Colombia's Comeback: Cartagena, Coffee Country, and the Lost City Trek

South America — Colombia, 10 days

Colombia spent decades off most travelers’ lists for reasons that no longer apply, and the country’s tourism comeback over the past decade is one of the more genuine turnarounds in South American travel — Cartagena’s walled old city, all pastel balconies and horse-drawn carriages, now sits comfortably alongside Cusco and Cartagena as a can’t-miss colonial city.

Split the trip three ways: Cartagena’s old town and nearby Rosario Islands for coastal Caribbean days, the Coffee Triangle around Salento for cloud-forest hikes among the world’s tallest wax palms and actual working coffee farms, and — for travelers wanting a genuine physical challenge — the 4-day Lost City (Ciudad Perdida) trek through Sierra Nevada jungle to pre-Columbian ruins older than Machu Picchu.

Bogotá makes a more practical international gateway than Cartagena for stitching all three regions together, even though it’s not the trip’s main event.

Typical range: $60–$180 per night outside Cartagena’s boutique old-town hotels, which run considerably higher.

Sephari’s Curated Travel Kits collection has the packable rain gear the Lost City trek’s jungle humidity makes essential.