5 Things You Must Explore While In Minca, Colombia

Minca is a peaceful little village in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountains, just half an hour from Santa Marta, that has become hugely popular with travellers in recent years. With a cooler climate, refreshing mountain streams and waterfalls, amazing biodiversity, coffee and cacao farms and some lovely hostels, it’s a dream backpacker town. Here are 5 things to see and do on your trip to Minca.

* Coffee Tour at La Victoria

This coffee farm is one of the oldest in Colombia and has been using the same machinery since the 1890s (the name Victoria comes from the British monarch of the same name, as most of the amazing old machinery was made during her reign). The tour deals more with the processing of coffee than the harvesting procedure, but the location is lovely, the on-site restaurant is top-notch and the coffee is delicious.

* Visit a Cacao Farm

Along with great coffee, some of the best quality cacao in Colombia, nay the world, is produced in the Sierra Nevada, and you can easily arrange tours of cacao farms in Minca. El Paraiso de Tuki B&B Cafe y Cacao Farm in the hills outside Minca is one of the most popular places to discover the world of Colombian cacao; you can do both cacao and coffee tours, and stay overnight in a lovely little B&B.

* Swim at Marinka Waterfall

Even though Minca is cooler than the nearby Caribbean coast, it still gets nice and hot here, and there are several great local swimming spots where you can cool off. One of these is the impressive Marinka waterfall: a short hike through the forest from Minca gets you there, and for a small admission fee, you can cool off in the pool at the foot of the falls.

* Cool off at Pozo Azul

Another lovely spot for swimming in the cool rivers of the Sierra Nevada is the Pozo Azul swimming hole, a really popular river pool just outside Minca that attracts many tourists on a hot day. Although it can get busy, Pozo Azul is worth visiting for the pretty scenery and perfect natural swimming pool.

* Hike to Los Pinos

This long hike up into the mountains from Minca is definitely one for fitter travellers, but if you can muster the energy you’ll definitely be rewarded. Los Pinos is a viewpoint about a three-hour hike from Minca, offering superb panoramas over the distant Caribbean Sea and the green mountains of the Sierra.