Teyuna (Ciudad Perdida), Colombia
Hike hidden trails to a long lost pre Columbian capital in the mountains.
Colombia’s far north is a land of secrets, guarded by a dizzying expanse of coastal mountains known as the Sierra Nevada. Much of it can only be accessed on foot, and for those who make the trek, deep within its interior lies the biggest secret of all the city of Teyuna. Built around AD700, it was once the centre of a Tairona empire that spanned the entire range. But like much of pre Columbian Latin America, it was abandoned during the Spanish Conquest and only unearthed again in 1972. Local troubles since then mean that travellers are just now discovering it for themselves.
Teyuna still feels like a real ciudad perdida (lost city). Around 8,000 people make the trek from Santa Marta each year nearly as many as visit Machu Picchu in a day. Guided walks are the only way in, hiking 44km through forest draped in lianas and past Kogi villages whose residents are instantly recognisable by their starchy white hats.
By the third day you’ll arrive at the foot of the 1,200 steps leading up to the ruins, where 200 or o terraces trickle down the mountainside. Climb to the cluster of carved platforms that marks the highest point and gaze out: what you see is only a fraction of the city still to be uncovered a thrilling taste of a forgotten world.