Where the jungle meets the Caribbean Sea (at Tayrona)

After a short stop in Santa Marta, we headed to Parque Nacional Tayrona, one of the most popular national parks in Colombia. While we were doing the queue to buy the entrance tickets, two German girls who were in the area for some days were discussing about who had more mosquito bites on her legs. Mmmm . . . Tayrona suddenly sounded like a good plan to me! Parque Nacional Natural Tayrona is a park located at the foot of Sierra Santa Marta, where the sea meets the jungle. Most of the hiking trails in the park give you a taste of Tayrona’s richness, crossing rain forests out to the beach and then back to the jungle to climb up a hill with gorgeous views over the sea. Trails have also informative panels about the park’s flora, fauna and the indigenous tribes that in the past called Tayrona “home”. The pity is that sea currents are very dangerous and swimming is forbidden everywhere except for some spots.

The camping chosen to sleep was Castilletes, a nice and quiet section of the park far from the rock ‘n roll of camping Cabo San Juan. Actually Castilletes was far away from anything which at the end turned to be a disadvantage, especially for hiking (Cabo San Juan is much better located).

Tayrona Park is a very beautiful area must to any visit in Colombia. Unfortunately I wasn’t feeling well and mosquitoes plus the high humidity affected me more than expected so after two days I was happy to leave the coast for higher altitudes (and fresh air). But I will come back to the area one day! La Ciudad Perdida is still on my wish list . . .