La Ciudad Perdida, Santa Marta, Colombia

So you’ve tasted the magic of Machu Picchu. Now you look for another adventure — and you hear those fateful words, “La Ciudad Perdida” (The Lost City).

Hidden (literally) in the crevices of northern Colombia’s Santa Marta Sierra Nevada mountain range, La Ciudad Perdida was built by the Tayrona people around 800 AD. Although built approximately 600 years before Machu Picchu, it was “discovered” by looters on the hunt for treasure in 1975 (60 years after Machu Picchu’s “discovery”).

The six-day trek is not for the faint — get ready for perpetually wet hiking boots (and feet), swimming or traversing across multiple rivers, and sleeping on netted hammocks with hungry bugs buzzing outside (among other inconveniences).

But on the flipside, get ready to be immersed in an almost untouched world of lush mountainsides and vistas, ancient huts hugging narrow paths, and the ultimate satisfaction, reaching La Ciudad Perdida’s welcoming steps deep in the mountain range.

How to get there. Fly into Cartagena, Colombia. From Cartagena, you can take a short flight or a four-hour bus to Santa Marta. Visit buritaca2000.com for more details.

Where to stay. From Hotel Miramar (hosteltrail.com/hotelmiramar), tours can be arranged for around $250.

Warning: Bring bug repellant.