Parque Tayrona
Tuesday, September 19
After having spent a few days in the unique hostel “Nuevo Mundo” in Minca, our journey continued and we took the bus an hour further north from Minca. Our next destination was Tayrona National Park and our next hostel was located just a few minutes from the entrance of the National Park.
Just like before in Minca, we were still in the Colombian jungle, but now no longer on top of the mountains, but at sea level. The climate here was, as you would expect, very warm and humid, but overall quite bearable. Applying a thick layer of sunscreen and spraying our clothes and skin with mosquito spray, we were ready to visit the famous Tayrona National Park. There are several villages in which indigenous peoples live on the territory of the National Park. Every year, at the request of the indigenous people, the National Park is closed for one month a year so that nature can recover from all the tourists for a few weeks. Also during this break the indigenous people are not disturbed by visitors of the National Park, at least for a short time. So if you plan to visit Tayrona National Park in Colombia, you should find out Tyrona’s annual closure time before booking your trip.
A visit to Tayrona Park is definitely worth it, as this National Park is very extensive and has different landscapes. There are various hikes you can do within the park. Like most visitors, we really wanted to walk up to the coast and the beach so we could swim in the Caribbean Sea. Since you are in the middle of the jungle, where all kinds of animals and insects live, you should only walk on the official, signposted hiking trails though and under no circumstances go through the forest on your own. The official routes are well signposted and most paths consist of wooden planks on stilts that are firmly anchored in the ground.
There are various beaches you can hike to. We had chosen a particularly beautiful beach in advance which we wanted to hike to. Starting at the entrance of the park it took us about 2 hours to get there. The first hour of the hike you walk through a beautiful jungle, where you will most likely meet a lot of free-roaming monkeys that swing from one tree to the next. Also you will cross countless ant trails with hundreds of ants that busily transport green leaves throughout the jungle. At some point the landscape eventually changes and you move from the luscious densely overgrown jungle to a less overgrown and therefore brighter area full of palm trees. Slowly the ground of soil and roots turns into sand and you notice that you are approaching the coast. A few minutes later you finally get the first peak of the incredibly turquoise Caribbean Sea! Due to the strong currents on some beaches, swimming is only permitted in selected, safe bays though. In order to get to the beach that we chose (where it was safe to swim), we had to walk through the tropical heat for another hour.
When we finally arrived at the beach we realized that every minute of our exhausting hike in the humid jungle was so worth it! We were at the most beautiful beach and sea we have ever been to and even after spending several hours on the beach and swimming, we couldn't believe how clear and turquoise the water was there! An absolute dreamy beach hidden in the Tayrona National Park in Northern Colombia.
