Frequently Asked Question

The difference between the 4 and 5-day tour is the last day: in the 4-day tour, the last day it is necessary to walk about 7 hours, while in the 5-day trek,during day 4 and 5 we take a detour from the main trail – the so-called Waterfall trail – and we will only walk during the morning of these two last days.

Itinerary can change depending on the decisions of the guides, who are taking care of the groups.

Lost City trek for 6 days is a customized tour, whose operation depends on, among others: weather conditions, biosecurity protocols, available spots; because of this, we suggest to contact us to check availability and price.

Teyuna Tours DOES operate the Lost City trek in 3 days, and because we care about our customers’ safety: to be able to visit the Lost City in Santa Marta, Colombia, through a 3-day trek, it is necessary to be in excellent physical condition, since it is a more demanding tour than the 4 or 5-day itinerary.

Likewise, it will be necessary to sign a disclaimer, to ensure that there are no medical or other conditions that may affect the development of the activity.

Due to safety reasons, and in order to grant a better service, maximum number of participants per group is about 10 people. If the group is bigger, there will be 2 or more guides.

The best suggestion we can give is to carry only strictly necessary equipment, since every participant should carry his own things.

As an alternative, it is possible to rent a mule in Machete Pelao, before starting the walk: each mule can carry up to 5-6 backpacks, depending on weight and dimensions.

This service does not depend on Teyuna Tours, and usually the cost is of about $700.000 COP for all the trek, same for the mule with seat.

• Tennis shoes or boots, and sandals or resting shoes for the camps
• T-shirts, quick dry are the best option
• Shorts or bermudas
• Sweatshirt and a pair of long trousers
• Swimsuit
• Towel – microfiber suggested
• Socks
• Insect repellent
• Personal items and toiletries
• Flashlight
• Water bottle of 1 liter or more – purified water will be available in every campsite
• Personal medications
• Camera
• Waterproof, plastic bags or rain cover for the backpack

Optional

• Playing cards or a book
• Sleeping bag liners

Teyuna Tours and the managers of the campsites on the Lost  City trek are not responsible for lost or damaged personal belongings.

Before leaving a campsite or break site, pleace check you did not leave anything behind, in order to avoid unpleasant surprises – like noticing you left your wallet in some spot 5 hours of walk away from where you are.

Remember you can store your main bag for free at our office or in Machete Pelao, the town in which treks start and end.

Remember, you can store your main luggage at our office or in the village of Machete Pelao, where the hike to the Lost City begins and ends, at no additional cost.

Are you returning from a tour and have a flight in the evening? Don’t worry, our office also has a shower and free wifi. You can store your luggage for as long as you need, enjoy the sunset in the bay, retrieve your belongings before Teyuna Tours office closing time, and take a taxi or bus to Simón Bolívar International Airport in Santa Marta.

Usually it is very hot, climate is drier the first and last day and more humid during the rest of the trek. The highest campsite, called Paraiso Teyuna, is located at 900 m above sea level: because of this, nights may be cooler (16-17 degrees celsius).

Blankets are available in every campsite anyway, so that it is not necessary to bring a sleeping bag.

Every night is spent in basic campsites, with an open structure and a roof.
In all the camps there are showers and toilets: they won’t be five-star hotels … but considering the location, it’s like four and a half.

Accommodation is in beds or hammocks, with their mosquito net; in low season there will be no problem in finding beds, while in high season there may not be available beds: however, there are always hammocks. Nothing that may scare adventure lovers.

Fortunately, there are no problems with yellow fever or malaria and water provided is purified.

The Lost City in this moment is one of the most biosecure destinations in Colombia, since both visitors and service providers can NOT access the region without presenting a certificate of Covid-19 partial or complete vaccination.

Since 2003, the Government began to invest in safety and a camp for the High Mountain Battalion of the Colombian Army was built close to the main terraces of the Lost City.

Situation is peaceful and there has been no problem since then.

Most travel insurances do not cover extreme sports, tours, excursions.
And by Murphy’s law, if you don’t have an insurance, something will happen for sure.

The company is exempt from any kind of responsibility coming from the pre-existing conditions of the visitors, including medical or physical conditions, or even of a different nature, such as pregnancy and others that may affect the health of the visitor him/herself.

If you have questions regarding our services, level of difficulty of the walks, the Lost City treks or other details, feel free to contact us and we will be really glad to advise you.

Very easy: from the reservation page, it is possible to select the tour, the number of passengers, the starting date; A MercadoPago link will appear, and clicking on it will open another window to continue with the payment.

Don’t worry, it is completely trustworthy, and it is not necessary to have a Mercado Pago account to be able to make a payment.

Mercado Pago is a solution that is transforming the way of paying throughout the region, simplifying electronic purchases and facilitating access to promotions and financial services without commissions or extra expenses and without risks of any kind.

MercadoPago allows you to pay using:

If you want to check it: Mercado Pago

Due to the health situation, pandemics and random variability of local and national restrictions, there may be changes in the departure times of the tours, or in the hours of operation of our office, national parks and tourist attractions.

Some parks, such as Tayrona Park, have already announced closing dates and can be checked here: link

Regarding Ciudad Perdida – Teyuna, it is generally closed during the month of September for a variable duration, depending on the decisions of the indigenous communities. In some instances, such as in the year 2021, the Archaeological Park Teyuna – Ciudad Perdida remained open; in others, the closure and its duration are confirmed during the year, so it is advisable to stay in contact with Teyuna Tours to obtain updated information about the closures and their respective durations.

Due to the health situation, pandemics and random variability of local and national restrictions, there may be changes in the departure times of the tours, or in the hours of operation of our office, national parks and tourist attractions.

Usually, it is possible to pay the balance of a reservation during office hours, up to the same date the tour begins, in cash or with a debit or credit card (4% commission applies).

Working hours of our office and departure of the tours, however, may change to adapt to restrictions and regulations of local or national authorities; therefore, it is suggested to pay the balance of your reservation one day in advance.

Yes, in our section Reservations and Contacts it’s possible to make a reservation using your PayPal balance – or by credit card via PayPal.

Please notice that, due to fees and exchange rate applied to the vendor when converting USD to COP, it may be very expensive for you to pay the total balance of the tour with PayPal.

Example: today public exchange rate is 1 USD = 5000 COP, so that the Lost City trek would cost 350 USD; however, considering PayPal fees (5.4%+0.3 USD) and PayPal internal exchange rate (1 USD = 4800 COP), final price would be 384 USD.

Because of this, it is way cheaper to just make a deposit for booking your spot by PayPal.

It is possible to pay the balance of a reservation during office hours, up to the same date the tour begins, in cash, with a Bancolombia to Bancolombia wired transfer, or with a debit or credit card (4% commission applies for this last option; in case booking was made directly with Teyuna Tours, with no intermediaries, this charge is not applied).

Due to the health situation, pandemics and random variability of local and national regulations, there may be changes in the departure times of the tours, or in the hours of operation of our office, national parks and tourist attractions.

Taking this into account, usually working hours of our office are:

Monday to Saturday: 7AM-7PM

Sunday: 7AM-6PM

Please take into account that you can contact us via WhatsApp, email or contact form 24 hours a day. We will be solving your doubts as soon as possible.

We appreciate your patience and understanding regarding the situation we are experiencing, and its effects on the level of service, working hours and working days.

Clients have the right to claim a total or partial refund of the amount he/she paid according to the following terms and conditions:

• Teyuna Tours or its provider, has failed to provide the service, as long as the reason is different from force majeure *: you will have a refund of the total amount paid for the service.
• Cancellation of a standard (non-private) tour, either the Lost City trek or another destination in Santa Marta, more than twelve (12) hours prior to the departure of the tour. You will have a refund of the total amount paid for the service.
• Cancellation of a private tour, or transfer service, more than forty-eight (48) hours prior to the starting time of the service. You will have a refund of the total amount paid for the service.
• Cancellation of a standard tour to the Lost City within twelve (12) hours prior to the departure of the tour: there will be a charge of the 10% of the total value of the tour.
• Cancellation of a standard tour other than the Lost City trek within twelve (12) hours prior to the departure of the tour: there will be a charge of the 50% of the total value of the tour.
• Cancellation of a private tour, or transfer service, within forty-eight (48) hours prior to the starting time of the service. There will be a charge of the 10% of the total value of the service.
• Presenting a positive result for the Covid-19 test, after the starting time of a service that requires a negative result, implies a charge of the 20% of the total value of the service.

The customer will not get a refund in the following cases:

• The client does not show up to start the tour (no show).
• An accident or calamity occurs and prevents the service to be provided or provided in full.
• The client resign during the service.
• Events unrelated to Teyuna Tours occur, such as cancellation or delay of flights, loss of luggage, closure of roads, airports, terminals, borders, among other external reasons that may prevent the client to be provided a certain service.

* It is intended as force majeure: meteorological phenomena, disturbances of public order, unforeseen closures of the destination or roads, among others that prevent the service to be provided, or put safety of our customers at risk.

Yes; It is necessary that you confirm your preferences and other requirements during the reservation process.

Likewise, you must indicate if you suffer from any type of allergy or pathology.

All agencies need to meet very strict requirements in order to operate the Lost City trek: permits must be obtained from the farming and indigenous communities, and from the Government through the ICANH (Colombian Institute of Anthropology and History). Each entity receives contributions for the development of the respective communities, or entry tickets, as in the case of ICANH, and these values ​​are established on an annual basis.

In addition to this, the different associations that gather different groups of service providers agree with the tour operators fair rates and demand adequate working conditions.

Therefore, the operating expenses of all agencies will be the same or very similar; In order to maintain a healthy and fair competition, and provide a high quality service, minimum rates are established and applied by all companies.

Private or tailor-made services may have different prices; however, never lower than the established price.

Imagine sitting in the best restaurant of your city, and discovering that the waiter, the chef and the owner are the same person.

Wouldn’t you feel spoiled?

This is Teyuna Tours, the only tour operator of the Lost City trek created and managed by the same guides.

Who is going to take you to discover Sierra Nievada, is also the owner of the company.

Our guides belong either to the Native communities, or to the farmers’ communities of the regions in which we operate.

We suggest you to bring a certain amount of money, let’s say $ 100,000 COP per person: during the tour, you can find small shops where soft drinks, handicrafts, local products are sold; there are extra services such as mules for carrying backpacks; at the end of the tour, it is possible to leave a tip to the guide, the cook, the interpreter …

Remember that the most valuable tip for us, is that you are happy with the service we provided, and being recommended in Google Business and in Tripadvisor!

We suggest to get to Santa Marta at least one day before the trek starts, in order to avoid issues and delays.

However, if you get to Santa Marta by 8AM the day the trek starts, we offer transportation service from the airport to our office at no extra cost.

Teyuna Tours offers as an extra service trekking poles and backpack rental; depending on availability, in our office you will find a 20L backpack and a couple of trekking poles and rent them for just $100.000 COP for the whole duration of the tour.

At Teyuna Tours office you can find EcoRepel and Pastor 34, both excellent choices for repelling mosquitoes, ideal for your jungle adventures.

You can also purchase microfiber towels, bottles, and flashlights so you can be prepared to start the Lost City trek in the best possible way.

Once you book your tour with Teyuna Tours, after providing your personal information and making a deposit, you will be able to pay the balance in our office in cash, or by card. There is no further charge for debit/credit card payments provided your booking is done directly with us. It’s on us!

Otherwise, a 4% charge applies; please consider that, when booking is made through external platforms, travel agencies, hotels, hostels or so, a commission has to be paid already, so it is not possible for us to take on further costs.

Our tours start from Santa Marta; we suggest to arrive in Santa Marta or its surroundings the day before the start of the tour, in order to avoid delays or inconveniences, especially considering current conditions, variables such as traffic, local and national regulations, other causes of force majeure.

If you are in Palomino, you can reach the La Aguacatera region with a Cootranoriente bus; if you are staying at a hotel / hostel on Troncal del Caribe, between Santa Marta and La Aguacatera, we can organize the pick-up service. Likewise, if at the end of the Lost City trek you want to stay in the close to Tayrona Park, it is enough that you confirm it.

If you want to get to Palomino at the end of the trek, we can leave you at La Aguacatera, where you can take a Cootranoriente bus.