Hiking in the Forests Around Minca, Colombia

Hello Steemians!

I wrote in a previous post about traveling to Colombia in early 2017 and I thought I would go into more detail about one of my favorite spots I visited, Minca. The village of Minca is about 20km outside of the city of Santa Marta and is nestled in the Sierra Nevada at about 650m above sea level. The area is filled with lush forests, beautiful waterfalls, and most importantly coffee farms, it is the perfect place to just get away from the fast pace and heat of Santa Marta. I spent three days in Minca and it was one of the best experiences I had in Colombia.

The night sky was so dark and clear here, I had a friend snap this picture of me stargazing, its quite difficult to stand still for 30 seconds to get a clear picture.

The rolling, forest covered hills that surround Minca.

Getting to Minca

As I said, Minca is just outside of Santa Marta so you have a few options to get there from the city.

1. Taxi - This is the most expensive option if you are travelling solo, and it will cost you around 40,000-50,000COP

2. Colectivo - This is the most popular way to get to the village. A colectivo is a small van or truck used by locals all over Central and South America to get around. It costs about 8,000COP/pax and takes about 30 minutes or so. To get the colectivo to Minca, go to Calle 12 and Carrera 9 and find the place called 'L'estacion de Minca'

Once you are in Minca, if you are staying outside the village proper you can take a moto taxi, which is basically a teenager driving while you sit on the back of a standard scooter. I was staying at a place called Mar y Monte Hostel which was about 200m for the village so I walked there. It was an amazing little hostel with both dorms and private rooms and I highly recommend it to anyone heading to Minca, it has a spectacular view of both the mountains and Santa Marta.

Sunset from the front patio of the hostel.

Santa Marta at night.

The view behind the hostel at night.

What to Do

One of the best things to do in Minca is hiking! There is a large ring road that circles the area that is mainly for off road vehicles and is perfect for hiking along and there are several trails that cut through the center. I picked up a map from my hostel and set out on my second morning there to hike and see the waterfalls and other sights of the region and it was such a relaxing day. I visited the famed Casa Elemento for lunch, it is a hostel a few kilometers from Minca with a massive hammock that overlooks the valley. I originally wanted to stay there but it was booked solid so I settled for hiking up for lunch, it was a bit pricey (10,000COP to enter and 15,000COP to eat) but it was worth it, they bake fresh bread daily and the food was wonderful. I spent the rest of the day wandering the forests and I stopped off at the Marinka Waterfall, it costs 4,000COP to enter but its worth it and I went swimming in the bottom to cool off before heading back to the hostel.

The trail through the forest.

It is such a beautiful forest.

The view from Casa Elemento.

A few shots of Marinka Waterfalls.

All in all, Minca is a wonderful place to stop and get a break from the rush of the big cities and just enjoy the simple beauty of Colombia. The village is filled with wonderful people, spectacular food and coffee and you would be a fool to skip it if you are ever in Colombia. I hope you all get a chance to visit sometime and I hope to visit again. Thanks for reading!

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