Tayrona and Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta National

Visit in February 2019.

As I understand it, the current iteration of this nomination consists of two National Parks, Parque Nacional Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, and Parque Nacional Natural Tayrona, each containing an interesting archeological site. The parks are close to each other, and to the city of Santa Marta, which serves as the gateway to the site. Tayrona Park is the smaller of the two, and is located on the Caribbean coast, while the larger Sierra Nevada Park is slightly inland and its mountainous terrain creates a more humid biome compared to the surrounding area, which is semi-arid. The latter park is also noted for its high peaks, which are often snow-covered, and the paramo habitat that exists at higher elevations, though these features are not readily visible from the areas accessible to visitors.

Both parks, as well as some of the surrounding areas, are still home to the four indigenous groups that make up the Tayrona Culture. It was their ancestors who originally created the settlements that are now the archaeological sites included in the nomination. The smaller of the two sites is Pueblito, in Tayrona Park and it is reachable independently as a day trip involving a hike of a few kilometers at most. The larger, more interesting, site, Ciudad Perdida –the Lost City– is deeper inside Sierra Nevada Park, and can only be reached by a 4-5 day round-trip walk organized by a local tour company. It should be …