The small town of Minca lies in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains above the city of Santa Marta. Surrounded by forest greenery, it has waterfalls, hiking trails, wonderful views, good food, coffee and chocolate plantations and beautiful sunsets.
I was in Minca for two and a half days, here’s what I got up to…
Casa Elemento
I arrived to Minca just after lunch time and went up to Casa Elemento, the hostel with the famous giant hammock and beautiful views, by mototaxi.
It was the sketchiest mototaxi ride I’ve been on to date! It’s an unpaved bumpy mud road which becomes very muddy when it’s just rained. On my ride up, there were some very muddy sections which scared me! We skidded through them but I almost got off at one point. We made it in one piece and I now understood why they charge 20,000COP for it!
I wasn’t looking forward to the return journey! Another American guy at Casa Elemento, who’d fallen off his mototaxi a few times on the ride up, didn’t want to mototaxi it back down. Together we hitched a lift down with a Colombian family in a van. We paid the same and it was less risky! However it took an age!!
Motorbikes are so much quicker! If I was to do it again, I’d probably take a mototaxi and simply walk the sections I wasn’t comfortable with.
Back to the hammock at Casa Elemento, I got my photo on the hammock with the foresty mountain backdrop.
The hammock itself isn’t that giant and is a case of it looks way bigger in pictures! I found it very similar to the outdoor hammock at Cotopaxi Secret Garden hostel in Ecuador.
The views were great but I wouldn’t go there to stay. Personally, it felt past it, too far out from everything and I wasn’t a fan of the techno music vibe! There’s definitely better places to stay closer to town – Casa Loma!!!
Get there: 20,000COP (£5 approx) mototaxi one way, 40,000COP round trip.
Note: If you’re not staying there, you have to pay to visit. It’s 10,000COP (£2.50 approx) and a drink is included – a beer or soft drink.
Pozo Azul
Pozo Azul is a group of freshwater pools you can swim in. It’s refreshing! I went mid-afternoon and it was busy with locals and fellow Colombians on holiday.
It was a public holiday so may have been busier than normal. I have been told weekends are also busy so perhaps aim for a weekday and morning if you’d like to visit with less people.
Get there: A 45 minute walk up the road from town or a 10,000COP (£2.50 approx) mototaxi (one way). There’s another slightly longer walk through forest you can do if you want to avoid the road, perhaps takes an hour.
Note: Entrance is free.
Hiking
Minca has several walking trails to choose from.
The one and only walk I did do was to and from Pozo Azul. I have been feeling pretty lazy recently so ignore me!
You can also walk to Marinka waterfalls (1hr one way), Casa Elemento (I’ve heard it takes 3hrs – if you’re feeling determined!), Las Piedras (just out of town) and El Mirador Minca and Los Pinos viewpoints if you’re after good views.
If I’m ever back in Minca, I’d do some of the walks!
Food
The Lazy Cat
I was recommended this place by lots of people who have been to Minca. It’s great if you’re looking for a change from Colombian food – salads, burgers, sandwiches, quesadillas…I had the steak sandwich (Giada from Hostal Mangal in Dibulla recommended it!). It was really nice!
Duni
Duni is a vegan cafe located next to the church on the path up to Casa Loma hostel. It has really tasty looking almuerzos for 15,000COP which I never got around to trying! Next time! I can vouch for their puddings too – their brownie and chocolate coconut cake were yummy!
For other meals (dinner!!), I stayed at Casa Loma and joined their family style meals. They were really nice, healthy and a good way to socialise with other travellers. We would watch the sunset together and then eat. I really liked the atmosphere!
How to get to Minca
Minca is easily reachable from the city of Santa Marta. Colectivos leave from the marketplace (next to the buses going to Palomino and Tayrona). It costs 8000COP (£2 approx) and takes around 45 minutes. They seat 11 people and leave when full, so you may have to wait a bit or get lucky like me and be one of the last ones in!
Final thoughts
I liked Minca! It’s a place to take things slow and relax, and you can do as much or as little as you want (in my case pretty little!). I really liked this!
There are some lovely walks with great views, places to swim, cafes and restaurants in town, waterfalls, coffee farms…
Plus, the sunsets were beautiful and I really enjoyed the atmosphere, especially at Casa Loma hostel.
On a side note: It reminded me of Ecuador’s Mindo with its waterfalls and forest – even the names are similar!
