Get reliable, low-cost dial-up Internet service, high-speed broadband Internet access, Web hosting & more. Connect with us for savings, support & satisfaction! The Texarkana Gazette is the premier source for local news and sports in Texarkana and the surrounding Arklatex areas. The Ultimate Survival Guide is Finally Here! PayPal or eBay account frozen? Need a new account or multiple accounts? Find out EVERY way to SOLVE every PayPal or eBay. Guide to Colombia's La Ciudad Perdida Trek (Lost City)It’s like Machu Picchu, but remote and not overrun by tourists. So definitely put La Ciudad Perdida (the Lost City) near the top of your travel list! La Ciudad Perdida is a vast, ancient city in the jungles of the Sierra Nevada mountains on Colombia’s Caribbean coast. It is believed to have been built by the Tairona culture around 8. CE, about 6. 50 years earlier than Machu Picchu. Researchers estimate it housed between 2,0. La Ciudad Perdida can only be accessed via a two- day trek on foot into the coastal jungle of Colombia. As such, it has nowhere near the crowds, and “touristy feel” of Machu Picchu. The following is a Guide to Colombia’s La Ciudad Perdida Trek, which has all the information to plan a successful and rewarding trip to this incredible site. Pictures with: Sony a. Sony 1. 0- 1. 8mm F4 OSS Lens & Sony 1. G OSS Lens; i. Phone 6+. Top 5 Reasons to Go on Colombia’s La Ciudad Perdida Trek. ![]() La Ciudad Perdida is on par with Machu Picchu, but without the mass of humanity. Alison and I were on the site for almost an hour before seeing another person. La Ciudad Perdida Trek is crazy cheap (only $2. USD for four days, food, accommodation, guiding and fees!) and faster/easier to access compared to Machu Picchu and the Inca Trail. And at only 1. 20. You are a guest in indigenous lands at their sacred site. You literally trek through indigenous villages and lands of the descendants who built and lived in the city. It’s far from an overrun tourist trap! The Press of Atlantic City looks at the people and projects that are set to shape the future of the resort after a decade of casino closings and job losses.![]() The walk through the jungle is amazing— some of it is virgin jungle. We know of few multi- day treks in the jungle. Swimming in the cool jungle rivers was one of the trip highlights. A culturally sensitive eco tour. Our guiding company, Wiwa Tour is owned and operated by the Wiwa indigenous group, descendants of the Tairona who built the city. The Wiwa fought to protect the Ciudad Perdida historic site from mining and other commercial atrocities. In other words, your tourists dollars go to indigenous guides who contribute to preserving and protecting the Ciudad Perdida historic site and its indigenous communities against climate impacts, vegetation loss, neglect, looting, and unsustainable tourism. This is what a section of La Ciudad Perdida looks like in full sunlight. It’s perched at 1. Sierra Nevada Mountains above the Buritaca River. The Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta is the highest coastal mountain range in the world.)Note that the “Lost” City of the Teyuna was never actually lost. Local indigenous groups, descendants of the Tairona who built the city knew of the city and traveled through it. It was only “lost” to the outside/non- native world. It was “found” in the early 1. Since then, there have been great efforts to preserve and protect the site. La Ciudad Perdida consists of a series of 1. Archaeological work is still ongoing. Table of Quick Links to Plan Your Lost City Trek. Basic Trek Info. Time to go: Colombia is equatorial so you can do this trek year- round. The best time is December to March which is the dry season and a few degrees cooler. Even so, afternoon rain is common in the mountains and should be expected. People from northern climates may appreciate taking a warm weather trip in the middle of winter. Guiding: You can only do the trek with a guiding company (remember: you are an invited guest into sacred tribal lands). Climate: This is a hot and humid trek through tropical jungle, with all that it entails. Difficulty: Moderate intensity hiking with some up and down on sometimes muddy/slippery jungle trails. Distance: About 4. Duration: The Trek is usually done in 4 days (a half- day, two full days, and a final half- day). Altitude: Maximum elevation is at La Ciudad Perdida itself at 1,1. So you will have no altitude issues. Safety: The area has been safe for over 1. The Colombian army actively patrols the area and you will be on a guided trip. In 2. 01. 6, Colombia’s president was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for brokering a peace agreement with leftist rebel groups. La Ciudad Perdida is about 3. Colombia’s Caribbean Coast. Treks start in Santa Marta at your guiding companies offices. Most people will fly into Cartagena. From there it is 4 hour bus ride to Santa Marta. CLICK ON MAP TO ENLARGE. Top 5 things to know. Climate and terrain: This is the jungle. It is hot much of the time and humid all the time. It will likely rain. You will get wet and muddy either from the rain and/or your own sweat. Your clothes will not dry overnight. You need to dress and pack appropriately. See our Gear and Packing List…Accommodations: This is far from a luxury trip. Camps are minimal with open walled shelters–many with dirt floors. They have netted sleeping bunks (or hammocks), cold showers and flush toilets. Some camps have very limited electricity (lighting and a few outlets for the whole camp), while other camps have no electricity. Food: Simple, local food is served on the trek. You get breakfast, lunch and dinner in camps and there are two fruit/snack stops during the day. Portion sizes are about right. Food is prepared in a very basic, outdoor cooking area. We ate and drank what they gave us and did fine with no problems. Water: We did not need to treat water. There is free purified water in the camps. And between camps, if you run out of water there were stands at a few places along the route with snacks, beverages, and bottled water for sale. Even fresh squeezed orange juice if you are lucky! Insects and disease: This is third world, tropical trekking in the jungle. The US CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) recommends visiting your travel doctor (ideally, 4- 6 weeks) before your trip to get vaccines and/or medicines you may need. More on Disease Prevention, Insects & Clothing…You are a guest in indigenous lands at their sacred site. On your trek, you walk through indigenous villages and lands of the decedents of the people that built and lived in La Ciudad Perdida. Crossing the the Buritaca River with the help of a steel cable. After crossing the the Buritaca River you immediately ascend over 1. La Ciudad Perdida. They can be quite slippery when wet. It’s a steep climb — about 3. Touring La Ciudad Perdida with our Wiwa guides in traditional white clothing. Our group had almost two hours on site without seeing another group. There were 4 groups of around 1. But the guides coordinated visits so that groups did not overlap. Fantastic!)Morning mist clearing in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. Reaching an altitude of 5,7. Caribbean coast, the Sierra Nevada is the world’s highest coastal range. La Ciudad Perdida is nestled in its foothills at 1,1. A boulder with carved markings, believed to be a map of the Tairona world. A refreshing swim in a jungle river after a hot and humid hike was one of the trip highlights. Drying clothing on the suspension bridge at Adan Camp looks more like prayer flags than laundry. Abel, our Wiwa guide in traditional all- white, Wiwa clothing, including a white shoulder bag. He’s holding his poporo, a sacred gourd used for carrying lime which activates the cocoa leaves they chew. Packing List for La Ciudad Perdida. A heavy pack will make uphill hiking hot and unpleasant. We recommend a small pack with minimal gear — less than 4 kilos (8 pounds) per person — under 3 kilos is even better. See our gear packing list below for ideas to save weight. It’s not advertised, but you can have gear carried between camps by mule. All food and supplies go in and out on mule. So the mule is going anyway and you are supporting the local economy!] It’s around 2. Colombia peso (COP) per bag for each leg (about $7 USD). Our strategy was to put most our gear (for the two of us) into a single pack to be carried on the mule. We then shared a single 2. A simple and inexpensive 1. A mesh/vented back panel is desirable as you’ll be sweating tons hiking uphill in the heat. While not cheap, we found our Ultimate Direction Fastpack 2. We strongly recommend a few light dry bags to keep gear in your pack dry — especially, cameras, electronics and important documents like your passport, etc. And these dry bags should have a valve- free air expelling design for compact packing. Trekking poles make it much easier to negotiate sections of muddy/slippery trail and river crossings. They are far lighter and more functional than the single wooden staff most trekkers use. We took these inexpensive but excellent carbon fiber trekking poles. They are ideal for travel as they compact to fit into carry- on luggage.
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