You want to go to here: Parque Tayrona

April 7th, 2010

These Eco Habs are only steps from the beach

Not far from the beach town of Santa Marta is the most beautifulnational park you don’t know about:  Parque Tayrona.  Hogging 30 km of some of Colombia’s most breath taking beaches and 150 square km of virgin jungle and rivers, it’s definitely a place to spend a day or two or nine.  Unfortunately we were only able to spend half a day in Tayrona and barely scratched the surface of what the national park has to offer.

We started lunch at a restaurant overlooking Cañaveral Beach.  The restaurant was an open air grass roofed structure which made for views that were more impressive than the food.  Not that the food was anything to get mad about (I very much enjoyed my lobster and prawn salad) but for the prices it was clear we were paying for the location, location, location.

One-hour rule be damned, we took a 5 minute stroll to the nearby piscinita (beach for swimming) and took a dip in one of the most gorgeous, picturesque beaches I’ve ever seen.  Only Phra Nang Beach in Thailand compares to the “whoa factor” of this beach.  Complimented by lush trees with the most beautiful shade of green you could never dream of and waves crashing on gorgeous rock formations, we felt like we were in an untainted, never-been-touched paradise (if we chose to overlook the beach chairs, tables, umbrellas, and bar.)

Click to view a video of the beach at Parque Tayrona

If you look closely at the beginning of the video, you can see a grass hut or “Ecohab” perched on a hill with a postcard view of the piscinita and the ocean; I have made it my personal goal to stay in one of these Ecohabs.  Goal part b: spend a day chilling out on this outdoor bed swing contraption.  How cool is this?

For more of Noah’s awesome pictures of Tayrona, click here.

For more pictures of Parque Tayrona, the Ecohabs, and the nearby area click here.