Breathtaking view in Minca

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Minca is a tiny village in the tropical rain forest of Colombia and is an oasis of tranquillity. This cute mountain village is surrounded by green rain forests, mountains and waterfalls which give a fantastic scenery. Combine this with a super friendly atmosphere and you get one of the most special places to visit in Colombia.

Picture by Flora Baker.

Everyone looking for a relatively undiscovered piece of Colombia is in the right place in Minca. The beauty is that there is almost no WiFi available (of course you can find it in certain places), so it will reduce your temptation to look on your phone and this makes it a very social place. It feels like backpacking in the early days. Minca consists of only a few streets and is still developing. Travellers often make a stop before or after a multi-day hike to Ciudad Perdida because of the ultimate chilled atmosphere. But you can also make beautiful walking tours in the Minca area. 

How to get there

You will find Minca at about 45 minutes from the bustling Santa Marta. From here buses go to Cartagena, Minca, Tayrona, Palomino etc. Santa Marta is not necessarily a nice, beautiful or entertaining city so we advise you not to stay here. Just jump into a jeep in Santa Marta and 45 minutes later you are at a small intersection in Minca. Between Calle 11 & 12 is a big supermarket and this is also the place where the buses to Minca depart approximately every half hour. A single ticket costs around 8000 pesos / € 2.50 (2018).

Best time to visit

Minca is at a height of 600 meters and you will notice this at the somewhat lower temperature. It still remains pleasant, but it is a little cooler than inland. The temperature is pretty stable during the year. You just have a wetter and drier season. The dry season is from December til April, but you could visit Minca year round. Click here for more climate information about Minca. 

What to do

# 1 Visit the waterfalls of Minca

# 2 Have lunch at Lazy Cat or DUNI which are the most delicious restaurants in Minca

# 3 Visit a coffee farm

# 4 Hike the Los Pinos Trail. The entire trip takes about six hours, but you can also shorten it with a motor taxi. 

# 5 Birdwatching. Nowhere else in the world is the biodiversity of birds as large as in Colombia

# 5 Chill out

Where to stay

Finca Carpe Diem ecolodge has an amazing location and it was a highlight of our trip in Colombia. The pool and the view makes this a place you want to stay forever. The food is delicious and the staff is very friendly and helpful. Finca Carpe Diem is committed to social and environmental goals. For example, they are undertaking a tree planting project. Also, all the staff lives in the village nearby. They work with locally manufactured organic ingredients, often from their farm. We would recommend to stay here for at least a few days. On booking.com they get an average rating of 8.9.