General tips - Taganga.
by whycolombia
The Colombian Caribbean coast is a region where coexist a wide variety of cultures, every one with their own customs and histories that surprise every tourist and it's not enough to visit great cities like Santa Marta, Barranquilla or Cartagena in order to understand this magic land. Therefore, if you are searching something more tah a sample glance, you must to move away a bit, you must to be off the beaten track, according to your particular purpose: to visit historic places, to see inusual customs or to visit places with a beatiful lanscape suitable for ecotourism.
Near from Santa Marta lies Taganga, a peaceful and safe place. Taganga is a good option to stay a complete day, because is near from the city (just 10 minutes in a colectivo ride). It´s a small town of fishermen, situated in a beatiful bay of the same name. Normally very quiet, it´s crowded with people all around Colombia in the high season; lots of music (mainly Vallenatos) and happy people. Now, Taganga is a popular diving site and one of the cheapest places in Colombia.
the beaches
by richiecdisc
Santa Marta might not be noted as having great beaches but certainly, it has a serviceable and very convenient one compared to Cartagena, where you have to travel a bit to enjoy such things. Locals enjoyed the warm lapping waters and fair enough sand. It seemed particularly popular early evening when the sun had gone down a bit in the sky and temperatures had dropped a tad. While it may have lacked the post card scenic beauty of the beaches of nearby Tayrona National Park, it was just a stone's throw from fairly affordable accommodation.
Go to the Beach
by grandmaR
Since we were on a cruise ship, we did not attempt to go to the beach for fear of being left at the port. I understand there are several towns around where one can lie on the sand.
I took pictures of the beaches that were within view - some of them had people beaching it, and some appeared deserted and may only be accessible by boat
trek to La Ciudad Perdida
by richiecdisc
La Ciudad Perdida has not only a rich and lengthy history but a storied recent past as well. Though settlement in the vicinity dates back perhaps a far as the 7th century and the actual structures' construction to between the 11th and 14th, the “Lost City” was just that until the early 1970s when local grave-robbers happened upon the jungle-strewn ruins of the indigenous Tayrona people. The terraced structures that remain incredibly well-preserved even today were mere platforms on which the wooden thatched homes of the Tayrona were built.
Even after its “discovery,” the area was far from settled and remained in a state of turmoil first with grave-robber gangs fighting over the spoils and then with cocaine cartels using the perfect growing conditions and inaccessibility to their best advantage. This was in great conflict with its tourist development and in the early years of this, a few intrepid travelers were taken hostage, thus propelling La Ciudad Perdida to backpacker mythic proportions. In a world where Macchu Pichu was now all too easy to visit, this was a more esoteric jewel in the crown for those drawn to tramping on less trodden if dangerous grounds. As with all things to do with Colombia, information about such danger lagged far behind the steady progress away from it. La Ciudad has been host to many organized trekking groups since the millennium and now appears to be as safe a trek as any in South America. Of course, such organization takes from its illusive allure but it still has a few years before it is overrun like similar treks in Peru so enjoy it while it lasts.
You must do the tour with a group and thankfully there is now some competition amongst the ranks after many years of it being monopolized by Colombia's national tourist company, TURCOL. It can be done in as little as five days but the more typical trek is six days and five nights. This can be arranged in Santa Marta or Taganga and definitely cheaper than doing it in Bogota.
For more details, check out my La Ciudad Perdida page.
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sadly always closed while there
a lot of potential
the goods at La Casa
view to taganga village
