Start with the fact that surprises everyone: the 4-day is the cheapest of the three and the easiest to walk. It is COP 1,860,000, against COP 2,150,000 for the 5-day and COP 2,200,000 for the 3-day.
So “I’ll take the short one to save money” does not work here. The short one is the dearest of the three: COP 340,000 more than the 4-day, and it asks more of your legs.
All three reach the same terraces at Teyuna, on the same trail, with the same camps and meals. What changes is how the walking is distributed.
The one-minute version
| 3 days | 4 days | 5 days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price (COP) | 2,200,000 | 1,860,000 | 2,150,000 |
| Hardest day | 17.2 km, 7 h, on day one | 17.2 km, the climb | 17.2 km, the climb |
| Pickup | 04:30 | 07:00 | 07:00 |
| Summit start | before dawn, with the 4-day group | before dawn | before dawn |
| Minimum group | none | none | — |
| Departures | subject to group | daily | subject to group |
Answer four questions
1. How many days do you actually have in the region?
Under three → none of these. Bunkuany reaches Tayrona terraces in a single day, or in two with a night in the mountains. Under six → the 3-day is your only option, and you should know what you are buying. Six or seven → the 4-day, with a recovery day after. Eight or more → 4-day or 5-day, your choice on fitness.
2. When did you last walk 15 km on a hill?
This month → any of the three. This year → 4-day. Cannot remember → 5-day.
3. Are your knees fine?
If not, the 5-day is the one that helps. Its fourth day is a separate waterfall route through mostly flat forest, and its last day is about three hours to El Mamey rather than a full descent. Poles and a slow descent still matter — they just matter less.
4. Are you travelling alone, or are your dates fixed?
Then the 4-day, because it is the only one that departs daily with no minimum group. Ours confirms the same way on the 3-day. If your flight home is booked, a provisional departure is a real risk.
3 days — only if time is genuinely the constraint
| Day | Distance | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 17.2 km | 7 h |
| 2 | 15.8 km | 6 h |
| 3 | 17.2 km | 6 h |
It is not “the same trek, faster”. It is front-loaded: day one is 17.2 km where the 4-day gives you 9.3, and pickup is at 04:30. A stretch by motorcycle on dirt road shortens the walk in, which is what makes three days possible at all. On day two you climb the 1,200 steps alongside the 4-day group, which joins the route there.
Choose it if you are fit, you run or hike regularly, and you genuinely cannot spare a fourth day. Do not choose it because it looks cheaper, because it is not. See the 3-day →
4 days — the default, and the one to beat
| Day | Distance | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9.3 km | 4 h |
| 2 | 17.2 km | 7 h |
| 3 | 15.8 km | 6 h |
| 4 | 17.2 km | 6 h |
Day 1 is a real warm-up rather than a test. The load sits in the middle, where you are rested enough to take it. Departures leave every morning at 7:00 with no minimum group — it runs whether you are five people or one.
Choose it if you are not sure. It is the honest default for most people, and it is also the cheapest. See the 4-day →
5 days — the short exit
| Day | Distance | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9.3 km | 4 h |
| 2 | 17.2 km | 7 h |
| 3 | 15.8 km | 6 h |
| 4 | 11.5 km | 5.5 h |
| 5 | 8 km | 3 h |
No day goes past seven hours, and the last one is three. The extra night buys real recovery and more time in camp and in conversation.
Choose it if your fitness is moderate, if you want margin for rain or photography, or if you want the trek to be a slow experience rather than an effort. Note what it does and does not change: the first three days are the 4-day’s; the exit is the part that gets shorter. See the 5-day →
The three mistakes people make
- Booking the 3-day to save money. It costs more. If budget is the driver, the 4-day is the answer.
- Booking the 5-day expecting a gentler climb. The first three days are the 4-day’s, 17.2 km stage included. What it buys is the exit: 8 km instead of 17.2. If stamina is your problem it will not help; if your knees are, it is the only thing that does.
- Booking on days available rather than fitness. You can always walk a duration slowly. You cannot add a day mid-trail.
What does not change
Whichever you pick: same meals, same authorised guides, same entry to Teyuna, same 1,200 steps, same trek insurance, same October closure. Nobody is getting a better version of the site.
What is not the same on all three is the walking. The 5-day gives its fourth day to a separate waterfall route and finishes with about three hours out; the 3-day rides a stretch of dirt road on the way in. And the camps come in pairs rather than the two this page used to name: Adán or Alfredo on night one, Paso Lorenzo or Paraíso on night two, Múmake or Wiwa on night three, plus a fourth night on the waterfall route if you book the 5-day.
Other comparisons
- Lost City vs Machu Picchu — 650 years apart, and only one has a train
- Lost City vs the Inca Trail — heat against altitude
- Lost City vs Tayrona — same name, two places
- Lost City vs Cocora Valley — two travel days apart, not an either/or
Related
- Lost City trek difficulty — the full day-by-day breakdown
- Lost City trek price — what each duration includes
- Training for the trek — four weeks that change the walk
- How to choose an operator — why the price is fixed
Ready to walk it?
Departures leave Santa Marta at 7:00 a.m. every day. The 4-day trek has no minimum group — it runs whether you are five people or one.
From COP 1,860,000 4 days — the classic
