La Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta

La Ciudad Perdida, or 'The Lost City', are ruins of an ancient civilization hidden in the dense jungle of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in Colombia. I signed up for a tour of these ruins with Expotur thinking that a five-day hike would be a nice break from the hustle-and-bustle of Cartagena. It turned out to be a much more rich experience than I had anticipated. In addition to the gorgeous scenery, I learned about the drug conflict that had plagued the Sierra Nevada just a decade earlier, the culture of the indigenous Kogis and, of course, the Lost City.

Toyota Land Cruiser

On January 24th, 2014, we drove an hour east from Santa Marta in a Toyota Land Cruiser before turning off onto a dirt road carved into the mountain-sides of the Sierra Nevada. After a bumpy, hour-long ride crossing numerous rivers and climbing even more mountains we arrived at the end of the road, El Mamey - formerly known as 'Machete'.

El Mamey, or 'Machete'

The 1970s to the mid-2000s was a dark period in the Sierra Nevada, when drug cultivation and trafficking were rampant. Its proximity to the Caribbean coast made it a strategic point for the paramilitary and guerrilla groups, who could easily distribute the copious amounts of coca and marijuana they had farmers cultivate to finance their movement. During this time, and still to this day, El Mamey was the last town accessible by road and the only town with a consistent power supply. Consequently, it became a watering hole for the farmers of the Sierra Nevada. Equipped with their principal farming tool, the machete, drunken fights often led to severed digits and limbs. Accordingly, El Mamey was dubbed 'Machete'. And it was here that I began my trek to the Lost City.

The farmlands of the Sierra Nevada

Colombian soldiers patrolling the area

The first day and a half involved hiking through the farmlands. We shared the trail with mules that carried supplies to the homes of the local farmers and Colombian soldiers who prevented the paramilitaries and guerrillas from regaining a foothold in the region. Thanks to the latter, the Sierra Nevada was safe: the cultivation of coca and marijuana had been replaced with crops and livestock, and the kidnapping of tourists was no longer a major concern.

The Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta

Our guide, Carlos, with wild sugar cane

Cacao

Wild pineapple

Coca

The remainder of the journey to the Lost City was through the dense jungle of the Sierra Nevada. Along the way our guides pointed out and let us sample various wild plant life, including sugarcane, coca, cacao and coffea. However, the highlight for me was learning about the indigenous Kogis.

A Kogi village

The Kogis inhabit the dense jungle of the Sierra Nevada, just a short hike from the farmlands. They have just recently descended from higher altitudes and begun to interact with the outside world; our guide Carlos recalled that during the first tours of the Lost City these indigenous people avoided tourists. They are now accustomed to tourists, accepting dulces (sweets) in exchange for photographs. While this exchange made it feel awkward, somewhat like a petting zoo, and makes one wonder about the influence of the outside world on their culture, it was reassuring to know that there remain Kogis deep in the Sierra Nevada who have yet to contact the outside world.

The Kogis are small in stature, are without facial hair and do not cut their hair. Children wear robes, and boys and girls are differentiated by the hand-woven mochillas (bags) and colourful beads they wear, respectively. Adult males wear pants and carry with them a hollowed pumpkin that serves as a diary with which they record their thoughts with a mixture of saliva, coca and ground sea shells. They have their own language, and only the Kogis that have been in contact with the outside world speak Spanish.

The hollowed pumpkin that serves as a diary for adult male Kogis. They crush sea shells within the pumpkin with a stick, and dip the sea shell-dust -covered stick in their mouths full of chewed coca before rubbing it against the neck of the pumpkin. This dried mixture of coca, sea shells and saliva is how they record their thoughts every day.

The Mamas are the shamans of the Kogis and play a very significant role in their culture. They are selected by the previous shaman while in the womb and, upon birth, are isolated from the rest of the community for the first seven years of their lives during which they are taught and nurtured by the current shaman and mother. The shaman predicts weather and natural disasters; decides when a boy turns into a man, as he is the only person in the community who knows the age of each Kogi; dictates when a married couple can reproduce (of the approximate 15 babies each couple will have, only about 5 will survive into adulthood); administers punishments based on his reading of Kogis' personal diaries; and heals illnesses. We were lucky to meet with one of the three shamans and ask him a few questions.

Me with one of the shamans, who's funky hat is actually a map of the Sierra Nevada

The third day we climbed the 1200 or so steps to La Ciudad Perdida. It was these steps that led to its discovery by treasure hunters in the 1970s. Not much is known about these ruins because the local Kogis won't allow archeologists to dig up the site. However, it is thought to have been built by the nomadic Tayrona after defeating another tribe of the Sierra Nevada in battle in the 11th century. In the late 1500s the Tayrona were conquered by the Spaniards, and the thirty acre city was abandoned and reclaimed by the jungle. When sitting on one of the many terraces overlooking the ruins, one can only imagine what it used to be like.

The Lost City hike surpassed my expectations by far. The guides were very knowledgable about the history of the area and the various wild- and plant-life. The trip was also exceptionally organized with hammocks or beds and a hot meal waiting for us at every camp. The only catch was that the tour was solely in Spanish, so understanding everything is a challenge for non-native Spanish speakers. If you're ever in Colombia, you have to fit this into the itinerary!

Cooking over wood-stoves

Candle-lit pescado dinner

Big thanks to our guides Carlos & Ali and the cooks