Trek Colombia’s Mountains and Lost City

I had such a great time. What a professional team: Juan, Santiago, Marco, Gabo. Making sure we were safe and having a good time through patience and kindness. One thing I regret is not taking a change of clothes for the Lost City portion, I smelled like a nasty swamp creature after 4 days in the same clothes. Highly recommend a trip to this special place.

This was my first MBA trip and it was a fantastic experience and great opportunity to explore both the Andean highlands and the Caribbean jungle. Both walks are challenging -- the one because of the altitude and cold and the other because of the humidity and mosquitos -- but very rewarding. The guides from the local partner were fantastic and supportive and clearly very experienced at leading groups through the two areas. Advice is to make sure you bring a sturdy hiking pack with waist support that can fit 3/4 days of clothes with a rain cover, and bring a warm jacket for the first part -- if it's rainy, it can get very cold at night.

A great trip with fantastic guides taking in several different experiences in a wonderful country.

I had such an amazing time on this trip. Danny is a superb trip leader. He did s brilliant job showing our group two beautiful sides to Colombia with the help of excellent local guides. Thank you Danny and team! The contrast between the two treks makes this trip a varied experience. Both walks were challenging but were just what I wanted to enable me to push myself a little bit. Los Nevados is STUNNING and completely worth the cold nights (pack sensibly and you will be totally fine). The jungle trek enables a fascinating insight into the native communities and the history of the Lost City. This trek is more touristy than Los Nevados, but sharing the trails didn’t dampen my group’s spirits, even if the heat and humidity did dampen our clothes! The weather conditions on both treks were easily manageable and part of the adventure— an adventure I won’t be forgetting in a hurry!

This trip is absolutely incredible. It is hard and will test your physical ability and stamina, but if you hike and workout regularly then you will be fine. Anyone that loves diverse terrain and beautiful nature should definitely do this. Memories that will last a lifetime

I've always wanted to see cloud forests, and this trip promised just that, and delivered!! On the Los Nevados trek I suffered from some altitude sickness and had to turn back, but the guides, and our host Danny, were impeccable, providing complete support and getting me back down the mountain quickly and safely. The lost city trek was fantastic, with amazing nature and a fascinating insite into the local Wiwa way of life. Again, the guides for this portion of the trek were impeccable. I doubt I'll forget this in a hurry!!

This was a great introduction to the rich culture and geography of Colombia. Despite really only scratching the surface, the trekking provides insight to the challenges and beauty of the Colombian Andes (hint: it’s cold), to the wonders of the Lost City. Both parts of the trip were distinct experiences. The start at Medellin was also a great glimpse of an artistic city seemingly built in the middle of the jungle. Our guide, Daniel was first class and I very much enjoyed our group. By the end I felt like we could take on any trek thrown at us. Good fun.

It was disappointing that we had an itinerary change. The national park in the mountains was closed. Apparently this happens regularly and it was known to the local guides and MBA - there was a plan to hike to the border of the park and still stay in the fincas however on the day it was unexpectedly prohibited by the police for us to do that. MBA tried to rectify this by treating us to some extra meals and activities ( coffee tour / sport evening) and the local guides tried to come up with some other local hikes. This was OK and everyone tried to find solutions- although we were not consulted on what would be good compensation or a pleasing alternative. It was cold even in solento where we stayed for extra nights. The kit list really needs to have a light down / warm jacket added. The optional tour of Medellín was a bit disappointing - a ride on the metro line and cable car a walk through the square/ market and we stopped for a lemonade. There was an itinerary change again as flight to Santa Marta was rescheduled to go via Bogotá so lost a whole day travelling. The plan for trek to lost city was never really clearly explained. The route is challenging and the weather is unpredictable. For us it wasn’t hot apart from on the last day. There was very heavy rain. Some people took waterproofs despite being advised it was unnecessary as after rain it’s usually hot again. Not for us! It was chilly in the evenings and I think a thin fleece is necessary. The waterfall swims are at the campsite and nice enough. It’s just a short rocky path so it’s better to have a sandal rather than slider. They don’t need to be waterproof as such as not going in the water / just a light shoe for evenings which isn’t a flip flop or slider will do. The steps to the lost city are steep, uneven and slippery. I have a fear of heights and I managed it but do be aware it’s a little precarious. The trails themselves have very steep up and down sections. It’s incredibly muddy and slippery, lots of rickey bridges, stepping stones over rivers and steps up and down, The local guides are great. We had an indigenous guide with us who explained in detail how the local tribes live. It was interesting but there were long stretches where we were sat/stood listening . We encountered some people from the tribes but they were very shy and it wasn’t appropriate to take photos or interact too much. There was a sense of us being gifted the privilege of visitinb their sacred lands. On a practical note - you sleep in camps ( Like a refuge) in beds with mosquitoes nets. It’s basic but food was very good thanks to our own fabulous chef. You walk the same route there and back pass through the camps - so you could leave wet clothes or a bag to pick up on way back if you wanted for example on the last night we stayed in the camp we had lunch in on day 1. I think the actual camp would vary trip to trip but you do pass each camp, all the camps had Wi-Fi and a small shop to buy snacks , drinks , a beer! You can also send some of you things ahead on a mule for a fee if you need to. You’ll need enough cash for the stops along the way to pick up snacks and we bought a lot of electrolytes juices and keep enough cash for tips at the end. Overall it was a great group and a beautiful part of the world. It was an interesting insight into Columbia and all the guides tried hard to give us a fantastic experience- although I felt that some information was lacking and so I’ve tried to include it here for fellow adventurers!

This trek was incredibly challenging, but provides memories and views you will not forget! The knowledge you gain on the way from experienced tour guides and the varied terrain makes every day worthwhile. I would recommend this to anyone who has very good fitness levels and is looking for a fulfilling 10 days in Colombia. Thank you for all the good memories - it was worth the sore legs!

I’ve done several multi-day treks and I’d say this comes second only to the Everest Base Camp trek in terms of difficulty, so the rating is not to be sniffed at. I personally struggled more with the heat/humidity and mosquitoes in the second trek than the altitude in the first. (This could be due to the time of year - July). The trip itinerary was rejigged a few times due to different things out of the company’s control. Although this meant doing 3 days in 2 on the second trek, which was a lot after the first trek, I preferred this itinerary. It meant we had almost a “rest” day of a 3-hour hike, plus time for a nap and a river & waterfall swim - probably the highlight of the second hike for me, even though it included the lost city. I think a little more free time to explore Salento would have been nice but I understand this was due to having to take 2 flights (Medellín > Bogotá > Salento) instead of the usual one. Our guide/host for the whole trip, Juli, was informative, fun, patient and very approachable. She was especially good when any medical or travel issues arose in the group. Although I understand my food intolerances are quite difficult, this sometimes meant I missed out on parts of a dish or a whole starter instead of offering an alternative, or the same thing just without my intolerances. Before the trip, MBA suggested that I might want to bring some cereal / protein bars. But since I’m paying the same as others I was slightly disappointed by this. The accommodation was very basic, which I wasn’t really prepared for as I didn’t feel the tour description went into enough detail and perhaps some accommodation photos before booking would have helped. Showers/changing also had little privacy and in one of the farms on the first trek I felt a little uncomfortable changing where several local men were able to see me while preparing dinner. In terms of value for money, the tour was cheaper than other multi-day treks I have done with G-adventures and Intrepid, but you could probably go direct to a local provider for cheaper, as MBA is a third party provider. However, the views, the group vibe/morale and experience as a whole made it all worth it and it was very rewarding so I have no regrets!