La Ciudad Perdida .... The Lost city

Trip Start Mar 14, 2004
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Sunday, January 16, 2005

I have just returned from a 6 day trek through the Colombian jungle to visit La Cuidad Perdida or The Lost City. The scenery was absolutely amazing and it is obvious now why the government has lost control of about 40% of the country and the war on drugs is about useless. Considering that Colombia is roughly the size of France and Spain combined, that´s a lot of territory. Fortunately, this region is somewhat controlled by the government and also para-military fighters whose main concern is drug trafficking and keeping out guerrilla fighters. It is quite a complex and dynamic political situation here to say the least. The terrain here, however, is so vast and rugged, you could hide anything in the dense jungle, especially cocaine labs. The Lost City is proof of that. It wasn´t even discovered until 1975 by grave robbers ... and it´s only about 25 miles from town! The history of it´s people isn´t quite clear but they believe the city was abandoned shortly after the arrival of Spanish Conqistadors in the 16th century.

Besides me, our tour group included a German couple, my friend Joel from Holland, and a guy from Switzerland, Israel and England plus our guide Alvero and the porter, Jose. On the first day, we got a late start due to mechanical problems with the Toyota Landcruiser that takes us to the first town. Halfway up the mountain, the rear suspension broke making us hike an extra hour for the day. You should have seen the mud and trenches on the mountain ride climbing to the first town ... it is no wonder the truck broke. Our second day of hiking took us past a small camp with a cocaine lab nearby, however, the word was out that the para-militaries said we were not allowed to see it .. and we didn´t. The trail is in terrible condition and nothing but mud. Each night we arrive at camp soaking wet from rain and sweat but nothing dries overnight in the near 100% humidity of the jungle ... so wet, smelly clothes and boots go back on each morning. Arriving at the Lost City, however, was well worth the effort. Even though the site is fairly small, it is so remote and mystical here that I´m certainly glad I came. I will try to post as many photos with individual stories as I can.
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Comments

southernandes
southernandes on Feb 3, 2009 at 09:45AM

More info.
Hi, Great pictures. I'm planing a trip to Colombia next month and I wanted to know with what co. you took the tour and how much it cost. Also, I have never done I hiking trip, but I think I'm up for it, how demanding was it? Thanks, A

jeffsadventures
jeffsadventures on Feb 3, 2009 at 02:55PM

Re: More info.
Hola... There is only one tour operator...I think it´s called TURCOL or something like that. You can sign up and pay in their office or in The Miramar Hotel. The cost was like $170 back in 2005...I have no idea what it is now. Although I´ll beback in Santa Marta in a couple weeks. I´m back in Colombia at the moment. the hike isn´t that hard but for our group it was much more difficult because of the mud. Maybe you´ll get lucky and have dry weather. Good luck and have fun...it´s a great hike.

elio
elio on Feb 7, 2009 at 12:01PM

Re: More info.
Hi, Turcol is not the only operator anymore: there is now Sierra Tours, a german-colombian opeator for tours to the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta and also to the Lost City. Highly recommended, better than Turcol, more serious about tourists wishes! Price is now 500.000 pesos, I think. P.S. tour is wonderful, do it!

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