Firstly a little edited extract from Wikipedia on the Lost City:

Ciudad Perdida (Spanish for "Lost City") is the archaeological site of an ancient city in Northern jungles of Colombia. It is believed to have been founded about 800 A.D., some 650 years earlier than Machu Picchu.

Ciudad Perdida was only discovered in 1972, when a group of local treasure looters found a series of stone steps rising up the mountainside and followed them to an abandoned city which they named "Green Hell" or "Wide Set". When gold figurines and ceramic urns from this city began to appear in the local black market, authorities revealed the site in 1975.

Members of local tribes—the Arhuaco, the Koguis and the Asario—have stated that they visited the site regularly before it was widely discovered, but had kept quiet about it. They call the city Teyuna and believe it was the heart of a network of villages inhabited by their forebears, the Tairona. Ciudad Perdida was probably the region's political and manufacturing centre on the Buritaca River and may have housed 2,000 to 8,000 people. It was apparently abandoned but not found during the Spanish conquest.

Ciudad Perdida consists of a series of 169 terraces carved into the mountainside, a net of tiled roads and several small circular plazas. The hidden entrance can only be accessed by a climb up some 1,200 stone steps through dense jungle.

Unfortunately, the area was at one time affected by the Colombian Civil War between the Colombian National Army, right-wing paramilitary groups and left-wing guerilla groups like National Liberation Army (ELN) and Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). On September 15, 2003, ELN kidnapped 8 foreign tourists that were visiting Ciudad Perdida, demanding government investigation of human rights abuses in exchange for their hostages. ELN released the last of the hostages three months later. The AUC paramilitary group declared itself protector of this area. The Colombian Institute of Anthropology avoided the area after the kidnappings occurred and access to tourists was also restricted.

In 2005, tourist treks became operational again. The Colombian army actively patrols the area, which is now deemed to be very safe for visitors and there have not been any more kidnappings.

Day 1

The trip began with the usual definition of "Spanish Time" with our scheduled pick up being 75mins late. Our collector took us to the tour office one town over in Santa Marta where we learned that we were not going in a usual group of 10-15 but rather just Kim and I. Kim the socialite was bitterly upset having learned she was not going to be able to turn a serene and mystical experience into a social extravaganza. We jumped into the back of an old but worthy 4WD jeep. We headed out along the paved road listening to the the hum of the knobbly tires on the road and looking out the window at the green blur go by. After an hour we broke heavily to avoid compressing a little white faced monkey under the heavy tread of the 4WD which announced our transition into the jungle.

I assumed that the road to the start of the jungle trek would be well graded and well kept, my first mistake. We turned off the luxury of the flat, wide, even paved road to begin our steep ascent up a dirt track which was heavily washed out. The adventure was beginning much sooner than I had expected and a big grin quickly spread across my face as the 4WD rocked heavily from side to side bouncing, slipping and sliding its way along the winding dirt road into the deep jungle. I looked across to see a look of sheer terror on Kim's face as she desperately held on to stop herself being bounced out of the open window. Often the jeep only had 3 wheels gripping muddy road while the fourth spun fruitlessly in mid air, now this is having fun! In places the track was so washed out that huge sections of the hillside had slipped away leaving 30m drops to the left and scarcely enough road for the 4WD to pass on the right. It was at this point I was hoping my parents could find a good use for the insurance payout following my tumbling death until I remember that the UK government advises against travel into this region probably making my policy void.

After 45mins of being shaken around in the back of the jeep, winding our way up through the jungle covered hills and crashing through a couple of rivers, we arrived at a small village in time for lunch. It was at this point that we met our guide, the best way to describe Jorge is a Spanish version of Golem from Lord of the Rings. He was a gangly fellow with missing teeth, a severely balding head sprouting a few wisps of thin dark hair, a gaunt expression, and deep depressions on the side of his head which made it look like his head was going to cave in on itself at any second. Jorge was covered with a few old rags which I hoped was just his hiking ensemble and not his everyday attire. Little did I know that this creature in front of me would prove himself to be as resourceful as the Golem character to which I likened him.

After lunch we headed off along a wide and well worn track away from the village and deeper into the thick vast jungle. The hiking at this point was pleasant but not overly breathtaking as we passed through cultivated hills and valleys where small farmlets grazed a modest amount of large dopey looking cattle. It is at this point I should illustrate the level of sweat the human body is capable of excreting through its pores. The day was hot but a fairly mild 32 degrees by Colombian standards, however the humidity was thick and could be felt rising from the ground like a steam shower. I was poring sweat from every centimetre of my body including eyeballs, finger tips, and possibly even my finger nails. Its the kind of sweat that no amount of wiping can remove, it proceeded to run down my face, chest, back, arms, and legs on its was downward making me the human waterfall. Anyway you get the point - it was hot and sweaty but you just suck it up and enjoy everything that hiking has to offer.

After three hours of fairly modest walking we reached a small campsite in an idyllic setting. Coming down into the valley I could hear and see a small river of clear cool water carving the valley floor in two, the steep walls of the valley were banked in tall thick trees tangled in numerous snake-like vines with a littering of colourful flowers amongst the grass and vegetation covering the ground. As we reached our shelter we pealed off our sodden clothes, changed into swimming gear and darted into the jungle to plunge into the cool pools afforded to us by the river. I felt totally at peace as I swam in the cool waters being sheltered from the sunlight by huge trees reaching their branches overhead. I watched a humming bird hover nearby drinking the nectar from some bright red flowers and appreciated the tranquillity of the setting. All around us was thick lush green jungle, large moss covered boulders strewn among the thick tree trunks, and a refreshing clean river cooling our overheated bodies.

Later that afternoon I stood refreshed and dry, filling my water bottle from a small tap gazing into the jungle beyond when I had a flashback. I remembered so many times standing at the water cooler in a London office doing this same thing but in such a vastly different setting. Truly without contrast nothing in life can be appreciated I thought.

After a hearty Hobbit's meal of rice, meat, and potatoes I retired to my hammock to appreciate the sounds of the jungle and peacefulness of this place. I soon fell asleep to be later awoken by Kim urgently blurting out my name, followed by asking me if someone was coming to attack us. This happened a couple more times during the night as her fearful paranoia was fuelled by the noises of the Colombian jungle. Each time I placated her by urging her to go back to sleep after explaining that each noise was normal and to be expected.

Day 2

The following day we awoke after early and had a Hobbit's breakfast of scrambled eggs, chips, and toast. Our first stop was a guided one hour detour to see a small cocaine factory in action. It was a lot smaller than I expected and after doing some quick sums in my head I deduced our guide makes 20x more money from the tours than he does from the production of the cocaine. It was interesting to see the whole process from start to finish which included a lot of "here is something I prepared earlier" and whole lot of extremely nasty chemicals including gasoline, caustic soda, and hydrochloric acid. I'm sure if they showed this to all teenagers their willingness to try the illicit substance would be greatly reduced.

Soon after leaving the first camp site the farmland fell away and was devoured by dense thick green jungle. During the entire length of the trail, every few minutes we would come across something fascinating, 1000's of little Latin American workers running along a path intersecting ours, each carrying a load weighing up to 10x their own body weight. Ants, thousands of them creating a running stream of green, flowing over our path and off into the jungle. Occasionally we would also come across a red stream or white stream where the ants were dissecting and transporting different red or white plants.

With some modest hills to climb, mosquitoes to content with, and rivers to cross we made our way through the jungle to our next camp site. Along the way we passed through a handful of tiny Indian villages made entirely of wood and broad woven leaves. As the Indian males and females dress in the same white cloth and grow their hair to the same waist long length it would be almost impossible to tell the difference if it were not for the bags worn by males.

Just before we reached the second camp site Jorge (aka Golem) asked Kim about her allergy and he quickly concluded what he had planned for lunch and dinner would not fit with her allergy so we made a quick detour to a small village where he collected a few large plates and gave us directions on how to reach the next camp site. As I looked back over my shoulder I saw Golem hobbling off the trail into the jungle sniffing the ground and dragging his knuckles in the dirt muttering something about "the precious". Five minutes later Jorge came wandering into camp with a plate laden with eatable roots, plantains, and fruits which he used to cook a delicious soup for lunch - Jorge, our jungle ninja.

When we arrived at the second camp site drenched in sweat, we again striped off our wet clothes and headed straight for the river to bath in a deep pool and enjoy the waterfall. After cooling off I sat on a large boulder warming myself in the sunshine admiring the serenity and beauty of the setting. We were joined later in the afternoon by a group making their journey back out of the jungle after having seen the lost city. We spent the afternoon eating, relaxing, playing cards, and generally just jabbing each other with witty banter. A scorpion was reported to have been removed from the outside of someone's mosquito net before bed which is always an incentive to make sure my net is adequately tucked under the mattress and is "hole free".

Day 3

The next day was much of the same with the addition of some wide but shallow river crossings. In the rivers I noticed an abundance of small plecostomus fish which is a rather pricey algae eating bottom feeder sold in fish shops, something I have enjoyed watching in my tanks over the years. It was a little surreal to see them here in their natural environment on the other side of the world.

We arrived in the early afternoon at the third and furthest camp site, situated only 10mins from the entrance to the lost city. After a quick lunch, Jorge led us up the valley following closely and then into a large partially dry riverbed. After many years of leading thousands of tourists into the lost city I expected a very obvious and well worn path leading out of the valley upward to the city perched high on the mountainside. I was amazed at how well concealed the stairway still was, illustrating how the Spanish Conquistadors had failed to find the city so many years ago.

We began our ascent up the 1200+ stone mossy steps leading to the hidden city, feeling a sense of what it must have been like hundreds of years ago to live here and occupy this amazing area. The steps were built for small Indian feet and I felt clumsy at times, trying not to slip on the moist green steps.

After 30mins of climbing we reached the first of the ruins, still perfectly intact and painting a very strong picture of what life must have been like here in the city. A large number of stone circular platforms had been created, each to be the foundation for two huts but only one family. The male of the family occupying one hut while the mother and children occupy the second hut.

As our guide explained the history of the city and the intricacies of what social life must have been like, we were lead deeper into the city gaining amazing views over the valleys from some of the larger stone structures. We meandered up a large wide walkway reserved only for royalty to arrive at some enormous raised walls filled with earth to create vast level platforms where stone thrones sat and buildings had once stood, appreciating that this is where royalty would have governed over the city long ago.

Our tour of the city lasted less than two hours due to the swiftness of a group of two and we felt very lucky to have the entire lost city to ourselves, just Kim and I (and some military presence in the far distance keeping a protective watch). Our guide led us along a weaving maze of pathways through the jungle showing us the many uncovered sites which even included a basic prison, allowing us to explore and examine as much of the ruins and city as we desired. I appreciated these ruins more than Machu Pichu as here I felt more like Harrison Ford than a ignorant overweight tourist come to tick something off his list.

Day 4 & 5

The remaining two days were spent making the return journey out of the jungle having some encounters with snakes, leeches, cows, and enjoying many refreshing swims and spectacular vistas. I thoroughly enjoyed this trek, especially the limited number of tourists in attendance and the preserved beauty of a lost city so recently discovered only partially uncovered and exposed. Without a doubt my favourite highlight in Colombia.