Ciudad Perdida

The Lost City.  44 km of jungle treking in the interior of Colombia involving 9 major river crossings, daily brushes with the army, passage through areas that only a few years ago were large coco fields, and afternoon monsoons that left everything we owned soaked to the core.

Elisabeth and I left for the trek on a Wednesday morning not truly knowing what we were getting ourselves into. Yeah, we knew it was 5 days and 4 nights of pretty intense stuff, but we (or atleast I) didn´t truly know what we were in for. On our way out there we jumped in a jeep (7 tourists, 4 guides a weeks worth of food and all of our packs).

Our Jeep break down!

Three hours after we set out, and many a dirt road later, we got to the base camp where we had some sandwiches and set off on the journey.  The first day was not a lot of hiking, but it was nearly straight up hill and started around 2:00.  We soon learned that hiking in the afternoon is not ideal, especially when thunderstorms are close by.  Sure enough, about half an hour into our hike  we hear the booming thunder. Next thing we know the trail is 8 inches deep in mud and we are soaked.  In all fairness, the rain is nice in the sense that it cools you down a lot, but our packs and our clothes would not dry for the duration of the hike.

The first night we slept in hammocks with mosquito netting.  The mosquito netting was definitely worth its weight in gold as we were bit quite a few times on the trip.  We rose at 7 am the next day, had a breakfast of fresh fruit and granola and hiked 4-5 hours in the early sun before the rain.  We got to camp number 2 just as the downpour started and were able to enjoy the rain from camp this time as opposed to being in it. 

The map at the launch point.

Typical trail conditions.

Day three we were in the grove: up at 6, breakfast at 6:30, on the trail by 7.  The length of the trip turned out not to be the problem as much as the constant heat and humidity.  Hiking early really helped avoid the worst of the heat. Throughout the length of the trip one is constantly passing armed military (with automatic weapons, rocket launchers, etc).  This area used to be a hotbed of paramilitary activity and is constantly patrolled  (probably to ensure the tourist dollars continue to flow).  As the trip progress and you are in the actual national park you encounter ever increasing numbers of the native people`s.  Some were very friendly, others were understandably not happy to see the ever increasing number of western peoples. 

Night 3 is spent at a base camp about one hour away from the actual Ciudad Perdida. Day 4 we are up early and at the Lost City by 8:00am.  It was a truly amazing experience and definitely worth the trek in. There were over 250 sites where houses once stood and in fact the city is still used for large meeting of shaman`s.  Pictures do it justice, not my words. 

One of the many ruins.

One of the myraid of trails.

Elisabeth sitting on the steps to the top.

The ruins!

The trek out was much faster -- only 2 days to cover what we did in 3 on the way in.  That being said, you are going downhill and have the help of a donkey carrying your pack part of the way.  All said, this was truly an amazing experience, and though the Ciudad Perdida was amazing, the hike is equally as enjoyable.

For a complete photo album of the trek and the Lost City try this link:  Lost City Photo Album.