How Hard is the Trek to Colombia’s Lost City?
Columbia is broadly known as one of the world’s best hiking destinations. It has everything from snow-capped peaks to lush, humid jungles. But if there is one destination sure to draw the intrepid traveller, it is La Ciudad Perdida: Colombia’s Lost City. Situated deep within the jungles of Colombia’s Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, there is a trail to what was once Colombia’s best-kept secret. A city abandoned some 650 years ago, and said to equal Machu Picchu in its glory days. It’s a destination to fire the imagination, with scenery and experiences that will live with you forever. But what do you need to know about the physical challenge?
Is the Trek to Colombia’s Lost City Hard?
On paper, the Choose a Challenge trek to Colombia’s Lost City looks relatively easy. The pace is fairly leisurely, some times covering as little 1km a day. But as every experienced hiker will know, reality is usually very different to the written itinerary. With altitude, heat, and dense humidity, as well as uneven ground, the La Ciudad Perdida hiking experience has the potential to be genuinely challenging. And there are a number of factors you need to take into account before planning your journey.
The length of the trek to La Ciudad Perdida
The Choose a Challenge trek to Colombia’s Lost City follows a route that take five days to traverse. During that time, only 44km are travelled. While this seems like an easy target for anyone used to walking, the terrain and conditions will be challenging for many. Meaning that you’ll never travel more than 10km a day.
The Lost City’s steps
The steps leading to the Lost City are almost legendary amongst veteran hikers of Colombia. Before you can enter La Ciudad Perdida, you first must climb the 1,200 ancient stone steps, that take you from the Buritaca River into the city. These steps are not only plentiful, but they are extremely narrow, incredibly steep, and worn. They can also become very slippery, even in dry weather. So even if you happen to have thighs and buns of steel, these steps are no walk in the park. They require concentration and should never be tackled at speed. Because accidents do occur there on a fairly regular basis. And you don’t want to become one of the statistics.
The weather
Being near equatorial, the weather in Colombia is fairly static. So, the typical temperatures range between a daily low of 19°C and a high 30°C, year round. While we try to arrange our hikes in the marginally cooler months – our first trip of 2023 will be in January – where the average temperature is 24°C, we have no control over the weather. And even 24°C can be uncomfortable to hike in. It’s by no means impossible. But it is worth factoring it.
The humidity
On average, the humidity in the jungles surrounding Colombia’s Lost City sits at around 90%. While this might sound alarming, it’s worth remembering that humidity in the UK frequently reaches 85%-95% in the summer months. Humidity is just a bit more difficult to deal with when you’re also hot and hiking.
The altitude
With summits of 18,700ft (5,700m), the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta range is the world’s highest coastal mountain range. However, the maximum elevation at La Ciudad Perdida is around 3,800 feet (1,150m). And with symptoms of altitude sickness unlikely to affect anyone below 8,200ft (2,500m), altitude isn’t a major problem on its own.
The terrain
The Lost City trek literally takes you through the jungle. And although more people are now visiting the site, it is far from busy. Meaning that the paths can be overgrown. There’s a lot of vegetation. You’ll have to cross rivers – on foot. There will be many, many insects – many. And you will get very, very sweaty.
So, how hard is the trek to Colombia’s Lost City? We must admit that it’s not the easiest of our challenges. But we also think that it is one of the most worthwhile. The scenery is out-of-this-world amazing. There are few places you will visit that seem so other when compared to temperate little UK. You’ll encounter diverse cultures, and have the potential to see a wide array of wildlife in their natural setting. So, yes. The trek to La Ciudad Perdida can be hard. But it’s not impossible. And it is worth every ounce of effort. So, as long as you have a good level of fitness and similar degree of determination, we’d recommend the Lost City as the ultimate hiking destination.
Find out more about the Choose a Challenge trek to Colombia’s Lost City.
