International Arrivals

Travelers will arrive into Barranquilla and be met at the airport by a private driver who will transfer individuals to their hotel. The group will come together this evening for a Welcome Dinner to kick off their adventure ahead!

Overnight: Hotel El Prado (Barranquilla)

Patient Visits

After breakfast at the hotel this morning, the group will check out and depart from a hotel for a full day of SmileTrain partner and patient visits. The group will visit Smile Train’s partner, Foundation Fabrica de Sonrisas and visit patients’ homes in the Palermo neighborhood of Barranquilla. The group will have lunch in Baranquilla before continuing their journey on to Santa Marta, which is about a 2.5 hour drive from Baranquilla.

In the evening, check into the hotel and enjoy a relaxing dinner in Santa Marta town before the start of your trek tomorrow!

Overnight: Hotel Catedral Plaza (Santa Marta)

Trek Begins

The adventure starts today! Have breakfast at the hotel before checking out and departing from the hotel to drive up into the Sierra Nevada Mountains, one of the world’s highest costal mountain ranges. You will leave the hotel between 8:00 – 9:00 AM for the three hour drive in 4×4 vehicles, to a small town called El Mamey.Here you will stop for lunch at a local restaurant serving typical Colombian Food. After lunch, the trek begins.

Explore the scenic backcountry to Colombia’s legendary Ciudad Perdida (Lost City) hidden deep in the dense jungle. There are no trains, buses or cars up in these mountains so you will be fully immersed in the mountains. Have an adventure as you hike through the beautiful hinterlands, passing through unspoiled waterfalls and rivers along the way, eventually reaching this amazing archaeological site. You’ll visit local indigenous villages along the way, swim in natural pools and camp each night among the lush wilderness of the Colombian Jungle.

Hike for about four hours to the first campsite. When you arrive, the guide will brief you and show you around the camp. There will be time to settle in and have a shower before dinner. The group will have the rest of the evening free to relax and get to bed early before tomorrow’s full day.

Each night during the trek, the guide will brief you on the schedule and plan for the following day.

Trekking Time: 3 – 4 hours
Trekking Distance: 7.6 km
Elevation Gain: 460 meters
Max. Altitude: 613 meters

Overnight: Cabaña Adan

Trekking Day 2

You will wake up early and eat a quick breakfast before departing around 6:00 AM for a two hour trek to anindigenous village called Mutanzi. You will then walk for about 40 minutes from Mutanzi to a campsite for a delicious home-cooked meal. Finally, rest for a while and get ready for four more hours of trekking to your second camp, Cabaña Mumake, where you will have dinner and rest for the night.

Trekking Time: 10 hours
Trekking Distance: 14 km
Elevation Gain: 435 meters
Max. Altitude: 895 meters

Overnight: Cabaña Mumake

Trekking Day 3

After breakfast, leave camp around 6:00 AM to hike to La Ciudad Perdida (The Lost City)! You’ll enter climbing its 1,200 stone stairs, and will have two hours to explore the ancient city set in the dense jungle. The guide will give you a tour of the ancient city and tell you all about its history and culture – an city built by the Tyronapeople more than 1,000 years ago, and abandoned during the Spanish colonization. It was only discovered in the 1970’s.

You may meet Wiwa people along the way; descendants of the Tyrona people, who still live in the mountains and have a deep, spiritual connection with the land.

After, you will stop at one of the trek’s campsite where you’ll have lunch and can rest. In the afternoon, get ready for a four hour trek to your camp, where you’ll have dinner and stay for the night.

Trekking Time: 9 hours
Trekking Distance: 10 km
Elevation Gain: 301 meters
Max. Altitude: 1,100 meters

Overnight: Paraiso Teyuna

Last Trekking Day

After breakfast, the longest hike will take place. You will trek for seven hours, mostly downhill, with stops along the way. You will hike all the way down to El Mamey, for lunch before completing the descent. After Lunch, you will be met by 4×4 vehicles and drive back down the mountain to Buritaca, a small town east of Santa Marta Town.

You will be staying on the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains; this extinct settlement Indigenous still has trails and terraces of the Tayrona civilization and today it is still frequented by its descendants, the Koguis.

Once you arrive at the hotel in the late afternoon, you will check-in, settle into your rooms and have the rest of the evening free to relax. Enjoy a relaxed dinner at the hotel and an evening at your leisure to rest.

Trekking Time: 7 hours
Trekking Distance: 15 km
Elevation Gain: 301 meters
Max. Altitude: 613 meters

Overnight: Maloka Barlovento

Relaxation at the Beach

Today will be a full day of total relaxation – well-deserved after your four day trek! Start with a relaxing breakfast in the hotel’s beautiful, oceanside presence before departing for a relaxing float down the river.

The reserve will amaze travelers with its exuberant flora and offers the opportunity to enjoy a river with crystal clear waters. During today’s tour, you will visit a small Tayrona museum to know a little about the history and way of life in the ancestral territory, you will see a typical house of the indigenous Koguis,and then continue along a cobblestone path with pre-Hispanic terraces to a small viewpoint. Continue to enter the forest and walk along a path bordering the Don Diego River until you reach the mouth of the Don Dieguito River. You’ll collect your tubes to float all the way down the river, until the mouth of the river in the sea. Here you will have time to enjoy the beautiful scenery.

You’ll have lunch at a restaurant in the reserve before returning to the hotel.

After today’s excursion, you will come back to the hotel to relax in the afternoon – individuals can spend time at the beach, take a nap in the hammocks or book a massage at the hotel.

In the evening, the group will come back together for a special Farewell Dinner together at the hotel; afinal moment to come together as a group celebrating the incredible physical feat you just accomplished.

Overnight: Maloka Barlovento

International Departures

After breakfast, check out from the hotel to drive to the Santa Marta airport either for international departures, most of which will have a layover in Bogota, or on to your continued extension in Colombia or the surrounding areas.

The Elevate Destinations team is happy to design a customized itinerary for you if you’d like to explore more of Colombia or its neighboring countries. Check out Extend Your Travel for some inspiration!