Minca, Santa Marta is a village atop the Sierra Nevada range very close to the town of Santa Marta. While we were in Taganga, we decided to spend a day in Minca. We took the bus from Taganga to Santa Marta. Upon reaching, we enquired about the collectivo (shared jeep) station to Minca.

After asking about 4-5 people along the way, we managed to get to the station. We hired two spots in the collectivo which costed 7000 pesos (USD 2.50). The ride was about 35 minutes from Santa Marta.

Minca has various spots which can either be walked to or there is the option for taking a moto taxi – basically transported by motorbike.

Pozo Azul

We opted to walk to Pozo Azul which was a beautiful series of two waterfalls. The walk was probably 45 mins long and an easy one. Each waterfall formed a pool, the first one was shallow and the other was deep. Shruti even managed to jump into the deep pool along with the locals. After the swim, we sat there and watched people dive from the top of the waterfall which was a height of around 12 feet.

La Victoria Coffee Plantation

Once dry, we took a moto taxi to the La Victoria Coffee Plantation. Walking up hill for an hour or more would have been a nightmare. The ride on Bajaj Boxers was quick, dangerous and noisy but we loved it. We never thought we would be seeing a Bajaj vehicle in Colombia of all places. Hamara Bajaj!

La Victoria Plantation has a coffee tour, coffee for sale, a microbrewery, a great bistro and amazing view. We had sandwiches and house beers while enjoying the view. Though we didn’t get to do the tour because the guide who spoke English was missing, the place is still a must go.

Other Spots

Minca also has a few other highlights like Marinka Waterfalls and Los Piñas. Both of these can be done in half a day but it is recommended to hike and spend the night. As we didn’t have the time to do so we had to skip them.

Instead, we walked down from the plantation to Minca while breathing in the clean air, enjoying the view and hearing the birds. In the end, we were happy to get a small taste of Minca and it was great fun!