Colombia's Lost City

Posted 14th November 2015

Only rediscovered in the 1970s and predating Machu Picchu by 600 years, Ciudad Perdida (or ‘Lost City’) was a major settlement of the now extinct Tayrona tribe. Located in the heart of the north Colombian jungle and reached only by ascending 1,200 stone steps, the Lost City stands as the highlight for any adventurer to Colombia.

Ciudad Perdida consists of a network of tiled roads that link vast groupings of terraces that have been carved into the mountainside. Completed around 800 CE, this city was inhabited by roughly 2,500 people at its peak. For such a significant architectural achievement, the history of the Lost City is surprisingly blurry. The treasure hunters who ‘found’ Ciudad Perdida in the 1970s looted the city of most of its artifacts and treasures; something that contributed to a great amount of information being lost. Accompanying this misfortune is also the fact that no written sources exist for the Tayrona people who lived there.

What is known about the Tayrona people offers an insight into why this city remained lost for 400 years. Spanish settlers initially didn’t prove too troublesome for this tribe’s way of life; however, around 1600, a group of this tribe revolted against the colonialists. The religious constraints and economic pressure that colonialism brought with it had reached breaking point for the Tayrona. The revolt was short lived, with churches and administrative buildings bearing the brunt of Tayrona aggression. The Spaniards regained control and many Tayrona chiefs were executed. To avoid a repeat of this episode, Tayrona tribal life was swiftly dissolved under the colonialists. It has been suggested that Ciudad Perdida was therefore deliberately ‘lost’ by the Tayrona who didn’t want to see their city fall to the Spanish. However, shamans belonging to local tribes continued to visit the city and claim that, despite being lost to the jungle, the whereabouts of Ciudad Perdida always remained known to them.

Shamans visiting Ciudad Perdida suggests that this city originally held a sacred function and indeed its easy to see why this is the case. Amidst stunning vistas, the experience of reaching this mountain-topped city almost feels like a spiritual one.