Tayrona National Park: Jungle Meets Caribbean Sea
Tayrona National Natural Park — 35 km from Santa Marta — protects the magnificent coast where the Sierra Nevada descends directly into the Caribbean; the combination of pristine beaches, coral reefs, and tropical forest makes it Colombia's most popular national park
Minca: World-Class Birding in the Sierra Nevada
Minca — a hill village above Santa Marta — is the best birding base in Colombia; the Sierra Nevada's 20 endemic bird species and hundreds of migrants accessible from Minca make it one of the world's top birding destinations
Santa Marta's Caribbean Coast: Beaches of the Magdalena
The Santa Marta coastline — with Tayrona to the north and El Rodadero to the south — has the Caribbean coast's most dramatic setting; the Sierra Nevada rising behind the beaches creates an unmatched combination of mountain and sea
Ciudad Perdida: Colombia's Lost City in the Sierra Nevada
Ciudad Perdida — the Tairona civilisation's mountaintop city, built around 800 CE and hidden from the outside world until 1972 — is reached only by a 4-day jungle trek through the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta; it is Colombia's most dramatic archaeological site
Santa Marta: Colombia's Oldest Colonial City
Santa Marta — founded in 1525 — is the oldest surviving European city in South America; the historic centre's colonial architecture, the Simón Bolívar connection, and the Caribbean waterfront combine in Colombia's most historically significant coastal city
Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta: The World's Highest Coastal Mountain
The Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta — an isolated mountain range rising to 5,775m directly from the Caribbean — is the world's highest coastal mountain range, an extraordinary UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, and the sacred home of four indigenous peoples
Santa Marta Caribbean Diving: Reefs of the Colombian Coast
The Caribbean coast near Santa Marta has excellent diving — the protected waters of Tayrona National Park, the offshore reefs, and the relative lack of heavy dive tourism have allowed the coral ecosystems to recover unusually well
Santa Marta's Caribbean Culture: Cumbia, Vallenato & Tairona Tradition
Santa Marta is the cultural crossroads of Colombia's Caribbean coast — the cumbia, the vallenato, and the living Tairona indigenous traditions of the Kogui all coexist in the city and its surrounding sierra