Lost City Trek Colombia — walk to the terraces of Teyuna.

Start with how many days you have in the region. Under six, the 3-day is your only option. Six or seven, take the 4-day and keep a recovery day after it. Eight or more, choose between the 4-day and the 5-day on fitness rather than budget. All three walk the same trail to the same terraces, with the same guides, camps and meals — what changes is how the walking is distributed, and the 4-day is both the cheapest and the easiest to walk.

You do not need to be a mountaineer. You do need to walk 4 to 7 hours a day on humid, uneven mountain trail, several days in a row, in 28–32 °C. The single hardest stretch is the same on every version: 1,200 stone steps up to Teyuna, roughly an hour. If you have walked 15 km on a hill in the last few months, you are ready for the 4-day or the 5-day. If you have not, the 3-day is the wrong place to find out.

For one month every year the four indigenous peoples who own the territory close the archaeological site for environmental restoration and spiritual practice. The decision is theirs, not the operator's, and it is not negotiable. No authorised agency runs the trek between 1 and 31 October. Plan for any other month.

December to March is the dry season: firmer trails, busier camps. April to November is wetter and quieter, and June has the fewest trekkers on the trail. October is closed. Daytime temperature sits at 28–32 °C year-round, so the season changes the mud and the crowds rather than the heat. If you do not mind rain, June is the most generous month up there.

Included: round-trip ground transport from Santa Marta, an authorised local lead guide with an English translator on international departures, entry to the archaeological zone of Teyuna, full board with snacks and fresh fruit, a hammock or bunk with mosquito net and blanket, trek insurance for the walking days, and a direct contribution to the indigenous and campesino communities and to ICANH. Not included: the first-day breakfast on the 4- and 5-day treks, alcohol, and tips — the convention in the Sierra is COP 50,000 to COP 100,000 per trekker, split between the guide team and the cook.