Ciudad Perdida, Archaeological site in Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Colombia

Ciudad Perdida is a ruined settlement in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in Colombia, built across 169 stone terraces carved into the mountainside. These terraces are linked by narrow stone paths and circular meeting plazas.

The Tairona civilization founded the settlement around the year 800. It remained hidden from the outside world until 1972, when local treasure hunters discovered it while tracking a turkey.

The Kogi people, descendants of the Tairona civilization, call the place Teyuna and regard it as sacred ground. They maintain a spiritual connection to the stone platforms where their ancestors lived and prayed.

Access requires a demanding trek through dense rainforest, covering 47 kilometers round trip. The final climb follows 1,200 well-preserved stone steps up to the terrace complex.

The site sits between 900 and 1,300 meters on the slopes of Cerro Correa, above the right bank of the Buritaca River. Local Kogi, Wiwa, Arhuaco and Kankuamo communities call it Teyuna and say they visited it regularly long before its wider discovery, keeping silent about it.