What to pack and how to survive the Ciudad Perdida - "lost city" hike in Colombia

We went on the Ciudad Perdida, lost city hike in mid July. I was a bit concerned about how I might've coped (I HATE the heat!) We were really pleased we did it as it was stunning! We wished our guide gave us more information though on indigenous culture (other tour groups had lectures throughout the trip), nonetheless, we still learned a lot, met some lovely people from the community and I was able to test my level of mental endurance and resilience! Here's are some tips, photos from the hike, a list of things to pack (what I wished I packed) and how we all survived!

Step 1: choosing a tour operator 

As the guidebooks say, there are 4 operators who have permission from the community to take hikers through, Wiwa, Turcol, Magic Tours and Expotur. All other hostels and tour agencies work with one of these operators. From my observations, there are a few differences:

• Wiwa has an indigenous guide and will take an English translator if there are enough English speakers on tour (not guaranteed of course and we didn't see any translators with the group during our hike). You will most likely have more interaction with the indigenous community, a huge plus in my opinion! The downside is the group was quite large.
• Turcol goes with very small groups so you will know your fellow travellers well. The downside is there was no translator even though the whole group was English speaking.
• Magic Tours had the most amazing translator with their guide who gave excellent information and the group had extensive lectures throughout the trip. The downside is the group was quite large.
• Expotur was the group which always left first on all days, they were the first to arrive at Ciudad Perdida site. They also had a translator. Downside, group was large.

Step 2: what to pack

The tour companies will give you a packing list. Just be aware that you will need to carry your pack (no Porters unless you hire a horse/mule) the whole time. It is hot, humid and really sweaty.... That said... I really wished:

• I had an additional shirt (once a shirt gets wet, it will NEVER DRY, I did not believe this when I read other blogs and turns out everyone was right). Everyone in our group wore the same shirt everyday (no one cares, seriously) but I wished I had a dry top to wear at some point. 
• A face cloth or bandana for wiping off the sweat

I was glad I had:

• Packed zip off pants (though I couldn't find my legs on the day we went up to Ciudad Perdida, trust me, you NEED pants that day).
• Sweat hairband (though I lost it on the final day of the hike, sad)
• Warm long sleeve top (it gets cold at night)
• Waterproof hiking boots 
• Hiking poles (ours were provided by our guide)
• Extra plastic bags 
• A little bit of money (to buy cold beers with, a couple of our fellow hikers didn't bring any money and regretted it I think!) You don't need a lot, the beers at the first camp was around 6000 pesos and at the last camp was 7000 pesos. 
• Hydrolite/flavoured drink sachets to add to one of the water bottles. There's no cold water so it was refreshing having a different drink! 
• Insect repellent (deet!)

The Campsites 

All groups shared the same campsites so not much difference in terms of comfort there. I was surprised that the camps had flushing toilets, running water and showers (cold water only). Everyone were eaten by mosquitoes, fleas and other insects so no group fared better than another.

The Food 

The food was excellent with all tour operators! You won't go hungry. The wonderful cooking team made sure we all had enough, we were able to get seconds for most meals. We brought along snacks and we didn't have any (some people bought chocolate bars etc on the way). There were fruit stops twice a day with refreshing watermelon, oranges and pineapples!

The Hike

It was tough! It was really hot and humid. There are also loads and loads of mosquitoes (quite a few hikers needed medical attention after returning from the hike). Even though I can't stand the heat, I gave up and wore pants on the final day and I was glad I did. Day 2 was the toughest day, it was long with heaps of steep hills. The hike was not technical but the conditions made it all the more difficult.

All that aside, the scenery was stunning, it was amazing to experience and learn more about the indigenous culture so it was all worth it in the end.