Trekking to Colombia’s Misplaced Metropolis is an expertise that stays with you lengthy after you’ve washed the jungle filth out of your climbing boots. In a world of wonders, some treasures nonetheless really feel seemingly hidden, ready to be discovered.
‘They are saying that town was misplaced as a result of the Spanish got here. The Indigenous Tayrona neighborhood didn’t wish to struggle, so that they left, heading additional up the mountain,’ says Andrés Castellanos.
Andrés is from Colombia. He grew to become a neighborhood chief for Intrepid in 2019 and earlier this yr, grew to become their deputy operations supervisor. Earlier than becoming a member of Intrepid, Andrés used to information faculty journeys to Ciudad Perdida. On condition that he studied structure, the children couldn’t have hoped for a greater information.
Cuidad Perdida lies within the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountain vary. Andrés factors out that this vary isn’t a part of the Andes, which dominates a lot of South America. He provides the peaks right here soar over 5700 metres, making it the best coastal mountain vary on the planet.
Outdated metropolis, new journey
Intrepid has launched a multi-day trek led by native guides to Ciudad Perdida for 2025. Starting within the World Heritage-listed port metropolis of Cartagena, travellers wind their approach alongside the Buritaca River, via rainforest and jungle and camp within the mountains. On their technique to the Misplaced Metropolis, trekkers spend time with Indigenous neighborhood members, even listening to from their non secular chief. It’s a visit for anybody who longs for an journey.
Reaching Ciudad Perdida appears like stumbling right into a fable, an echo of the legend of El Dorado – the fabled metropolis of gold that lured explorers and treasure hunters deep into South America’s jungles. Whereas the Misplaced Metropolis might not shimmer with gold, it represents a chapter of historical past wealthy with the tales of the Tayrona civilisation and their sacred connection to this land.
Meet Indigenous mountain communities
Constructed by the Tayrona individuals over a thousand years in the past, this archaeological web site is claimed to predate Machu Picchu. Unfold throughout a mountainside, the Misplaced Metropolis’s terraces appear impossibly exact, with steps worn down by centuries of use. Mist typically clings to the stones, lending an charisma, but it surely’s not onerous to think about life for a civilisation as soon as thriving within the infinite inexperienced cover of this high-altitude jungle metropolis.
In any case, this trek isn’t simply in regards to the vacation spot. It’s additionally in regards to the individuals who name this land residence. Alongside the best way, there are encounters with the Kogi and Wiwa communities, descendants of the Tayrona, who protect their ancestors’ knowledge and connection to nature. A few of these embody agricultural traditions equivalent to farming coca, an essential plant for non secular practices.
The second day of Intrepid’s trek brings travellers to the Wiwa Neighborhood Camp, the place they’ve a uncommon alternative to fulfill El Mamo, the non secular chief and sage of the neighborhood. El Mamo talks in regards to the Wiwa lifestyle, sharing how everybody of their neighborhood has a necessary position. From there, the path leads deeper into the humid, tropical jungle, taking trekkers to Mutanyi, a small Kogi village of 20 conventional huts crafted from mud, wooden and palm leaves.
Find yourself the place the world started
Andrés explains that to the Indigenous communities of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta – together with the Kogi, Wiwa, Arhuaco and Kankuamo peoples – the mountain vary is sacred. They imagine it’s the ‘Coronary heart of the World’ and think about its peaks, rivers and ecosystems integral to the universe’s steadiness and well being.
‘For them, that is the world and the place the world started. They’re the one ones allowed to go to sure peaks and among the tallest mountains in Colombia,’ says Andrés. Historically, solely Indigenous leaders and monks are permitted to ascend snowcapped mountains like Pico Cristóbal Colón and Pico Simón Bolívar.
Whereas among the mountains are off-limits to guard their sacred standing, the Misplaced Metropolis fortunately isn’t – although it stays a privilege earned via effort. The one technique to attain the location is on foot. The four-day trekking element of Intrepid’s journey is difficult – count on steep climbs, muddy paths and river crossings – but it surely’s thoughtfully paced, supplying you with sufficient time to take in the landscapes and join along with your environment.
This trek is a bodily problem, but it surely’s additionally a cultural immersion, a historical past lesson and an opportunity to stroll within the footsteps of historic individuals. Andrés emphasises the importance of those mountains and their tales. ‘Being in the midst of nature, in fact, what you see up there may be very rewarding, however you even have an area to speak with the neighborhood,’ he says.
As somebody who loves structure, Andrés marvels on the Misplaced Metropolis’s design, a masterpiece of type and performance. However as a Colombian, he’s most pleased with how the trek connects guests to his nation’s coronary heart.
Go to the Misplaced Metropolis with Intrepid on Misplaced Metropolis Trekking in Colombia. Discover out what else is new for 2025 with The Items.
