Hiking and Birdwatching in Minca Colombia – An Easy Daytrip Guide

It can get pretty hot in Taganga, Colombia. Temperatures can break 31 degrees C (~88 degrees F) here, but with the humidity, it feels much warmer during the hottest parts of the day. Sure, you can escape the heat a little by going to one of the more secluded beaches, but sometimes you just want to go for a hike without being drenched with sweat after 10 minutes of walking! Thankfully there is a nearby solution to this problem: take a trip to the mountains of Minca Colombia!

At an elevation of 633 m/2,077 feet, the mountain rainforest climate of Minca Colombia is very different from the nearby coastal towns, with much cooler temperatures (by about 10 degrees Fahrenheit).

Minca has gotten a lot of positive press recently. Nestled on the edge of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountain range, this small town (~800 people) has made a name for itself for being a gateway to more adventurous activities that this mountain range is known for. It is also known for its coffee and cacao farms, as well as the extreme levels of biodiversity (much of it endemic) found in the rainforests there.

And since Minca is only about 60 minutes away from our Airbnb in Taganga by public transportation, we had to come and see what all the fuss was about.

So what did we do and how did we do it? Let us show you how Two Travel Turtles explored Minca for the day.

A TTT Guide to Hiking and Birdwatching in Minca Colombia

1. Getting to Minca Colombia
2. Downtown Minca Colombia – Don’t Be Fooled!
3. FIRST STOP: Birdwatching at Observatorio de Aves de Minca
4. SECOND STOP: Pozo Azul Waterfalls
5. THIRD STOP: Lunch
6. FINAL STOP: La Candelaria Chocolate and Coffee Farm

Getting to Minca Colombia

For us, it was a two-step process since we are staying in the nearby town of Taganga. If you are staying in nearby Santa Marta (as most tourists do), you can skip right to STEP 2!

STEP 1: Take the Public Bus from Taganga to Santa Marta Public Market

Although this may sound intimidating, taking the public bus is really easy in this part of Colombia. Busses start running from Tagagna to Santa Marta at 6 am, so we showed up at the Taganga Public Bus “station” bright and early and hopped on.

One-way tickets are $2,400 COP ($0.51 USD) each.

Santa Marta is the only destination, so you don’t have to worry about being on the right bus.

Keep an eye on Google maps as you travel on the bus, and in about 15 minutes you’ll be near the Mercado Público de Santa Marta. Get off when you are within a couple of blocks, as that is as close as the incoming bus gets.

STEP 2: Take a Collectivo from Santa Marta to Minca Colombia

Once you are in the Mercado Público de Santa Marta, walk ~1 block to the Cootransminca Office (Bus Station to Minca) and hop on a white collectivo (passenger van) heading to Minca. One-way tickets are $9,000 COP ($1.93 USD) each, and depending on the time of day you might pay the driver directly, or the Cootransminca office attendant. Be sure to have your passport for ID!

Collectivos start running at 7 am, so if you get there a little too early (like we did) you’ll have to wait a bit. But once the collectivo starts moving, it is about a 45-minute drive to Minca Colombia.

Downtown Minca Colombia – Don’t Be Fooled!

We arrived in Minca at around 8 am without issue.

Minca is significantly smaller than Taganga, and at 8 am, seems very quiet and sleepy.

This is what it looks like from the street we were dropped off at.

But don’t be fooled!

Tourists emerge from their hotels as the day progresses and arrive in droves by tour buses. And it appears that the many shops, restaurants, bars, and tour guide facilities actually accommodate tourism needs much better than Taganga does.

We really were surprised at the concentration of tourists (particularly of the gringo type, like us) that accumulated as the day went on. Way more than in Taganga!

FIRST STOP: Birdwatching at Observatorio de Aves de Minca

We were eager to start exploring after we arrived. And the main reason we came so early was to check out the Observatorio de Aves de Minca to do some bird watching!

We discovered this place through their Google maps presence, which led us to the Observatorio de Aves de Minca website and Facebook page. The facility is located within the Faunal Nature Reserve, a privately owned area of land established to protect local wildlife.

The route from the center of Minca to the bird observatory is about 2.1 miles (~3.4 km – all uphill) and was 1/2 paved road and 1/2 dirt road/trail only accessible by motorcycle or on foot.

We could have hopped on the back of a moto-taxi (motorcycle taxi) and paid to have them take us up into the mountains where the entrance to the observatory was. But instead, we chose a less suicidal option and decided to hike.

It took us about 1 hour to get to the Observatorio de Aves de Minca, and we took our time to soak in the new sights as we entered the rainforest.

We followed the road until we saw signs for Pozo Azul, a network of pools and waterfalls very close to our destination. We followed the signs that pointed off to the left, where the paved road turned into a gated dirt road that only motorcycles and hikers could access.

The signage to Observatorio de Aves de Minca was nonexistent. But if you use Maps.me and import our map data, the route is easy to navigate and you won’t get lost.

Once we got close to the Pozo Azul area, we saw a sign for Faunal Camping on the left side of the road…

That pointed across the path to this gated residence.

Our route took us through the gate, which was chained (but without a lock) when we arrived. We undid the chain and went through the gate, making sure to rechain it after we went through. And we asked a local first to make sure we were going the right way.

The road led up a steep incline, even deeper into the rainforest.

The road eventually went past a sign at the entrance to a path that lead to the Observatorio!

We followed the path that led to a residence…

Which is the main Observatorio facility!

Dogs announced our presence, and we were met by Sebastian, who owns the Observatorio and surrounding Faunal Reserve lands. He explained that the entrance fee was $25,000 COP ($5.35 USD) per person for 3 hours of observation at his viewing stations. This was actually $5000 COP cheaper than we were expecting from his website, which was a nice surprise!

Binoculars are provided if you do not have your own equipment.

Sebastian was a super nice guy and introduced us to the birds we were seeing while we watched over the next several hours. He even made us cups of local coffee! Sebastian spoke masterful English, and it was clear to me that he had professional training as a biologist based on his vocabulary and depth of knowledge.

We definitely did well to arrive in the morning (9 am in our case), as many of the birds you could see come out only at that time of day. The diversity of birds we saw was amazing!

And we did pretty well with our photography, considering the camera equipment we used was not professional grade. For those that care, my camera is a Panasonic DC-ZS200 travel camera with 24 – 360 mm optical zoom, and Rhonda uses a Nikon D3300 DSLR with a Tamron 18 – 400 mm zoom lens. And no matter what camera you are using, make sure to set it to “burst mode” when shooting fast-moving, skittish animals. If you don’t you’ll miss most of the best shots!

Here are the best shots of all of the birds (and other critters) we saw! A handful of them are really pushing the limits of our equipment, but we wanted to represent as much of the diversity found in this special place as possible.

We had a great time. Thanks Sebastian!

We highly recommend visiting the Observatorio de Aves de Minca. It really is a required visit for animal lovers and it is a great way to spend a few hours. But come early for the best bird viewing!

Please share this post (see share links below) to the preferred social media platform of your choice! We’d love for the Observatorio de Aves de Minca to get as much exposure as possible, to help support their business.

SECOND STOP: Pozo Azul Waterfalls

Once we were done birdwatching, we figured we should see the Pozo Azul waterfalls since they get a lot of press in Minca Colombia. That, and we were only about 25 meters from the entrance once we got back on the main trail!

We heard there was an entrance fee to visit the falls, but the only fee we saw was for parking your motorcycle ($2,000 COP). It was actually quite busy at noon on a weekday, with a couple of makeshift tiendas selling arepas and drinks. There was also a small mom-and-pop restaurant on the opposite side of the stream.

By the time we arrived, there was quite a crowd. I’d say there were 50 – 75 people there, enjoying the site, wading in the waterfall pool, and otherwise having a good time.

We’ve heard that there is a trail system on the left side of the wading pool that leads to two more waterfalls and swimming areas, and they are supposed to be much less crowded.

It was a little too busy for our tastes, so we just looked around for a few minutes and headed back to town for lunch.

THIRD STOP: Lunch

We hiked back to the center of Minca, and as it was downhill, it was pretty easygoing. But as we walked, we noticed that there were MANY more vehicles and people out on this formerly deserted path. When we finally got back to Minca, the streets were extremely busy and all the shops were open for business!

We wandered down a side street with lots of restaurants and decided on eating at Marhaba, a Lebanese-style restaurant. We were game for a change of pace, so we gave it a try!

I got a large carne shawarma, Rhonda got a medium chicken shawarma, and we shared a falafel plate. The total cost with tip and bottled waters was $86,000 COP ($17.72 USD).

The food was tasty, but more expensive than we normally would spend for lunch. But the change in cuisine was really nice! There were definitely cheaper options in Minca though.

FINAL STOP: La Candelaria Chocolate and Coffee Farm

We were looking for new things to explore with the time we had left after lunch. So we decided to check out a coffee and cacao farm in Minca Colombia that was located in a really picturesque location – La Candelaria! We thought that hanging out at the coffee farm cafe, sipping hot cacao, and taking in the mountain views would be the perfect way to close out the day.

We knew the hike to La Candelaria would be about 1.75 miles (~2.8 km) one way. And we knew that it was uphill almost the entire way. But we just did a hike that seemed similar without any problems, so we figured this one would not be much different.

Boy, we were wrong.

The route to La Candelaria is dirt track the entire way and is only accessible by motorcycle, hardcore 4×4 vehicles, or hiking. Below is a map of our route.

The hike started innocently enough. Walking westward from the center of town we passed the Minca town mural…

Walked up the street by the police station…

And kept walking. There were plenty of white-painted signs directing you to La Candelaria, so getting lost was not really an issue. And they always directed you upwards…

And upwards. The grade was pretty crazy in spots (as was the condition of the road), so we were really sucking wind. And we are in pretty good hiking shape!

The view from one of our recovery stops was really pretty.

It was at this point when clouds started rolling in.

And then the sprinkles started.

And then the downpour began.

And we got very, very wet. Soaked to the bone wet.

The cherry on top was that the road became a muddy mess, making footing way more challenging.

But we were 2/3rds of the way to La Candelaria at this point, so we were pretty much doomed no matter what we did. So we continued onward and upward, with the hope that we might be able to warm ourselves over coffee and wring out our clothes when we got to La Candelaria.

During the downpour, we passed some pretty waterfalls in the rainforest, intensified by the rainfall.

And neared the footpath that led directly to La Candelaria.

Finally, we made it!

We walked to the back of the facility where they have a porch area and overlook for guests to take in the view. Clouds ruined it for us, but it would have been spectacular otherwise!

The owners even had bird feeders out, and we saw a new species (to us)!

The owners were kind enough to let us use their bathrooms so we could wring out our clothes and give them a chance to dry. This wasn’t such a pipe dream, as we wear fast-drying artificial fabrics when we travel. So after wringing what seemed to be a gallon of water out of our clothes, we started feeling much better about things.

They even gave us complimentary cups of hot coffee to warm us up! We must have looked terrible.

Other tourists were waiting their turn for tours of the coffee and cacao plantations since the rains delayed the tour schedule by about 1 hour. We’d taken tours similar to this many times in Guatemala, so we didn’t feel the need to go on any of the tours. That, and we were running out of time to catch the last collectivo to Santa Marta!

We did, however order cups of hot 100% cacao and milk which were delicious! ($5,000 COP/$1.07 USD each)

If the weather conditions were better, we would have really enjoyed our time at La Candelaria! We could have easily seen ourselves hanging out on the decks, soaking up the views, drinking cacao and coffee, and wasting an entire afternoon. But obviously, La Candelaria is not responsible for controlling the weather.

The coffee was good, but we didn’t buy any coffee beans to take back to our Airbnb in Taganga. We have a cafe down the street from us in Taganga (Cafe Taganga) that roasts its own coffee beans, and it is among the best we have ever had!

So we drank our coffee and hot cacao and enjoyed the view until the rain let up.

And thankfully it did, more or less.

As with the earlier hike, the way back down was easier on the cardiovascular system. But the footing was really treacherous with all of the slopes and slippery mud! Somehow, we kept our balance and made it down intact.

Special thanks go out to the local farmers who let us take shelter under their awning at the Plan B Sustainable Farm/Apiary! It was fun chatting in Spanish and hanging out with them for 15 minutes when another surge of rain hit us on the way down!

Thankfully we got back to town a little drier than we were before, at around 5 pm. But it was time to go as collectivos to Santa Marta stop running at 6 pm!

It was a big day, but a lot of fun and we did many things that we won’t soon forget! And even with our expensive lunch we only spent ~$56 USD for the entire day.

Just the way we like things.

Until next time…

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