Finca Carpe Diem around Minca // Colombia

Finca Carpe Diem is a hostel, guesthouse and eco-farm, 7 km outside of Minca. The Finca is in the jungle of Minca and there is nothing but beautiful nature around it. It’s the perfect place to enjoy the beautiful area and relax with a book on the pool. It’s very quiet in this place and you feel disconnected from the rest of the world.

Getting there was a little adventure: We took a bus from Santa Marta to Bonda and from there a motor taxi to Carpe Diem – 20 minutes on a steep rocky road into the forest. My friend enjoyed the ride but I was a bit afraid and so happy that we arrived there safely.

You can choose between sleeping in dorms, double rooms in different price ranges or luxury ecohuts, which surround a pleasant pool. There is a garden with hammocks and places to chill and meet other guests. They also have a restaurant where the friendly Belgium owners offer fresh and very good dishes with locally produced ingredients. It’s a bit pricy, but if you need to save money you can use the guest kitchen. Take in mind that Carpe Diem is in the forest and you have to go back to Bonda to find a super market. I recommend taking at least some fruits, veggies or snacks to the Finca.

Activities

You can do some activities close to Carpe Diem by yourself or you can go on organized tours:

• Waterfall Tour: discover hidden waterfalls (3,5 hours)
• Vista Santa Marta: hike to a view point (30 minutes)
• Caoba Nature Reserve: a couple tries to preserve a small part of the forests and wildlife of the Sierra Nevada (15 walking minutes from Carpe Diem)
• Cacao Farm (10 walking minutes)
• Coffee Tour: learn how they grow and harvest coffee
• Swimming Spot of Paso del Mango (5 walking minutes)

On the first day we made a steep 30 minutes’ walk to the Vista Santa Marta, where we had a great view over the landscape until the Coast. There are signs leading you to the view point.

We decided to do a Waterfall Tour (10 € / 35.000 COP): A guide lead us 3,5 hours through the jungle and showed us three different waterfalls. It was a very nice hike where we passed the small Waldorf school of the community and a house of a local family. We saw beautiful plants and flowers and almost no other people. The waterfalls were really nice, especially the Silvestre Waterfall with a height of 30 meters. It was great to jump into the refreshing waterfalls and swim a bit. The waterfalls are not that easy to find, so it’s better to take a guide if you don’t know the area.

How to get to Finca Carpe Diem

We came from the Tayrona National Park so we needed to take a bus to Santa Marta: 1 hour, 2 € (7.000 COP). Then we took a bus from Santa Marta to Bonda: 10 mins, 0,45 € (1.600 COP) & from there we took a motor taxi to the Finca: 20 mins, 3 € (10.000 COP). A motor taxi can take one person plus luggage. The drivers are waiting at the bus station and offer to take you to the village.