Hiking in Tayrona National Park
Like everyone who visits Colombia, we had heard of Tayrona National Park, known for its beautiful unspoiled nature and the beautiful hikes you can do. A must-do if you are near Palomino/Santa Marta. And so the adventure began. Read our story here…
A different hike from that of many visitors….
Very optimistically, we made another vlog for the home front that we were already walking for 4 hours and that we only had “2 more hours” to go! Nothing could be further from the truth…
When the receptionist at our hostel (Eco hostel Yuluka) said that we could hike Tayrona hike in 6 hours, that already seemed pretty tough to us but still we started the hike in good spirits! From the entrance of the National Park you are taken to the starting point of the hike. The first kilometers were beautiful with an amazing view over the sea, cliffs that went straight down, great nature (here and there a big mud puddle that you had to avoid) and animals like howler monkeys and different kinds of birds.
Very optimistically, we made another vlog for the home front that we had been walking for 4 hours and that we only had “2 more hours” to go! Nothing could be further from the truth…
Where we spent the first few hours hiking, by now we were scrambling hard. Moaning, we said to each other “Couldn’t the receptionist have told you to climb like a monkey, descend as if you had the strong legs of a horse, a condition of a cheetah and lose as much moisture as from the blowhole of an orca?” Or, had we taken a wrong turn while chatting, singing and admiring nature? Knowing us, this was exactly what must have happened….
There is no one who can do this route (the wrong one that is) in 6 hours, so it took us not 6 but 9 hours.Did we like it? In the beginning yes……but soon we lost sight of the nature we were trudging through, but every rock felt like a victory.
When, after more than an hour of scrambling, we were told that we had another hour of climbing and scrambling over rocks (which I couldn’t have made it over with my short legs without help) and then another 3 hours of walking uphill and downhill, we were both fed up. We were running out of water and snacks in our bags. Fortunately, we ran into a group of Argentine girls who shared some peanuts and water with us, so we still had something to keep us going.
23 kilometers, 182 floors and more than 31,000 steps further…..with pain in our back, hip and knees we made it to the finish line just before closing time: we did it! No Christmas kilos for us this year 😉
By Mellin
Travel Date December 2017
Updated June 2024
#NaarColombiaTips
#Tip 1) Check the route in advance!
If necessary, ask fellow hikers along the way if they are walking the same route as you, to avoid ending up in weather as bad as ours. Standard route: Calabazo to El Zaino (or the other way around, also possible!)
#Tip 2) If you start from Calabazo and hike via Playa Brava (about 4 hours walk), from Playa Brava to El Zaino it is about 2 hours walk. During the first part (from Calabazo to Playa Brava) you have to climb and descend a lot, this is a lot more challenging than the second part of the route. Once you get to Playa Brava, the second part of the route is a piece of cake 😉
#Tip 3) Want to master Spanish faster? Then set your phone settings to Spanish! It has helped me shift gears faster in Spanish.
#Tip 4) Check out more info on the hiking trails and more practical information and tips in our travel guide Tayrona National Park
#Tip 5) Want to hike in the park with a guide? Then check out this Tayrona hike and beach tour. Check here nice hotels in and around Tayrona National Park.
