I was hesitant on visiting the unique beaches of Tayrona National Park because I didn’t want to deal with such a large volume of tourists, but according to the bathroom wall of The Journey Hostel, “The only impossible journey is the one you don’t take.” With the help of Inti, the founder of the hostel, we were able to enter through a side entrance, hike less popular trails, and  on our extra days, we visited deserted beaches and lesser known waterfalls.

 

 

Getting There

From Santa Marta, we took a bus from the terminal to The Journey Hostel, $5.20. The hostel is a 15-minute walk from the main entrance of the national park (Zaino), or a short colectivo ride to the side entrance (Calabazo).

Accommodation

Despite staying at the famous Casa Elemento and Casa en el Agua hostels, my favorite hostel in Colombia was The Journey Hostel. Inti was inspired by Casa Elemento and as an architect, he built his own dream (quite literally, from scratch).Still incomplete, all our facilities were new and beautifully designed. Yes, we showered under bamboo spouts. $10 dorms and $26 privates overlook the jungle and ocean, which are both technically the edge of Tayrona. I found myself sleeping eye-to-eye with songbirds. Dinner was served family-style, $4, and a kitchen for guests was coming soon.

 

 

See and Do

The Monkey Walk

Day 5

After getting lost in a forest of coconut palms we knew we were back on track when we found ourselves gazing into the intelligent eyes of howler monkeys.

We stayed on the quiet beach and sandy boulders all afternoon.

The idea of a super fresh tuna salad was what ultimately brought us back to Journey. Afterwards, we watched the sun set behind a distant mass of vegetation from the concrete frame of an unfinished building.

 

 

Tayrona National Park

Tickets were $3 for students presenting a valid ID, and $15 for foreigners. Don’t be like us and have half the group forget that we needed to show our passports and walk back to the hostel to dig them up.

The five of us took a colectivo bus (it’s blue, green, and white) for $.67 to Calabazo, a small village with a side entrance to the park. Even though it was only the fifth day Tayrona had reopened to the public after being closed all February, there were no other tourists here and therefore no queue. We followed signs for Cabo San Juan (3-4 hours), passing through the indigenous village of Pueblito along the way, before passing through La Piscina and Arecifes along the beach, ending at the parking lot (2 hours from Cabo). A colectivo took us the the main entrance, Zaino, for $1 and we walked from there back to Journey.

We did not realize ahead of time that at the parking lot was another short side trail called Nueve Piedras, which leads to a lookout. Dehydrated and tired, Chris and I decided to skip it, which is a shame. Don’t forget to check it out!

I recommend doing all of this as a day trip and enjoying a real bed at night, since the second day all we did was hike out. The most popular place to rent a tent ($10) or hammock ($7) was Cabo San Juan—it looked like a tent city. The pricier and very limited gazebo hammocks were notorious for being freezing at night, and anyone is allowed to walk around them and enjoy view during the day. Less claustrophobic options were available in Arecifes, which is where we stayed.

This was only a small but very popular chunk of Tayrona. There are other entrances closer to the town of Taganga, and I heard that Playa Cristal was beautiful.

A note on history: “Tayrona” doesn’t sound Spanish because it’s not. It is the name of an indigenous population that was wiped out by colonialism. Four descendant tribes (Kogi, Wiwa, Arhuaco, and Kankuamo) still live in the Santa Marta area, including within the national park (i.e. Pueblito). There are often conflicts between the indigenous people and the government over the infringing eco-tourism, contributing to the frequent closures of the park.

 

 

Day 6

The hike to Cabo San Juan was shaded and pleasant. The sudden density of tourists shocked Candice and I as we came up to a packed restaurant.

Chris was waiting for us. We unanimously agreed not to stay here for the night. After watching them eat at the restaurant (I had my usual Clif bar), we swam, visited the gazebo, and walked the beaches. Still no sign of Parbs and Z. Candice convinced us that they must have turned around. After all, Parbs slashed the bottom of her foot on the boulders the day before.

Moving on to Arecife, we showered, jumped in our hammocks, and suddenly were incapable of moving any more for the day. So three adults shared my last Clif bar and a small packet of tuna for dinner.

 

 

Day 7

Leave it to me to drag a guy to the beach at 6am to nap while we waited for the lady running El Palacio de las Arepas to return.

She taught me how to stuff arepas with eggs, or chicken and veggies. I say her cooking was authentic because the arepas were deep-fried in the same oil as the days before, sitting out in the open. And new dough was made and mixed with old dough.

*****
“Why are all my friends dying?!”

Chris found a tick in the shower and didn’t completely remove it. I had to ask Inti for tweezers and help. Candice, who had left early for a flight, was still recovering from food poisoning. Parbs and Z were still missing.

We napped unworried, woke worried, and decided we would have to go asking Tayrona, just as a sketch sedan pulled up around 6pm. Our friends rolled out, drenched in sweat, and our eyebrows raised as they told us how they went all the way to Playa Brava. Chris was reunited with his Oreos that Parbs had been carrying the entire time.

After delicious ribs for dinner nothing felt better than swinging in hammocks, enjoying the gentle warmth Northern Colombian air. That is, until the world came to a standstill at the sound of a giant rip.

Z and Parbs were paralyzed as they waited to hit to floor. But they stayed put. It was me, my head, and my ass. They couldn’t stop laughing at me as I just hung out on the ground while all the staff rushed to my side.

I jumped up, totally fine, and we proceeded to teach the new European guests how to play Cards Against Humanity.

 

 

Quebrada Valencia

Day 8

Z and I were the only ones who had energy for more. After several police check points during the bus ride that reminded us of the existence of the drug industry, we arrived at the trailhead to Quebrada Valencia. It was $1 to enter.

The walk in took just under half an hour, followed by a scramble to the top and back down of the waterfalls. We couldn’t stay long; the boys had a flight to Medellin that evening.

On the ride home locals came on the bus selling various snacks, and I was intrigued by the giant pods called guama. They say you crack it open and eat the fruit inside, which I need to do when I go back to Colombia.

 

 

Our group dynamic over the past four days had developed an amusing vibe resembling reality TV. Even Inti was sad for the four of us and had us take a photo together. I love Inti. I would have never known it was International Women’s Day had he not gone around to all the ladies, giving them little red flowers.

Back on the road, the Colombian charm was showing itself once more. The staff in the office for shuttles pointed to the bathrooms with real smiles, and the driver called us “princesas.”

 

 

Headed to Colombia? Find more itinerary inspiration here.