Santa Marta & Tayrona holidays

What you can find in Santa Marta & Tayrona that you won't find anywhere else?

Much of the mystery stems from this area's historic inaccessibility which is due to the drug cartels' hold over the area until President Uribe came to power in 2002. In recent years, the new government has emphasised the need for positive sustainable development, and the Posadas Ecologicas are one of the resulting projects. The sheer remoteness of the region becomes evident when staying at the more upscale yet rustic Ecohabs, and trekking to waterfalls, rock pools and deserted beaches. Here it is possible to learn from the native Kogui people, for example about the medicinal properties of plants.

And on the subject of remoteness, if you want to unleash your inner Indiana Jones then try your hand (or walking boot-clad feet) at the five day round-trip trek to the Ciudad Perdida (or Lost City in Spanish), an archaeological site in the Sierra Nevada region believed to be some 650 years older than Machu Picchu and once inhabited by the Tairona tribe. The trek involves some long uphill walks through dense vegetation, wading through rivers and sleeping in hammocks. Tough work for sure, and only for the fit, but for those who complete it, the memories will last a lifetime.