Ciudad Perdida Trek Packing List: What to Know Before You Go

The Ciudad Perdida trek — the Lost City trek in Colombia — is probably one of the toughest hikes I've completed. When I started planning, it was genuinely hard to find useful information about what to actually pack. It was worth every difficult step in the end, and the trek is still relatively quiet, though that will likely change in the coming years as word spreads.

Ciudad Perdida Tour Companies

Finding the right local operator took some digging — a mix of blog research and asking directly at my hostel led me to book with Magic Tours Colombia, at around $320 USD. Expotur is a similarly priced and popular alternative if you want to compare options. Both companies run tours in English and Spanish.

We ended up with a Spanish-speaking guide and a fellow hiker who translated for the group. It genuinely wasn't an issue — if anything, it helped us pick up more of the language along the way.

What's Included in a Lost City Trek Tour

Magic Tours was excellent, and they contribute directly to the indigenous communities in the surrounding area. The price covers accommodation, transport, food, medical assistance, travel insurance and your guide throughout.

What to Expect

Most tour companies offer 4, 5 or 6 day options — the 4-day version is the most popular and manageable for most reasonably fit hikers.

Accommodation along the trek is basic — rows of bunk beds shared with your group, separated by mosquito nets, with hammocks available at some camps as an alternative.

You'll hike up to 8 hours a day with genuinely steep uphills and downhills. If you have any serious knee concerns, bring a trekking pole. Exposed sections of the trail are intensely hot, and the shaded jungle sections trade heat for high humidity — both take a real toll on your body over four days.

Once you're deep enough into the trek, options for leaving early are limited — you'd need to hike out to where horses or motorcycles can reach. You also carry your own bag the entire way, so pack only what you can genuinely manage.

Ciudad Perdida

What to Pack

Given the steep terrain and the fact you're carrying your own bag, pack as light as humanly possible. I moved anything unnecessary into storage before starting and used my Osprey Sirrus 36 — the most comfortable pack I owned for the job.

I packed fresh clothes for each day, which turned out to be unnecessary. The jungle heat means your clothes are soaked through within ten minutes of starting, and nothing dries in the humidity — expect to be damp for most of the trek. Make sure your bag is genuinely waterproof or has a proper rain cover, since a downpour is likely at some point. The one small luxury: basic but refreshing showers at each camp, letting you change into something dry and comfortable before bed, ready to put the same wet hiking clothes back on the next morning.

Leaving Ciudad Perdida

• Osprey Sirrus 36 → — the pack I carried the whole trek, comfortable enough for four days of steep terrain

Ciudad Perdida Packing List

Waterproof hiking boots are non-negotiable on this trek. Some hikers wore sneakers, which held up fine until the first muddy stretch, after which their feet stayed wet and muddy for the rest of the day — invest in a proper waterproof pair before you go. For bottoms, longer hiking pants help if bugs bother you, though shorts work fine if you'd rather brave them; one pair worn daily on the 4-day trek is completely normal, everyone does it, no judgement.

A swimsuit is essential given the rivers and pools at several village stops, making for a genuinely refreshing break mid-hike. Quick-dry shirts are the right top — bring two and alternate them, rinsing one in the river along the way while you wear the other. Hiking socks matter more than people expect; don't make my mistake of bringing only one pair and wearing the same wet, increasingly unpleasant socks for four days straight. By the end I threw mine away rather than pack them home — bring at least two pairs.

• Waterproof hiking boots → — non-negotiable, wet muddy feet ruin the whole trek
• Longer hiking pants → — if bugs bother you more than heat does

Something warm for evenings is worth packing too — a long sleeve top or light hoodie, since it cools down more than you'd expect after dark despite the daytime heat. For toiletries, a toothbrush, toothpaste, soap and shampoo if you want it are all you need — camp showers make hair washing genuinely possible, and a shampoo bar skips the plastic bottle entirely for the whole trip.

A headlamp is essential since mornings start early and camp lights go off early too — you need it for digging through your bag after dark. Strong bug spray matters more here than almost anywhere else I've travelled; Colombian jungle mosquitoes are genuinely vicious, so don't underestimate this one. Sunblock and a hat are worth packing even if you don't usually bother with sunblock — the exposed sections of this trek will change your mind quickly.

• Shampoo bar → — skips the plastic bottle, works well with camp showers

My one luxury item was a sleeping bag liner, and it was completely worth it — the camp beds aren't the freshest, and having your own liner solves that entirely without adding much weight. Beyond that, basic medication (painkillers, plasters for blisters, allergy medication and anti-diarrheal just in case), toilet paper and hand sanitiser, a reusable water bottle, and a small travel towel round out the essentials.

Don't miss out on capturing Ciudad Perdida itself — bring a proper camera for the moment you actually reach the ruins.

• Camera → — the one I used and carried the whole trek

The Golf Course view at Ciudad Perdida

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