The Lost City trek is a 46 km round-trip walk through the jungle of Colombia’s Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta to Teyuna, the stone terraces of a Tairona town built between about 650 AD and the 16th century and standing between 900 and 1,200 m. It takes 4 to 5 days, and you cannot walk it alone: ICANH, Parques Nacionales and the indigenous authorities require every visit to go with a certified guide, booked through a registered operator. The park was closed from 1 to 31 October 2026, as it was in October 2025.
Lost City trek at a glance
| Item | Detail (checked October 2026) |
|---|---|
| Distance | 46 km round trip (ICANH) |
| Days | 4 or 5 (some operators sell 6) |
| Daily walking | 5 to 10 km |
| Site elevation | 900 to 1,200 m |
| Trailhead | Machete Pelao (operators often call it El Mamey), 1 to 2 hours of dirt road from the Troncal del Caribe |
| Guide | Certified guide required; tickets sold only to operators with a Registro Nacional de Turismo |
| Park ticket 2026 | COP 75,000, included in tour prices |
| Park hours | 7:00 to 15:00 |
| Closures | 1 to 31 October in 2025 and 2026 |
| Health rule | Yellow fever vaccination at least 10 days before entering any national park |
| Minimum age | 12 (ICANH visitor guide) |
Route day by day
Every operator follows the same path up the Buritaca river valley and back; what changes is how the 46 km are split. On the 4-day version you walk in for two days, reach the terraces on the morning of day 3 and walk out over day 3 and day 4. The 5-day version adds a night and shortens the longest days.
- Day 1: early drive from Santa Marta, then the climb out of Machete Pelao through farmland and forest to the first camp. Hot and steep in the afternoon sun.
- Day 2: deeper into the valley, past indigenous settlements, with the first river crossings. The camps are basic: beds or hammocks under a roof, mosquito nets, cold showers.
- Day 3: a crossing of the Buritaca, then a long, steep stone stairway to the terraces. Your guide walks you through the main sectors; ICANH counts more than 200 structures across about 33 hectares. Then you start back down.
- Day 4: retrace the route to Machete Pelao and drive back to Santa Marta by late afternoon.
Rules, tickets and closures
Guide. ICANH’s visitor page says the authorities require the visit to be made with a certified guide. Since ICANH Resolution 1703 of 2025, park tickets are sold to any tourism operator with a valid Registro Nacional de Turismo; ICANH publishes no list of approved operators, so check the operator’s RNT number yourself.
Price. Only the park ticket is fixed: COP 75,000 from 1 January 2026. Tour prices are set by each operator. Santa Marta operators listed 2026 prices from about COP 1,860,000 for the 4-day trek, with the 5-day trek costing more. Tips, insurance and your transport to Santa Marta are usually extra.
Closures. Many guides still say the trek closes every September. That is out of date: ICANH closed the park from 1 to 31 October 2025, at the request of the Kogui authorities, and again from 1 to 31 October 2026. Closure dates are published by resolution, so check ICANH’s notices before you book an autumn date.
Yellow fever. Since May 2025 Parques Nacionales Naturales has required proof of yellow fever vaccination, given at least 10 days before entry, for every visitor to its parks, and the trail crosses the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta national park. We found no notice lifting the rule as of October 2026. Carry the certificate on the trek.
Respect. Teyuna is a sacred site for the Kogui, Arhuaco, Wiwa and Kankuamo peoples. ICANH asks visitors not to photograph local people or their belongings without asking first. ICANH’s packing list does not mention trekking poles, and many operators recommend them for the stairway and the wet descents.
How hard is the Lost City trek?
Altitude is not the issue: the trail stays below about 1,200 m. The difficulty is heat, humidity and footing. You climb and descend steep clay paths that turn to mud after rain, cross rivers on foot, and finish with a long stone stairway. What wears people down is walking several hours a day wet with sweat and sleeping in humid camps. Train with back-to-back hikes on hills, and break in shoes that drain.
From our side of the Andes: the Classic Inca Trail is a similar length, 43 km over 4 days, but it crosses Dead Woman’s Pass at 4,215 m and needs two nights in Cusco to acclimatize first. The Lost City trek asks for no acclimatization and more tolerance for heat.
| Lost City (Teyuna) | Classic Inca Trail | |
|---|---|---|
| Distance | 46 km round trip | 43 km, one way to Machu Picchu |
| Days | 4 to 5 | 4 |
| Highest point | About 1,200 m | 4,215 m (Dead Woman’s Pass) |
| Main challenge | Heat, humidity, river crossings | Altitude, long stairways |
| Access | Certified guide; operator with RNT | Government permit through a licensed operator |
| Closure | October in 2025 and 2026 | February |
Best time to go
December to March is the driest stretch, with lower rivers and firmer paths, and it is also the busiest. July and August are a second window. April to May and the weeks around the October closure are the wettest, with higher rivers and more mud; your guide decides whether a crossing is safe. It is hot all year.
Getting there
Treks start from Santa Marta, which has an airport with domestic flights. Your operator collects you early, drives along the Troncal del Caribe and then 1 to 2 hours of unpaved road by 4×4 to Machete Pelao. There is no public transport to the trailhead. For flights and the rest of the country, see our Colombia travel guide, and for the other treks, our page on Colombia hiking trails.
Sources
Rules and fees checked 8 October 2026 against ICANH, Teyuna hours and fees, ICANH, how to get there and Parques Nacionales, yellow fever requirement. Tour prices are operators’ 2026 list prices.