Colombia contains Ciudad Perdida, the ancient archaeological city in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta.
Ciudad Perdida, also called Teyuna, was built by the Tairona people in the northern Colombian mountains. Archaeologists generally date its origins to around the ninth century, making it older than the Inca citadel of Machu Picchu. The site consists of terraces, plazas, stone paths and circular foundations arranged on steep mountain slopes.
The settlement was abandoned after the Spanish conquest, and dense rainforest concealed it for centuries. Local communities knew of the ruins, but the site became widely known to the outside world after its reported rediscovery in the 1970s. Archaeologists and conservationists now work with Indigenous communities connected to the region.
Visitors reach Ciudad Perdida by a multi-day trek rather than by road. The route crosses rivers and humid terrain, and the final approach includes hundreds of stone steps. Ciudad Perdida is sometimes confused with Machu Picchu, but the two sites are in different countries and reflect different Andean cultures.