A trek into the jungle in search of Colombia’s “Lost City.”

By Luke Armstrong

Our group grabs the packs from the top of the Jeep’s rusty roof before we set off for Ciudad Perdida, or Colombia’s Lost City. Our guide, Tunyi, decides to begin the six-day trek by telling us about eight tourists who were kidnapped on September 15^th, 2003, by the National Liberation Army (ELN) on the very trail we were hiking. “Three months they held them captive,” he tells us. “They were lucky to be released.” The three Australians in our group find this funny while the two boisterous Russians become quiet and pensive after I translate this bit of information for them. Perhaps Tunyi should have started by pointing out the names of some native fauna.

After the kidnapping incident, tourist treks to the city stopped until 2005. Though an air of danger still lurks on the forbidding trail, Colombia’s army now patrols the path, and according to our guide, the number of robberies have taken a dive. Within the first hour we pass a small group of soldiers wielding semi-automatic weapons. The Russians seem especially agitated by the troops, and they request in broken English that I ask our guide in Spanish their purpose.

We venture into Colombia’s Sierra Nevada mountain range along narrow and seemingly impossible trails in saturated air. After a few hours we have crossed the same river a dozen times as it snakes along our difficult path. (more…)

One of the hard working ladies from “The Lost Girls” is/was in Colombia recently, blogging her way through the northern stretches of the country. Her latest dispatch finds her taking a side-trip to Santa Marta where she lounges on the beaches in Santa Marta and soaks up some rays.

Though mentioned in passing in her article, the real reason to visit Santa Marta is not for its beaches (a little touristy, a little bland) but as a place to stay so you can strike out for Tayrona National Park, Colombia’s renowned reserve containing beautifully secluded, pristine beaches where you can snorkel, eat fresh fish caught earlier that morning, and relax and enjoy your time hours from the closest hotel. Given that the park is made up of isolated beaches and coves accessible by a single road, you could easily spend weeks just trying to see all of the park’s different sites. My advice: sleep in Santa Marta, spend your time exploring Tayrona.

One note on this piece, what really stuck out for me was the fact that she was staying at the Sofitel in Cartagena (I think, she may have just been using their concierge). Though amazingly luxurious, it just seems a little odd given that this is a city where a pretty okay room can be had for as little as $10 a night (hot water may be lacking, but when looking at rates of over $300, I’ll stick with the budget hotels). Besides, the real attraction is the city itself, and as much time away from your lodgings is highly recommended. Or maybe things over at Lost Girls are going the Twitter route and the ladies have a few extra dollars to spare, in which case, Sofitel away.