19 Epic Things to do in Minca: A Complete Guide!

If, like us, you’re a type A planner, you’ve probably come across Minca during your research for your upcoming Colombian journey.

It’s a small village close to Santa Marta in the northern region of Colombia near the Caribbean coast. But despite its proximity to the coastline, Minca is actually in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountain range. 

This makes Minca the perfect destination for adventure lovers like us!

Well fellow type A planners, in this ultimate guide we want to cover all the best things to do in Minca. These are all based on our own experience of traveling through this sleepy village.

From mountain hikes, to stunning waterfalls and some of the tastiest craft beer in the region, this Colombia travel guide is all you need to prepare an itinerary for your adventure trip to Minca.

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Top things to do in Minca, Colombia

Unlike many other guides you might find, we’re going to skip the fluff and the BS and jump straight into the juicy information. We know this is exactly what you clicked for!

If you’re looking for extra information about Minca, like how to get there and where to eat, you can find all of that at the end of this guide. (pssst, use the table of contents to skip to there!) 

In the meantime, without further ado, here are 19 things to do in Minca that you shouldn’t miss!

1. Take a natural shower at Marinka Waterfalls

One of our favorite spots we visited during our time in Minca was the glorious Marinka Waterfalls.

Only a “simple” 90-minute hike from Minca center, the Marinka Waterfalls complex offers two different cascades, a restaurant and the infamous Minca hammocks.

Entrance to Marinka Waterfalls set us back 10,000 COP ($2.59) each but we thoroughly enjoyed taking a dip in the pool of the lower waterfall. The upper waterfall unfortunately isn’t swimmable, but it looks just as amazing and is great for photos!

The food in the restaurant is very ‘meh’, but it’s okay considering where you are. Also, if you’re concerned about changing into your bathing suit, there are changing rooms available next to the waterfall.

2. Hike up to Los Pinos viewpoint for sunset

Sunsets in the Santa Marta area are by nature pretty epic. This is because of the direction this area of Colombia faces – to the north-west. In our opinion, one of the best places to watch a sunset (or sunrise) is Los Pinos.

There are two routes to hike up to Los Pinos. The first is to just follow the main road the entire way, this is what the stats above show. 

The other is to cut through the Reserva Natural Tierra Adentro. We attempted this but the trail was a bit outside of Sara’s league so we turned back and took the easier route. However if you’re a keen hiker, this mountain route might be more fun for you!

The route up to Los Pinos can be combined with Oído del Mundo, Marinka Waterfalls and Finca Semilla to break up the trek a bit!

3. Find friends at Hostal Sierra Minca

Nearby to Los Pinos you’ll find the very unique Hostal Sierra Minca. This particular hostel is one of the more popular places to stay in Minca and after our visit we understood why.

With an amazing communal area offering a pool with a view, a reasonably priced bar and pool tables, it’s a great place to socialize with other travelers. 

We also really enjoyed testing out all the different installations Hostal Sierra Minca offers. There are more of the famous Minca hammocks, swinging beds and a pair of hands over the edge of the mountain that are perfect to snap a photo.

4. Spot nature in Reserva Natural Tierra Adentro

Even though Minca is in the Caribbean mountains (well that’s a weird phrase…) it’s still a tropical rainforest. It’s worth remembering that rainforests are some of the most biodiverse ecosystems in the world!

If you’re a nature lover, a hike through the Reserve Natural Tierra Adentro is a must-do thing to do in Minca. If you’re searching for the entrance, it’s actually the same entrance from the main road as it is to Marinka Waterfalls.

Stroll through the bush and keep your eyes peeled for unique insects, reptiles, monkeys and birds. If you’re lucky you might even spot a sloth or two! If you’re not so lucky, maybe a jaguar…

Just wear plenty of the strongest mosquito repellent you can find. The mosquitos in this area will rip you apart!

5. Take a plunge at Cascada Oído del Mundo

Oído del Mundo is the second of many waterfalls in our list of things to do in Minca. Found en route to Marinka Waterfalls from Minca, this waterfall is a very short trek (10-minutes max) from the main road.

Once you arrive at Oído del Mundo, it’s time to kick back, relax and go for a swim. I found the mountain water in the pool super refreshing and clean. The pool itself comes up to about shoulder height in the middle too, so it’s worth watching out for kids if you have any.

In our opinion, Cascada Oído del Mundo is a great place to come with friends and a few cervezas!

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6. Learn about coffee on a tour

There are plenty of coffee plantations in Minca, with Finca Semilla, Finca Hostal Bolivar and Finca Carpe Diem to name a few.

You can even find accommodation on some fincas like at La Candelaria Coffee Farm B&B!

But after much research, we personally decided to head on a tour at Finca La Victoria coffee. It’s roughly a 15-minute moto-taxi ride from Minca center and is one of the most popular things to do in Minca.

For 25,000 COP ($6.47) each, our guide took us on an elaborate one hour tour around the plantation. We were taught how coffee is grown, harvested, cleaned and packed for shipping. 

Honestly, even if you’re not a fan of coffee like Ryan, this was one of the most interesting things we did in Minca.

7. Indulge in a chocolate based activities

In a very similar vein to the coffee tour, there are also plenty of chocolate tours in Minca as well!

One of the most popular tours actually combines the two. You can head to La Candelaria Coffee Farm B&B for a coffee and chocolate tour if you’re keen to learn about both.

If you’re looking for a seriously unique thing to do in Minca, then why not a chocolate massage? Sounds strange right?

Well you can do just that at Mundo Nuevo. You just need to book in advance (ideally) and pay the fairly price of 180,000 COP ($46.57).

8. Cool off in Pozo Azul (most popular thing to do in Minca)

Pozo Azul, or blue well, is by far one of the most popular things to do in Minca. In fact, there are tons of tours per day that specifically run from Santa Marta to visit Pozo Azul.

Because of this, we would highly recommend doing what we did and visiting as early as you can. We arrived around 8am and were at Pozo Azul with just one other couple who had the same idea as us.

The buses and tours started arriving around 9am and people were starting to trickle in as we left, thank god!

We hiked from Minca to Pozo Azul around sunrise and the trek itself is super easy along the main road followed by a short unsealed section. Alternatively, you can hire a moto-taxi to take you there for about 10,000 COP ($2.59).

9. Find the hidden Cascada Escondida

On your way back to Minca from Pozo Azul, there’s another waterfall you can visit if you’d like. Cascada Escondida translates to ‘hidden waterfall’ and the name couldn’t be more apt.

The trailhead is easy to miss. It’s located between a small panadería and a hostel and is semi-overgrown. If you walk through the small gap you’ll find some concrete stairs which indicate the correct way.

The trail down is a bit steep, but once you reach the bottom you’ll meet a river. Cross the river and swing left until you get to Cascada Escondida. For some reason on Google maps it’s called Cascada Perdida.

We actually didn’t find it due to lack of time – damn that hidden waterfall – but we saw a few groups of people head towards it from where we were standing. But this waterfall is definitely a lesser known thing to do in Minca.

10. Search for The Lost City

The Lost City, or Cuidad Perdida, is a lengthy trek over 4 to 6 days that is perfect for adventure and hiking lovers.

It’s an area deep in the Sierra Nevada mountains that was inhabited by the Tayrona people over 2000 years ago. This was until about 400 years ago when the Spanish pressured them to leave.

Now you can book a trekking tour to visit The Lost City. The tour will set you back around $600 for the five days and will include transport, accommodation and food.

In total you’ll trek around 44km and cover an elevation of about 2700. Due to the nature of our digital nomad life, we didn’t have the time to set aside five days for this trek. But it’s definitely something we’d like to do in the future!

11. Explore the quaint village of Minca

There’s not a whole load of things to do in Minca itself. It’s mainly the area surrounding the village that makes this place special.

However, you would be wrong to not allocate at least half a day to have a bimble around the buildings!

Check out the Museo del Cacao de Minca or indulge in many of the coffee shops around the village. There are a range of great places to eat (covered later!) and drink in Minca. It’ll be a relaxing break from all the strenuous hiking and swimming!

12. Scour the treetops for tropical birds

As we mentioned, Minca is in the tropical rainforests in Colombia and that makes it one of the best areas in the country for bird watching! Especially as Colombia boasts over 1900 different species of birds.

With tropical birds to see like aracaris, toucans, hummingbirds and parakeets, any avid birder wouldn’t want to miss an opportunity like this!

13. Become a connoisseur of the local craft beer

Would you believe us if we told you that Minca has a craft beer brewery? Because it does!

It’s called Nevada Cervecería and on the same land as Finca La Victoria. The brewery itself isn’t the kind of place you go inside to drink, but you can find their beers in a few establishments in the area.

They’re sold in Finca La Victoria’s canteen and because we were a tad early for our tour, we decided to indulge. We tried a few different flavors and can confirm that they were all delicious! 

Sara particularly enjoyed the coffee flavored beer, which has apparently won awards over in the US!

14. Take a stroll through the forest

If you’re not too keen on the longer hikes up into the mountains, it’s easy enough to find some simple trails around the village.

You might need to have a quick search on maps.me to find them, but there are trails that run besides rivers and through the trees. 

Once again, keep your eyes out for any local wildlife, you might be surprised with what you’re able to find!

15. Summit the Cerro Kennedy peak

Cerro Kennedy is another popular hike to do in Minca. We personally didn’t have enough time to embark on this adventure, but I really, really wanted to. Sara didn’t want to as much…

Start from the trailhead at Tienda La Y. You could walk all the way from Minca but it’ll take a while. Instead, we recommend taking a moto-taxi to the trailhead.

From the trailhead it’s roughly a 12km hike to the peak. It’s probably worth booking a night at Hostal Donde Moncho to break up the trail. Also, by doing this you open up the opportunity to hike up to the summit for sunrise!

At 2600m above sea level, you’ll get 360° views of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. You’ll be able to see all the way from Santa Marta to Pico Simon Bolivar – the tallest peak in the mountain range at 5730m.

16. Try the mouth watering artisanal bread

Believe it or not, you can actually find fresh, French artisanal bread in the tiny village of Minca! Head to the La Miga Panadaría along Carrera 5a and you’ll probably smell the fresh baked goods before arriving. 

This spot gets super busy super quickly, so make sure to visit early to have the widest options to pick from.

17. Be humbled at the Church of Minca

The Church of Minca, or La Inglesia del Perpetuo Socorro, is one of the most recognizable landmarks in Minca town. Found on Carrera 5a, its white walls are difficult to miss as you walk by.

In a little plazoleta of its own, the church stands proud and is open to the public at most hours of the day.

We had a quick look inside and, although small, it houses multiple detailed statues and beautiful stained glass windows. The church itself has an ethereal air to it that’s worth experiencing if you can get inside alone.

18. Sink cocktails at The Lazy Cat

A great way to finish the day in Minca would be to pop by The Lazy Cat. It’s a restaurant-bar that offers some of the cheapest cocktails in the country (we assume…).

Being one of the most popular spots to relax with a drink, you’ll always find decent music playing and the overall vibe pretty high.

The cocktails themselves, you can pick up two mojitos at around 15,000 COP ($3.88) for two… FOR TWO! It’s kind of a recipe for disaster.

19. Day trip to Tayrona National Park

If you’ve done your research well, you’ll know that it’s waayy easier to visit Tayrona National Park from Santa Marta. However we wanted to chuck it in this guide just in case you haven’t come across it yet, because Tayrona is b-e-a-utiful (in Bruce Almighty voice).

When you think of the Caribbean, you think of beautiful blue ocean water and white sand beaches right?

Well that’s exactly what Sara and I found in Tayrona National park. The beaches were pristine, the water was the perfect temperature from the inside and stunning from the outside. In addition, the existence of a nudist beach is a bonus if that’s what you’re into!

We stayed overnight at Cabo San Juan and spent two days hiking through the park itself. During that time, we encountered monkeys, sloths and poison dart frogs.

It’s definitely not an experience you want to miss!

How to get to Minca

We covered the process of getting from Santa Marta to Minca in its own dedicated guide. But don’t worry, here we’ll quickly cover the two most popular ways.

By bus

The cheapest and most popular way to get to Minca is by bus. Favored by most backpackers, the buses run regularly between Mercado Publico de Santa Marta and the center of Minca town.

The company you’re looking to go with is Cootransminca and we took the bus back to Santa Marta from Minca which cost us 9000 COP ($2.33). Bear in mind though, we found the bus pretty cramped and hot, and combined with the mountain roads we started to get a bit nauseous.

By taxi

We actually decided to take a taxi to Minca because we couldn’t be bothered faffing around with buses at 7am. It’s easy enough to hail one of the yellow taxis in the street but we tended to use the app InDrive instead.

InDrive is like Uber, but you can negotiate with the drivers before they come to pick you up. The taxi from Santa Marta to Minca took around 40-minutes and cost us 40,000 COP ($10.35). Not too bad if we do say so!

Getting around Minca

There are two main ways you can navigate Minca town and the surrounding area. 

The first is simply to just walk. There are so many hikes around and all places in the Sierra Nevada mountains are accessible by foot. It just depends on how much time you have available and what your level of fitness is!

The second option is the network of moto-taxis found in Minca. All the drivers work for the same company so all the prices are fixed. Finding drivers is easy too, they’re always dotted around Minca waiting for their next customer.

The only downside is they don’t provide helmets, but you can ask for theirs by saying “puedo usar tu casco?”

Where to stay in Minca

We stayed in a couple of places in Minca and for you it’ll depend which area you want to explore. Here are a few accommodation options:

Hostal Sierra Minca – we covered it earlier but we loved our stay here! At 1600m above sea level in the mountain range, this hostel offers both dorm and private rooms, and three meals a day. It’s a good spot to explore the mountains from up top.

Hotel Minca Express Relax – the accommodation we chose in the center of Minca, this was by far the best budget option! At just $17/night for a double room, we were very content and it’s a great place to explore Minca town from!

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.

Best restaurants in Minca

Much to our surprise, Minca actually has some awesome food options – especially western food! We felt a tad spoiled for choice while we were there and we ate like royalty. Here are a few of our favorites:

• Arabescas – mouth watering middle eastern food.
• Taco y Chela – the best spot for Mexican food.
• Nonni Pizzeria – recommended to us by a local at Marinka Waterfalls and it didn’t disappoint!
• La Miga Panadería – for the best fresh bread and baked goods in Magdalena.
• Arcadia – a restaurant by day and a bar by night.
• The Lazy Cat – the one-stop-shop for cocktails.
• Amora Cocina Saludable – an amazing spot for lunch.

Best time to visit Minca

Minca is a genuinely great place to visit all year round, but like most tropical regions it has better months and worse months.

We visited during November and for the most part the weather held up. However, we did experience a couple of downpours and the humidity during the rainy season is pretty high.

Instead, one of my moto-taxi drivers told me that December to March is a great time to visit. It’s outside of the summer months so you’ll still get shoulder season prices and the level of humidity has dropped to bearable levels.

June to July are the summer months which is great for weather, but it also might get a tad too hot for hiking. Another reason to miss this time is that this is the peak season which means higher prices and more crowds.

How long to stay in Minca

How much time you should spend in Minca is a bit of an open ended question. You could spend as little as a day and as long as a week. 

What we personally believe is that if you want to experience all of Minca and see everything, you’ll need at least a week. Personally, we stayed in Minca for four days and missed out on quite a few experiences.

However, it is possible to make a flying visit in Minca. In a day or two you can definitely hit the main spots if you get around by moto-taxi. But just be aware that you’ll miss out on a lot of hiking trails if you decide on this timeframe.

Final thoughts on Minca

We truly believe that you cannot pass through north Colombia without stopping by Minca. We spent a total of 30-days in the Santa Marta region and Minca was by far one of our favorite weekends away, beaten only by Tayrona.

With all the hiking options, waterfalls and tours to take, as well as nature to see, Minca is perfect for those who love adventure and the outdoors. Just be aware that the outdoors here is super humid!

Check out our other Minca guides:

• Cascada Escondida: a guide to Minca’s hidden waterfall
• Los Pinos Minca – A complete guide to the hike and more!
• 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
• Is Colombia safe to visit in 2024?
• 29 Must-Do Things to do in Santa Marta: An Ultimate Guide

We hope that our guide covered everything you need to know about things to do 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!