Lost City (Teyuna) · Sierra Nevada
The express version of the same trek. Two long walking days bookend the climb to the terraces. For fit trekkers with limited time and a strong tolerance for pace.
From
COP 2,200,000
per person
Pay 10% now · COP 220,000
Balance in Santa Marta
4.8 · 847 Lost City trek reviews · Local operator since 2004
The route
Days 1 and 2 of the 4-day route in one long walking day — then the climb, then the descent. The same trail. We have run it since 2004.
Day 1
04:30 pickup at your hotel in Santa Marta, then two and a half hours by 4×4 to El Mamey for breakfast and the briefing. A stretch by motorcycle on dirt road shortens the walk in — the piece that makes this version work. Then a long, hot day through humid forest, rivers and steady climbing to camp.
Day 2
An early start along the river to the foot of the 1,200 stone steps, climbed alongside the 4-day group, which joins the route here. Three hours guided through the archaeological site, then back to camp for lunch and the second night in the forest.
Day 3
Same path down as the 4-day route, but in a single long day. Lunch on the river. A final cold drink in El Mamey. Back in Santa Marta between 15:00 and 17:00.
1 3
Cost
What's included, what isn't, and what to pack.
The journey
Six frames from recent groups. Same trail, camps, and food.
Why trek with us
Magic Tour Colombia handles logistics; the same Santa Marta team walks the forest.
What they wrote
Public TripAdvisor reviews of Magic Tour Colombia — edited to one line.
Questions
Your question not here? Write to us on WhatsApp. A person answers — never a chatbot.
Yes, and it is the same trail and the same terraces as the longer versions — nothing is skipped. What is compressed is the walking. Day one is the longest of any version on offer: 17.2 km in about 7 hours. Day two is the climb to Teyuna, 1,200 stone steps, and then back down to Múmake. Day three walks out to El Mamey. It is 50 km over two nights, and it asks for 6 to 7 hours of walking a day.
Because the rate is set with ICANH and the four indigenous peoples of the Sierra, not by the agencies, and every authorised operator charges the same. The 3-day is COP 2,200,000 against COP 1,860,000 for the 4-day — COP 340,000 more for less time and a harder walk. The 4-day is cheaper because it is the highest-volume departure and it leaves every single morning. If you are choosing the express version to save money, it does not work that way here.
Meaningfully harder, and the difference lands on day one. The 4-day spreads 60 km across four days at 4 to 7 hours; the 3-day covers 50 km in three days and puts a 17.2 km, 7-hour stage on your first day, before your legs have adapted to the heat and the gradient. The climb itself is identical — the same 1,200 steps, taken before dawn alongside the 4-day group. This version is for fit trekkers with limited time and a strong tolerance for pace.
Pickup is at 04:30, against 07:00 for the 4- and 5-day treks. That earlier start is what makes the compressed first day possible, so plan your night before around it — this is not a departure to arrive at after a late flight. Departures run subject to a group forming, and the group is capped at 8 trekkers.
No. The visit to Teyuna is the same on all three versions: the same pre-dawn ascent, the same 1,200 steps, the same time on the upper platforms with your guide. The 3-day does not shorten the archaeological site — it shortens everything around it. What you give up is camp time, recovery time between stages, and the slower stretches of cloud forest the longer versions let you walk at conversation pace.
Reschedule for free up to seven days before departure. After that, the deposit is non-refundable. The operator strongly recommends buying travel insurance that covers trekking cancellations.
Book your spot
Same trail, same operator since 2004 — pick the duration that fits your pace and confirm with 10%. Balance at the operator's office in Santa Marta the day before departure.
COP 2,200,000 Per person · 10% deposit now · Balance at the operator's office in Santa Marta
847 Lost City trek reviews