Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta

For a tantalizing glimpse into the past, head to the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, a mountain range that slices across the northeast of Colombia. After a tough three-day hike through thick jungle, you’ll reach Colombia’s finest archaeological site, La Ciudad Perdida.

The stone terraces of this once-crowded city were built around 850 CE along a steep-sided ridge, and the site was only reclaimed from the jungle in the 1970s. Accessible only on a tour, La Ciudad Perdida remains remote, untouched and blissfully free of tourists.