are very nice for swimming
Day 3: Exploring The Misplaced Metropolis
On the third day, it was time to go see the Misplaced Metropolis!
To succeed in it, you need to climb roughly 1,200 stone steps. They’re steep, oddly-shaped, wobbly, and slippery, particularly within the early morning dew, so be very cautious.
This might be a straightforward place to harm your self.
Climbing up the steep stone steps
The Misplaced Metropolis is attention-grabbing, and it’s rather a lot greater than I anticipated. It was constructed by the Tairona individuals in 800 AD, so it’s older than Machu Picchu in Peru.
It takes hours to discover the primary ruins and terraces, so we had been stunned when our information informed us that there are much more ruins that aren’t open to the general public!
What we see as vacationers is simply a fraction of the Misplaced Metropolis, nevertheless it’s nonetheless spectacular.
The most effective view may be discovered on the prime of the town, wanting down on the terraces and the mountains in all instructions.
The Misplaced Metropolis!
After a radical tour with a number of explanations from our information and loads of time to take pictures, it was time to start out mountain climbing again.
We went all the way down to Camp Paraiso and grabbed lunch, swam within the river a bit of extra, after which hiked all the way in which again to Camp Mumake, the place we stayed the final evening of the trek.
Day 4: The Return Journey
The final day of the trek was one other whopper. We wakened at 5 AM once more, and hiked about 16 kilometers (~10 miles) again to the beginning.
On the way in which again, the sky was clear and we acquired some fantastic views of the Sierra Nevada mountains, which we had missed on the primary day due to the rain. Brilliant inexperienced mountains!
We had our final lunch collectively in Machete city, after which headed again to Santa Marta to get cleaned up.
All in all, the Misplaced Metropolis was an excellent hike and everybody in our group loved it immensely.
Brilliant inexperienced mountains
Map Of The Path
Right here’s a map from AllTrails that exhibits the mountain climbing route and elevation profile.
The camps are additionally marked, though not in the identical order we used. Alfredo is marked right here as camp 1, Mumake is camp 2, and Paraiso is camp 3.
How Laborious Is It?
The Misplaced Metropolis is a tough hike. It’s undoubtedly harder than I anticipated.
You’ll be strolling up and down steep hills every single day with rocky and muddy terrain, plus the loopy humidity. Your sleep high quality gained’t be the best both, due to the early wakeup instances each morning.
All of that is compounded by the 4-day size of the hike. We had been contemporary on the primary day or two of the hike, however by the tip we had been exhausted and fairly beat up.
That doesn’t imply the trek is unmanageable, or that it’s worthwhile to be tremendous match to do it. The guides are very affected person ready for stragglers, and so they give loads of snack breaks and relaxation stops alongside the way in which.
So sure, you are able to do the trek. Don’t fear. Simply count on loads of problem!
The entire river crossings have bridges now
What Are The Camps Like?
I’m glad to say the camps on this trek are pretty comfy, though you may’t count on luxurious.
There are showers, flush bathrooms, and clotheslines, and the bunk beds have nets to maintain you secure from mosquitoes at evening.
The entire camps have charging stations and WiFi, though chances are you’ll have to pay a small money payment to make use of it. Aside from that, you gained’t have cellular phone service anyplace on the path, together with the camps.
Electrical energy is turned off at round 9 PM each evening, so maintain your charging and requirements earlier than then.
Every camp additionally has a bit of store the place you should purchase snacks, drinks, and toiletries. That they had a shocking assortment of goodies on the market: shampoo, tooth paste, rest room paper, tampons, cigarettes, beer, Gatorade, batteries, and extra.
It truly had me wishing I’d packed much less stuff!
Beds within the camp
Drying our garments
Is It Secure?
Whereas some locations in Colombia are sketchy by way of crime, the Misplaced Metropolis trek has had security report for a few years now.
Lengthy story brief, it’s usually a secure hike and the primary danger is twisting an ankle or one thing of that kind.
Nevertheless, should you’re focused on figuring out extra, I’m engaged on writing an in depth article on this topic, which you’ll be able to learn quickly.
Welcome to the jungle
Meals Illness
Sadly, some individuals nonetheless report getting sick from meals or water on the Misplaced Metropolis trek.
The employees do a fairly good job with hygiene and meals preparation, nevertheless it’s arduous to maintain issues completely clear and secure if you’re working in a distant jungle camp.
We talked to a different hiker on the path and so they stated three members of their group acquired very sick (with diarrhea and throwing up), and needed to be carried out on mules.
Fortunately that didn’t occur to anybody in our group, however if you wish to be additional secure, there are many locations to purchase bottled consuming water alongside the path, or you may convey your personal water purification tablets.
To be truthful, all of the meals we ate was nice, and there was filtered consuming water accessible at each camp the place we stayed.
We had no points with illness on our trek, however the chance stays.
Can You Hike Independently?
No, you may’t do the Misplaced Metropolis trek by yourself. A information is strictly required for anybody who needs to do the hike.
Sure, it’s costly, however the excursions convey cash into the local people and hold it sustainable. Cash retains the paths open, the camps comfy, and lots of different issues.
It additionally helps the arduous working Colombian trekking guides, who do rather a lot to make this hike secure and pleasant for everybody.
Thick jungle
What To Carry
- Backpack. My bag had roughly 30 liters of house and that was sufficient.
- Spare Garments. I struggled with what number of spare modifications to convey, as a result of my bag was very restricted on house however I additionally didn’t wish to stink an excessive amount of. Primarily based on my expertise, I believe I’d suggest bringing no less than 4 shirts, 2 socks, 4 pairs of underwear, and a couple of pairs of shorts. You’ll wish to hold one change of garments clear and separate from the others for sleeping in.
- Outerwear. Personally, I don’t suppose there’s any have to convey a jacket or hoodie for this hike, however should you do, convey one thing very gentle. I remorse bringing my hoodie and pants. They took up weight and house, and I by no means used them on the entire hike, even at evening.
- Swimsuit. You’ll need this for swimming within the rivers alongside the path. It’s an effective way to loosen up and funky down.
- Plastic Baggage. These are important for retaining moist garments separate from dry garments, and soiled separate from clear. I introduced 5 plastic baggage, and it could’ve been good to have much more.
- Toiletries. Issues like cleaning soap, deodorant, a toothbrush and toothpaste.
- Solar Safety. You’ll need a hat and sunscreen, particularly for the primary day of the hike. There’s no shade in any respect and also you’ll get roasted. After the primary day, you’ll spend extra time mountain climbing below jungle cowl however there are nonetheless some spots the place you’ll need solar safety.
- Bug Spray. Retains you secure from mosquitoes within the jungle and on the camps.
- Ear Plugs. These may very well be helpful should you’re delicate to different campers loud night breathing.
- Waterproof Cowl. I don’t suppose a completely waterproof bag is required for this hike since you gained’t be wading by way of rapids or something, however you need to no less than have a water-resistant cowl like this one to guard your bag from the rain.
- Tissues. These may be useful however they aren’t fully needed. Many of the loos within the camps have rest room paper, and if it runs out, you may simply purchase extra on the little provide store within the camp.
- Gentle. Regardless that you gained’t be mountain climbing at the hours of darkness, a small gentle is helpful in case it’s worthwhile to do something within the camp after darkish.
- Water Tablets. The entire camps have a filter for his or her water, however I didn’t fully belief it. If you wish to be additional secure, you may convey water purification tablets. That’s what I did. They’re very small and simple to hold.
- Money. It’s good to have a bit of bit of money should you plan to purchase snacks, drinks, WiFi, or the rest on the camps.
- Footwear. You’ll need good mountain climbing boots for the path, however having a pair of sandals can be very helpful for strolling round on the camps every single day and going to the river to swim.
The Misplaced Metropolis
Greatest Time To Go
The most effective time to do the Misplaced Metropolis trek is through the dry season, from December to April. You possibly can see a graph of Santa Marta’s climate sample here.
It’s nonetheless attainable to do the hike through the wetter months from Could to August, or October to November, however you have got the next probability of working into rain. The path is totally closed yearly for the month of September.
I went in mid-December and the climate was first rate. There was heavy rain each evening, and one large downpour on the primary day that lasted fairly awhile, soaking our gear and inflicting us to slide round within the mud for hours, in order that wasn’t preferrred.
The humidity on this hike is loopy, so if any of your garments get moist, they’re by no means going to dry once more except they sit in direct solar for awhile. Significantly!
Climbing whereas soggy moist is not any enjoyable in any respect, so if I went to the Misplaced Metropolis once more, I believe I’d do it someday between January and March. That’s your most secure guess.
Extra Journey Guides
Thanks for wanting! I hope you loved this weblog about tips on how to do the Misplaced Metropolis trek in Colombia.
Don’t overlook to take a look at my other travel guides for South America earlier than you go!
