• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

By Root 1072 0

narco estate. Here you’ll find 25 campsites and excellent Quechua tents with mattresses and sheets, in addition to private rooms. A Dutch-Colombian couple heavily involved in the conservation and environmental protection of the park run things here. It sits on 1.5km of beach that is also the park’s most popular spot for sea turtle nesting and is swimmable in September and October (other months are only safe for advanced swimmers). Environmentally driven workshops are given on the park, its flora and fauna and astronomy. You can also rent snorkeling equipment. The restaurant (mains COP$7000 to COP$15,000) serves a variety of food, including an excellent sierra fish in coconut sauce. At press time, due to problems with the park unit, there was talk that Camping Tayrona could be moved outside park boundaries, likely near Posadas Ecoturísticas (opposite). Please check before heading out.

In Cañaveral, the park’s concession operates Ecohabs ( 344 2748; www.aviatur.com/concesionesparquesnaturales.com; 2-/4-bed cabins COP$440,000;) – a colony of cabañas featuring small LCD televisions with DIRECTV, L’Occitane bath products and some spectacular views. They are made in the style of Tayrona huts and are peppered about a coastal hill. Rates rise in the tourist season by about 20%. Another larger cabin at the foot of the hill houses a restaurant. It’s by far the nicest spot to stay, but not COP$500,000 nice.

The concession also runs a campsite (per person COP$11,000) here but it’s right next door to the horse stables, so you won’t be taking in any tropical sea breezes. Sites here can be booked at Aviatur’s offices in Santa Marta. You can also book through the office in Bogotá Click here.

In Arrecifes, there are three places to stay and eat. The most rustic is Finca Don Pedro ( 315 656 6195; fincadonpedro@yahoo.es; hammocks COP$10,000, campsite per person COP$12,000), reached via 300m split off the main trail just before Arrecifes. The showers here are oddly non-private, however, kind of like in prison. Meals cost COP$9000. Aviatur also runs Yuluka ( 344 2748; www.aviatur.com/concesionesparquesnaturales.com; hammocks COP$16,500, campsite per person COP$11,000, cabañas incl breakfast from COP$308,000), by far the best option for campers. The bathrooms here are five-star, right out of a boutique hotel. The cabins, which hold up to five people, are similar in quality to Ecohabs but without the sea views. The restaurant serves gourmet meals (mains COP$9000) like shrimp brochettes grilled with onions and paprika. Also here is Finca El Paraíso ( 317 312 1945; www.paraisotayrona.com; campsites COP$8000, hammocks COP$10,000, tents 2-/4-/6-people COP$25,300/30,500/50,000, cabins from COP$40,000), the closest to the beach. It’s nicely done, with a fresh juice stand, lockers for personal belongings and a restaurant (mains COP$15,000 to COP$30,000) with a nice beach view.

A 10-minute walk further west along the beach is Bucarú, an offspring of El Paraíso. It offers similar facilities for marginally less money (and comfort).

Both Finca El Paraíso and Bucarú can be booked through their Santa Marta office ( 431 3130; Carrera 7B No 28A-103), or you could just turn up. Most backpackers end up at Camping Cabo San Juan de la Guía (campsite COP$10,000, hammocks COP$12,000, tents per person COP$25,000), a campground that rivals those of European festivals in high season. There is a decent beach here as well as a restaurant (mains COP$6000 to COP$20,000). For COP$15,000, you can sleep in the hammocks high atop the mirador on the rocks above the beach. There are also cabañas (COP$80,000), but you have to walk a long way back down to the bathroom. You can rent snorkeling gear here (ask around for Leonard).

Down the mountain from Pueblito through jungly terrain is Playa Brava, a much more primitive beach. Teyumakke ( 315 480 0241; playabrava@gmail.com; hammocks/campsite per person COP$20,000, cabañas per person COP$60,000;) is a wonderful ecohab and camping accommodations right on the beach. It’s a great place to get away from everyone else and is full