Minca is a small town about half an hour outside of the city of Santa Marta on the Caribbean coast of Colombia. It is a great place to escape the crowds and heat of the city and to do some hiking. It is in the Sierra Nevada mountains, but the climate is still hot. It is an interesting mix between mountains and jungle.

I arrived there after Cartagena (my first stop in Colombia), and the peacefulness of Minca was a nice contrast to the tourism of Cartagena. Minca is still a tourist town, with plenty of hostels to choose from and restaurants geared towards international tastes, but it is still possible to find local places. The vibe of the town is very laid back. I stayed at Casa Loma in the hammocks, which was a great choice as they are set on the hill above the town with a gorgeous view of the coast and Santa Marta far below. You have to climb a lot of steps to reach the hostel, but watching the sunset from there each evening is completely worth it!

The main activities in the area are hiking, bird watching, and visiting the local coffee and chocolate farms. I took a hike called Los Piños, which made a long loop up from the town past La Cascada (one of the waterfalls where you can swim), up through the jungle to the top of the mountain where two giant pine trees grow. This was a great vista point to see the mountains and the small villages sprawled out below. From there, the trail leads down past La Victoria Coffee Farm and the trail to Pozo Azul, the other main waterfall in Minca. I skipped the side trail to Pozo Azul as the Los Piños hike had taken 7 hours already (don’t underestimate the heat and the steepness of the trail!). It was beautiful though, with lots of great views of both jungle and mountain overlooks.

I ended up hiking to Pozo Azul the next morning, which turned out to be perfect as there was hardly anyone there when I arrived at 8 a.m., yet started getting crowded already by 9 a.m. As it was, I got to experience swimming in the beautiful pools under the waterfalls with not too many other people crowding the water. The hike takes about an hour and a half each way, so you need to get up early to avoid the crowds.

Minca turned out to be a great introduction to Colombia for me (since Cartagena felt a little too touristy to me). If you enjoy hiking and beautiful scenery, you should definitely check it out.

To get to Minca, you’ll first have to head to Santa Marta. Buses leave from the terminal in Cartagena every hour or so, so it is easy to just show up and buy a ticket (usually costs around 30,000 COP).

The place where the bus drops you in Santa Marta is actually outside the city, so from there you can try to flag down one of the buses headed into Santa Marta to reach the downtown bus station (which is really just a street in the market area) from where you can usually find a collectivo to Minca for around 8,000 COP. If you don’t want to go into Santa Marta, you can also take a taxi from where the bus drops you directly to Minca, but this will cost 30,000-40,000 COP.

Once in Minca, everything is pretty easy to find – there are only two main streets. When leaving, you can take a collectivo from the terminal in the town to Santa Marta for 8,000 COP.

  • Bring bug repellent! The mosquitos and other bugs in Minca were worse than anywhere else I’ve been on the coast so far (even Tayrona). Make sure to re-apply constantly throughout the day if you’re prone to getting bit.
  • Start the hikes early – it gets hot during the day! Also allow plenty of time for them. The Los Piños hike recommends 5-7 hours but I ended up taking 8 in total (with some rest stops and a break for some local fruit juice). It’s best to plan for extra time especially with the heat.
  • Find a place to watch the sunset in the evening – the colors there are phenomenal!
  • Bring cash – there are no ATMs in Minca.
Minca Sunset 2
Minca Overlook
Minca Path
Minca Waterfall