Los Pinos, Minca – A complete guide to the hike and more!

Deep in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountain range, Los Pinos is a popular hiking trail and viewpoint in Minca, Colombia. Sara and I had the pleasure of spending a lot of time in Minca. We undertook a sunrise mission from Hostal Sierra Minca to Los Pinos – we even made a friend along the way!

Without the correct knowledge, you may struggle to reach Los Pinos. We found that there are multiple hiking routes of varying difficulty. There was even one route we tried to take that was completely outside of Sara’s skill level which made us turn back.

In this guide we’re going to provide all the information you need to choose the best trail for you. We’ll outline the details of the trails, the way we decided to go about getting to Los Pinos (after a failed hiking attempt) and how you can still visit Los Pinos even if you don’t enjoy hiking. That way, everyone is happy!

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About Los Pinos Minca

Los Pinos is a well-known but rarely visited viewpoint in Minca, northern Colombia. It’s deep into the mountains and about 10km away from Minca centre – along a very uneven dirt road. Its location and difficulty to reach makes it an exclusive Minca attraction. Therefore, only those willing to put the effort in will reach Los Pinos!

From Los Pinos, we could see all the way down into the foothills of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountains. Nestled in the forest, we caught glimpses of Minca and we could even see all the way back to Santa Marta and the Caribbean Sea.

But before you can make your way to Los Pinos, you first need to get yourself to Minca!

Getting from Santa Marta to Minca

So there are a few options you can take to get from Santa Marta to Minca. We published a full guide detailing every mode of transport you can use to get from Santa Marta to Minca. So check it out! 

But in this guide we’ll do a brief overview.

By bus

The cheapest and most affordable way to travel is by colectivo bus. They run regularly between Santa Marta and Minca and we decided to hop on one when returning to Santa Marta. It cost us only 9000 COP ($2.30) one-way which we were pretty happy about. They ferry passengers between the centre of Minca to the Mercado Publico de Santa Marta.

We found the roads pretty windy and the minibus super hot and cramped, but it’s definitely budget friendly!

By taxi

Taxis from Santa Marta to Minca are actually super inexpensive and save all the faffing around with buses! We took a taxi to Minca and it only cost us 40,000 COP ($10.22) for the 40-minute journey.

If you’re in a group, then it may be more cost effective to hire a taxi instead of taking the bus. As a plus, the taxi ride is way more comfortable than the bus!

You can either use the app ‘In-Drive’ to book a taxi (similar to Uber) or you can hail one of the servicio publico yellow taxis on the street.

How to hike to Los Pinos Minca

Alrighty, so you’ve made it to Minca? It’s now time to find your way to Los Pinos! There are a couple of ways to get to there and we’ll cover them all in this guide. 

The first way is by hiking. Hiking is one of the most favoured ways to reach Los Pinos as it can be combined with a bunch of other activities in Minca. This helps break the trek up along the route into sections. 

There will also come a point where you’ll have to decide whether to hike the shorter but difficult route, or the longer but easier route!

Leg 1: Minca to Cascada Oído del Mundo

The first stretch of the journey we took was from Minca to Cascada Oído del Mundo – a two-tier waterfall and swimming hole. 

From Minca centre, take the road that heads south right next to the bridge. A good reference is if you walk past the Church of Minca, a white building, then you’re heading the right direction.

As we walked down here we noticed a bunch of restaurants which could be great for breakfast or lunch depending on the time of day! We actually ate at Taco y Chela, Arabesca and Nonni Pizzeria which were all amazing food options!

Essentially, we just followed this road until it turned from a road into more of an off-road track, and then we kept going! The route is easy enough to follow and is the easiest stretch of this hike.

Once you reach Oído del Mundo (or Ear of the World in English), prepare your swimmers because this is a great opportunity to cool off in the waterfall!

Leg 2: Cascada Oído del Mundo to Marinka Waterfalls

Once you’ve finished splashing around in the Ear of the World, it’s time to tackle the second leg of this journey. This time you’ll be heading to Marinka Waterfalls, another great place to wash off the sweat from your trek!

The second leg of the hike is not too dissimilar from the first leg. It follows the same unsealed road further south up into the mountains. Just this time you have an extra 50m of elevation to contend with! Still, this portion of the trek is relatively easy.

You’ll pass a few shops and stalls along the way selling beverages and snacks. These will be a lifesaver if the humidity is starting to get to you!

Eventually you’ll reach a fork in the road with a giant sign indicating Marinka Waterfalls, which is located inside the Reserva Natural Tierra Adentro. Take a left at the fork and after another 10-minutes or so of walking uphill, you’ll reach the Marinka Waterfall compound.

We actually loved it at Marinka Waterfalls, but also we arrived before it got too busy. It costs 10,000 COP ($2.56) to enter and has a great place to swim, toilets and a restaurant!

Leg 3: Marinka Waterfalls to Hostal Sierra Minca

It’s here that you’ll need to make that decision we spoke about earlier: the easy way or the hard way! Both routes will eventually take you to Hostal Sierra Minca.

Option 1: The main road (easier)

The first option is for those seeking a relatively tough hike but along a much easier trail. Head back down from Marinka Waterfalls to the main unsealed road again. Then just swing left and follow the main road all the way until you reach what could be considered another fork.

At the fork, take a sharp left and continue up the road all the way until Hostal Sierra Minca – see, super easy!

Hopefully you’ve decided to spend a night or two at the hostel because we found it really cool and welcoming. The view is awesome, the food is decent and the beer is cheap!

Option 2: The jungle trail (harder)

It was along this trail that we actually decided to call it a day and turn back in favour of hiring moto taxis. However, we’ve read online that people often take this trail so it is doable! To be honest, I probably could have continued without Sara (but shhhh, don’t tell her…)

From the entrance of Marinka Waterfalls, instead of heading back down to the main road, take the left and continue on uphill! This route is going to take you through the jungles of the Reserva Natural Tierra Adentro.

To begin with, you’ll be following a pretty decent road for a while, until you reach a bridge across a small river. The bridge itself is pretty cool, but after is where the jungle trek truly begins!

You can follow the signs for ‘Los Pinos’ and you’ll even head past a popular coffee plantation in the area: Finca La Semilla. Once you’ve passed the coffee plantation, the trail is going to get very narrow and overgrown. This is where Sara started to begin panicking…

Despite that we powered on through the trail until we reached a very narrow section between two mud walls with some very steep climbs. It was at this point Sara asked us to call it as she didn’t feel comfortable anymore and we went back to Marinka Waterfalls to start again.

However, if you continue the trail you’ll also head past Finca Corazón del Mundo and eventually reach a crossroads. At the crossroads, a sharp left will take you to Los Pinos and a sharp right to Hostal Sierra Minca.

Leg 4: Hostal Sierra Minca to Los Pinos

Congratulations, you’ve made it to the peak of the trek and you’re chilling in the hammocks at the hostel! We spent one night here because we planned to head to Los Pinos on a sunrise mission, and that’s what we did.

At 5am we donned our head torches and found the trailhead to Los Pinos from Hostal Sierra Minca. There’s a fork right at the beginning, head right. We went left first and it’s a dead end.

Once past the buildings, the trail becomes a bit of a mini canyon that we followed through a bunch of coffee plants. At the tip of the trail made it to a fence with a gap to pass through and then we headed down to a crossroads. At these crossroads, we continued straight.

When we took this section there were some workmen building a new road. There was a bamboo fence that looked like the road was closed but we asked the workmen and they said we could just go around it. I think the fence is just there to prevent vehicles rather than people.

Not long after you’ll reach Los Pinos viewpoint. Don’t look for anything special when you arrive, it’s just a flat section with nothing around, but it’s a great view!

Returning back to Minca from Los Pinos

So you’re finished up in the mountains and it’s time to head back? Well there’s a couple of ways you could go about this.

We personally booked moto taxis back down from Hostal Sierra Minca after we hiked to Los Pinos. This, for us, was the quickest and most efficient way to get back to Minca. Also, there’s a jeep service too if you talk to the reception desk.

Alternatively, you could hike back down the opposite route you came up. So if you trekked up the main road the entire way, why not try out the trail that runs through the Reserva Natural Tierra Adentro?

In fact, after Sara found it so difficult to hike up the jungle route, we would probably recommend tackling this trail on the return hike instead!

If you are a hiking enthusiast, then we recommend heading past Los Pinos and continuing to another hike in the area called Cerro Kennedy! We didn’t do this hike ourselves but we’ve heard great things about the view. From the summit you’ll be able to see the snow capped Pico Simón Bolívar, the tallest mountain in Colombia!

Getting from Minca to Los Pinos without hiking

Now if you’re not a lover of hiking, stop fretting as there are alternative ways for you to get to Los Pinos! We’re going to outline two below, one of which is dependent on whether you stay at Hostal Sierra Minca or not. 

Hire a moto taxi to Los Pinos

The first option, one that’s available to everyone, is to take a moto taxi from Minca centre. When you first arrive in Minca you’ll notice that right by the bridge there are a group of moto taxis waiting for customers. This is because the moto taxi network in Minca is run by a single company with set prices so you know you’re not going to be getting ripped off!

We took a moto taxi from Minca to Marinka Waterfalls for only 15,000 COP ($3.83) each. The next day we took a moto taxi back down from the hostel to Minca for 40,000 COP ($10.22) each. Assuming the fee works both ways, it’ll cost you 40,000 COP to get from Minca to Hostel Sierra Minca or Los Pinos!

Just be aware that we weren’t offered helmets for our ride, no one seemed to be offered helmets at all, and the road is super uneven. The ride is all up or downhill and by the time we arrived our arms were killing!

A lot of people will hire a moto taxi to Marinka Waterfalls and then hike up to Los Pinos from there to make the trek shorter!

Book a 4×4 to Los Pinos

If you booked to stay at Hostel Sierra Minca, they run jeep services to and from Minca. We didn’t take one but we were offered a ride by the staff when we were leaving, but we’d already ordered moto taxis!

The jeep fits up to 4 people and the hostel charges 50,000 COP ($12.78) per person. If we hadn’t already called moto taxis we would have taken their offer as we figured it’s not too much more expensive and it’s a lot safer!

You can also book private 4x4s around Minca if you want a safer option. But they are a much slower form of transport and, we assume, much more expensive!

Hostal Sierra Minca

We’ve mentioned it a lot in this guide, but Hostal Sierra Minca is such a popular spot for backpackers to stay and we wanted to cover why! 

Hostal Sierra Minca offers a fully immersive experience for their guests. You’ll find the staple Minca hammocks overlooking views of the mountains and Santa Marta. There are swinging beds to rest on and great seating areas with panoramas of the surrounding area. In addition, we really enjoyed the pool which, yes you guessed it, also came with an amazing view! 

We really liked the bar area which came with the obligatory bean bags, pool tables and a table tennis table. The best thing of all? The drinks from the bar are really reasonably priced! We wouldn’t say cheap by all means given the hostel’s location, but they’re definitely not going to break the bank.

Hostal Sierra Minca also run their own tours around the surrounding areas on the jeeps if they tickle your fancy. Essentially, you can treat this hostel as a very budget resort stay in the mountains!

Where else to stay in Minca

In case you want to base elsewhere in Minca, here are a few other options we would recommend:

Hotel Minca Express Relax – the accommodation we chose in the centre of Minca, this was by far the best budget option! At just $17/night for a double room, we were very content and we couldn’t argue with the location!

Masaya Casas Viejas – for a more boutique stay in the mountains, Masaya Casas Viejas offers an infinity pool, massages and views of a lifetime. It’s 30-minutes outside of Minca though so only book this hotel if you’re looking for a jungle retreat with hiking, waterfalls and more!

Mini Cabaña TANOA – for a more unique stay, booking a night or two in these beautiful forest cabañas. Only a 15-minute walk outside of Minca and near Pozo Azul, it’s a great compromise between being close to town and in the middle of nature.

Casa Elemento was another hostel that used to be super popular in the area, unfortunately it’s now closed for good.

Check out our other Minca guides!

• 19 Epic Things to do in Minca: A Complete Guide!
• Cascada Escondida: a guide to Minca’s hidden waterfall
• Cascada Oído del Mundo in Minca: A hidden waterfall!
• The Ultimate Guide to Visiting Pozo Azul in Minca, Colombia
• Visiting Finca La Victoria: The Best Coffee Tour in Minca
• How to get from Santa Marta to Minca
• Marinka Waterfalls in Minca: The Ultimate Guide
• 29 Must-Do Things to do in Santa Marta: An Ultimate Guide
• Is Colombia safe to visit in 2024?

We hope that our guide covered everything you need to know about visiting Los Pinos in Minca. We always strive to offer the most accurate and up-to-date information we can but if you think something we’ve said is wrong, please let us know!