The mountains of northern Colombia hide one of South America's most impressive
manmade wonders.
Teyuna, known as Ciudad Perdida, the Lost City.
It's centuries older than Machu Picchu, but draws only a fraction of the visitors.
Getting here takes a four-day uphill hike on muddy paths once ruled by drug smugglers,
treasure thieves and hostage-takers.
Where now traditional tribes meet modern travellers,
in an awe-inspiring environment.
Follow me on a trek to the Lost City.
This is the most comfortable we will be for the next four days, jolting in a transporter
up the foothills of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta.
Our hike begins in a village officially named El Mamey.
But locals call it Machete, after the blades wielded during an outbreak of violence
several decades ago.
This town used to be at the center of a narco trafficking route, bringing cocaine and marijuana
from the mountains to the sea.
But today it's a peaceful place, bringing tourists to and from the Ciudad Perdida.
Here we meet our main guide, Pablo, from the indigenous Wiwa tribe.
Pablo warns our group what's ahead - early starts, and wet weather.
Plastic bags are essential.
We'll be marching 23 kilometers each way.
Off we go.
Within minutes, the road is mud.
No one's shoes are spared.
Except for our guides, who know it's best to wear rubber boots.
We're carrying our own clothes, but all our food goes up on the back of mules –
one animal for every 5 hikers.
After around 4 hours and 8 kilometers of uphill hiking,
we reach our simple camp station.
It was a pretty managable start to the trek.
There were some steep hills, everyone's shoes got muddy, but in general
it was pretty easy going.
But we've been told to prepare for an arduous hike of around 9 hours the next day.
To power us along, our cooks prepare our meal of fried fish – vegan options available.
No one goes hungry on these hikes.
And our mosquito-netted bunk beds are more comfy than you might expect.
Before the sun crests the hills, we're up ready,
motivated by a promise from our guide Pablo.
The mud has mostly firmed up.
Now the path crosses streams and rivers as we progress ever upwards.
Today's hike is as much about culture as nature.
As he walks, Pablo works on his demburu, also known as a poporo.
He chews coca leaf, mixes saliva with crushed seashells, and pastes it around a gourd.
These bulbs can grow to weigh several kilograms.
And they're sacred to the indigenous men of the Sierra Nevada.
The tribes here – including Wiwa and Kogi – are the descendants of the Tayrona people
who once lived in the Lost City.
They maintain their traditions as they have for centuries.
This Wiwa village of mud huts with thatched palm roofs is only occupied
for several days a month for ceremonies and community meetings.
Most of the time, Wiwa families live in isolated huts in the hills.
The children seem delighted by gifts of chocolate.
But in general it feels as if we're intruding on a people who'd rather not be bothered by us.
Our guides make good on their promise.
At midday we reach the waterfall.
This waterfall is so powerful, it's creating its own wind.
And Pablo says it's not even running yet at full force.
Enough relaxation.
The hardest part of the hike is just ahead.
Tough as it is, this is the easy way to the Lost City.
Bounty hunters spent years hacking their way through the tropical rainforest,
searching for gold in the 1970s.
Deadly fighting broke out between them as they looted the city's artefacts.
The robbers were followed by archeologists, who convinced the Colombian government to
protect the site and its treasure.
And today, instead of gold, it's these priceless panoramas that draw us here.
Take a look at that view.
This is why people come on this hike.
It's not just to see the Lost City at the end.
But it's the incredible nature of the Sierra Nevada mountains along the way.
The challenging trail takes its toll.
Some hikers pay to ride mules due to exhaustion or injury – though it hardly seems comfortable.
But our group manages to make it on foot.
One by one we arrive at the simple camp
where we'll spend the night before ascending to the Lost City.
After 2 days of hiking, the final stage of the trek is a breeze.
A cable carriage draws us closer to the Ciudad Perdida, the Lost City,
or as the indigenous call it, Teyuna.
What a way to travel!
And a few moments later, we reach the base of a stone staircase of more than 1000 steps.
Here they are, the steps to the Ciudad Perdida.
Today they're relatively clear, and you can access them easily.
But you can only imagine what it was like, when those first explorers started coming
here in the 1970s seeking treasure, what they would have found.
The steps would have been overgrown with jungle, barely visible.
They would have had to cut their way through dense foliage.
Imagine what they would have been thinking as they ascended these steps, wondering
what treasures would lie at the top.
What they found were the remains of a city that archeologists say was probably settled
by the Tayrona people around 1,500 years ago.
At least 2,000 people once lived here in huts atop these circular foundations.
They buried their dead below, along with their gold.
Only a portion of the buildings have been uncovered.
These remaining stone structures may be up to 900 years old –
several centuries older than Macchu Pichu.
The city was abandoned after the Spanish conquistadors
established their colonies on the coasts nearby.
But as Pablo tells, us it was never completely forgotten.
And they continue to come each September,
when the city is closed to hold ceremonies.
We pay our respects to the local mamo, or shaman, who sells us beaded bracelets for
health and protection – which we hopefully won't need.
Only a few years ago this spectacular site was constantly guarded by the Colombian military.
Because in 2003, leftist rebels kidnapped a group of tourists here,
and held them hostage for more than 100 days.
But the soldiers have now left, the site is no longer considered dangerous.
Instead it's a place of celebration.
And for others, it inspires deep contemplation.
So rich in recent and ancient history, this place allows us to stop
and reflect in relative isolation.
Only 200 people a day are allowed to enter here, which is why it's so well preserved.
It's also why it's not so well known as other locations like Macchu Pichu.
But for those who come here, it's an incredible experience, to wander around,
and to contemplate what happened to the people who lived here.
Luckily one of our group members is a Colombian anthropologist, who says there's no clear
explanation for why Teyuna was largely deserted more than 400 years ago.
The descendants of the Tayrona people have survived through a simple existence
connected to nature – a lesson for our modern civilisation facing multiple crises.
Few leave the city feeling unchanged or unchallenged.
Our visit to Teyuna is over, but our hike is not.
Amazingly, there's still more to see, as we walk the same path in the other direction.
There's more to learn about the Wiwa culture.
How they strip plants for fibres, which the women weave into bags, and how the men spend
their nights sharing stories and working on their sacred demburu objects.
These communities have fought hard to resist many modern intrusion, and protect the
Lost City from being overrun by mass tourism.
Though on our hike the next day, we pass new tourist camps under construction.
As we set off for our final day of hiking, I'm feeling pretty proud of the physical achievement.
Until I meet these guides, who tell me they can make
the same trip there and back in just one day.
So I take his advice, paying more attention to the birds and the butterflies.
The animals which observe or ignore our passage.
And even as our journey nears its end, despite all the eye-popping places we've seen,
it seems this path has saved some of its most beautiful sights for the finale.
Back where we started, in the village of El Mamay or Machete,
we gather for a final drink to celebrate our experiences.
Four days, marching up and down muddy mountains,
more than the distance of a marathon.
And it has been worth every slippery step of the way.
The problem with adventures like this is that they're slightly addictive.
I now want to keep searching for more epic hikes to remote locations
and make sure my boots don't stay clean for long.