Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta: its peoples and how to visit with respect

The Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta rises beside the Caribbean Sea, in northern Colombia. Part of the massif is protected as Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta National Natural Park, which has territory in the departments of Magdalena, Cesar and La Guajira, according to the park page from Colombia’s National Natural Parks (accessed October 5, 2026).

The high areas, with lagoons, páramos and snow-covered peaks, are not open to tourism: according to National Parks, entering those sectors is an environmental violation. What you can do is travel through the Sierra with operators that work in the area, such as Wiwa Tour, from the same network as Punta Gallinas Tours, or choose the trips with their own guides on this site, such as Ciudad Perdida and Minca.

The park protects the ancestral territory of four Indigenous peoples, according to Colombia’s National Natural Parks: the Kággaba (Kogui), the Wiwa, the Iku (Arhuaco) and the Kankuamo.

Their beliefs and practices are told by them and by those who work with their communities, so this guide does not describe them. If you buy an Arhuaco mochila or any handicraft from the Sierra, buy it from the person who makes it or from an organization that works directly with the communities, and ask where the piece comes from.

Ciudad Perdida and Minca have their own guides on this site: Ciudad Perdida, with the trek and how to book it, and Minca, with what to do there. Expotur Eco, the company that operates Punta Gallinas Tours, operates the Ciudad Perdida trek in 3, 4 or 5 days and a one-day tour to Minca, and both can also be booked through Punta Gallinas Tours: the 4-day Ciudad Perdida tour and the Minca tour from Santa Marta, among others.

Tours to Alta Guajira leave Riohacha at 8:30 a.m., not Santa Marta. The practical order is to finish the Sierra part, transfer to Riohacha and sleep there the night before the tour leaves. The Santa Marta to La Guajira guide explains that route.

Two examples with the durations of the network’s tours:

If you do La Guajira first, the order is reversed: each tour’s return to Riohacha sets the day from which you can continue toward the Sierra.

• Do not enter closed areas. Lagoons, páramos and snow-covered peaks are not open to tourism, according to National Parks.
• Do not arrive at a community without an invitation. Visits are made with operators that work with them and in places the communities allow.
• Ask permission before photographing anyone, and accept no as an answer.
• Buy handicrafts from the person who makes them or from organizations that work directly with the communities.
• Take your trash back to the city.

Other trips through the Sierra Nevada are organized by Wiwa Tour, from the same network: you can see the options at Sierra Nevada with Wiwa Tour. In the Sierra, Punta Gallinas Tours sells the Ciudad Perdida trek and the Minca tour, operated by Expotur Eco; both are listed under tours in the Sierra Nevada.

If after the Sierra you want to continue toward the desert, tours in La Guajira leave from Riohacha. The 2-day Cabo de la Vela tour costs from COP 409,500 per person and the 3-day Punta Gallinas tour from COP 900,000, in both cases for groups of 6 or more.

• Colombia’s National Natural Parks, Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta National Natural Park, accessed October 5, 2026.
• Colombia’s National Natural Parks, previous portal: Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta National Natural Park (names of the snow-covered peaks), accessed October 5, 2026.