The Los Pinos hike takes you up onto the mountainside above Minca and, from the viewpoint, you can see all the way to the Caribbean coastal city Santa Marta.
Minca isn’t just about the cool jungle vibes and hanging out at the fun waterfalls. There are fun trails here too and 1 of my favourites is the Los Pinos hike (Mirador Los Pinos).
Los Pinos sits on the mountainside above Minca and getting here takes you through lush forest and coffee fincas. Near the viewpoint there are options for enjoying the vistas with a delicious locally-produced hot brew.
In this complete guide to hiking the Los Pinos trail, you’ll find detailed route guidance and my recommendation for where to reward yourself with a bite to eat at the top.
Los Pinos hike in Minca overview
- Distance: 29 km
- Duration: 8-10 h
- Difficulty: hard
- Elevation gain: 1,625 m
- The Los Pinos hike is tough – it’s a long day of walking with lots of elevation gain and some steep and narrow sections.
- If attempting the whole trail in 1 day, then start out from Minca no later than 7:00 to guarantee returning before sun down.
- A good amount of the trail is exposed so use sunscreen to protect yourself.
- I recommend grabbing a bite to eat at Hotel Mirador Aires de La Sierra close to Mirador Los Pinos.
- There are a few options for completing this hike, including taking moto taxis. I’ll explain how I did the trek as well as the other options.
- While the hike is signposted, make sure to have an offline map available as there are sections where the trail isn’t clear.
- You can do this hike without a guide and there are no entrance fees to pay unless you visit Marinka Falls along the way.
Los Pinos hike trail guidance
The hike to Los Pinos begins and ends in Minca. The majority of the ascent is along a dusty, dirt road called Cerro Kennedy Oriente. This takes you past 2 waterfalls just outside of Minca: El Oído del Mundo and Marinka Falls.
You also tackle steepish dirt trails cutting through banana plantations and coffee fincas. Now I’ll explain each section of the hike in detail.
Minca to El Oído Del Mundo
To begin, leave Minca heading south on Carrera 5. You’ll pass the church and later a football pitch.
Once you leave the town behind you join Cerro Kennedy Oriente, which is dry and dusty and takes you through a bamboo forest. This section of the hike is flat and nicely shaded by the trees.
Aside from the interesting, tall bamboo trees, the road is uneventful and you simply follow it as it winds through the forest. The road is obvious so no need for the map here.
After roughly 2 km you’ll see a trail running into the forest away from the road to the right-hand side. This leads to El Oído del Mundo, a natural swimming hole, and 1 of the less popular attractions in Minca.
If you fancy cooling off before continuing the hike, then you can take a quick dip here. What’s more, it’s free to enter.
El Oído del Mundo to Marinka Waterfalls
The next leg of the hike brings you near another waterfall called Marinka Falls. To get here, continue along the road leaving El Oído del Mundo behind.
After roughly 4 km you’ll come to a fork in the road. A road bearing left creates this fork and it’s this road that brings you to the entrance of Marinka Waterfall.
At this point you can decide whether to leave the main road to check out Marinka Falls too or to continue with the hike. The falls are open 9:00 – 17:00 and entry costs 16,000 COP ($4 US).
If you start the Los Pinos hike really early in the morning, I’m talking 5:00, then you could make it back down to Marinka Falls before it closes. I’ll explain this further later on in the guide.
Marinka Waterfalls to Sierra Minca Hostel
The next waypoint is Sierra Minca Hostel, roughly 4 km uphill., and the same road you’ve been following since leaving Minca brings you here.
Sierra Minca is probably the best-known property in the area. It’s the hostel with the huge net overlooking the jungle which you can hang out on. If you search ‘Minca’ and look at images, you’ll see exactly what I’m talking about.
Some people like to split the Los Pinos hike over 2 days, spending a night at Sierra Minca. I think this is a fun way to do it and will talk more about this later on too.
Sierra Minca Hostel to Mirador Los Pinos
The final leg of the ascent, from Sierra Minca Hostel to Mirador Los Pinos, is around 1.5 km. Walk past the entrance to the hostel and stick to the road as it bends around the mountainside continuing uphill. It won’t take long before the road becomes concrete.
As you climb the concrete road you’ll see a sign pointing to a trail leading away from the road to the left. The sign says ‘Los Pinos’ and you need to follow it.
Ahead of you you’ll see some shacks and that the trail splits left and right on either side of these. Take the trail heading to the right of the shacks.
Until now the route has been the same long, easy road all the way from Minca. But now the trail becomes narrow, dirt and steeper. In this section the trail is signposted.
Shortly you’ll enter a banana plantation and here the climb is quite steep. Continue uphill through the plantation until you reach a barbed wire fence with a gap in it.
Pass through the gap and you’ll join a dirt road again. Head left along this road and uphill passing a school called Centro Educativo San Rafael which has a small football pitch. Shortly after this school you’ll arrive at Mirador Los Pinos.
Mirador Los Pinos
The viewpoint is just the side of the road. But from here, when the weather plays ball, you can see as far as Santa Marta on the Caribbean Coast and all of the countryside surrounding Minca.
Refuelling at the top
The hike to Los Pinos is long and you’ll probably arrive hungry and thirsty. There’s a hotel a few hundred metres back down the road from the viewpoint.
The hotel is called Mirador Aires de la Sierra and here you can eat tasty food for affordable prices. I stopped for a late breakfast at the hotel before heading back to Minca enjoying my meal with a view.
Getting back to Minca
There are 3 ways to return to Minca: the way you came, through the jungle, or via the Cienaga-Minca road.
Option 1: the way you came
If you want an easy route back, then this is the 1 to pick. All you have to do is simply retrace your steps. However, option 2 is by far the most fun.
Option 2: through the jungle
This is the most adventurous route back and you pass through another banana plantation and coffee finca. Not only is this way more fun, it’s also the fastest. This route is marked in the AllTrails map embedded in this guide.
There’s a fork in the road that brings you to Los Pinos Viewpoint, just before San Rafael school, giving you the option to head downhill to the left. This is the route you need to take to get back.
Head downhill along this road, which is also a dirt road, and keep descending until the road becomes a narrow trail. The narrow trail runs down the hillside of a big coffee finca, Finca La Semilla (The Seed), and you’ll be walking among coffee trees for a while.
As you descend through the finca, the trail becomes less obvious and, in parts, hidden by coffee plants. You could stray from it so have your offline map handy here and check it regularly.
Lower down the hillside the trail brings you to Reserva Natural Tierra Adentro, a luxury nature resort. Not long after leaving Tierra Adentro behind, you come to a series of streams. There’s a bridge over the streams to cross without getting your feet wet.
The next point of interest is Marinka Waterfall. While the falls aren’t visible from the trail, they’re really close. If you’re here before 17:00 and fancy a dip, now is your chance. Entrance to the falls costs 16,000 COP ($4 US).
Continue on the trail and you come to a road. Walk down this road bearing left and you’ll re-join Cerro Kennedy Oriente, the road you took all the way from Minca to Sierra Nevada Hostel.
You’ll see moto taxis waiting near the entrance to Marinka Falls. These will take you the remaining 4-ish kilometres back to Minca for around 15,000 COP ($3.5 US). I hopped on a moto taxi, as I didn’t fancy walking along Cerro Kennedy Oriente again, knocking an hour or so off the hike.
Option 3: via the Cienaga-Mica road
The final way to return to Minca is to continue along the dirt road past Mirador Los Pinos until you join the Cienaga-Minca road.
This winding road leads all the way down the valley to the town. Along the way you pass by Pozo Azul, 1 of the more popular natural swimming holes in Minca.
However, I don’t recommend this route as it adds on a few more hours to the hike. It’ll likely be too late to visit Pozo Azul and be dark before you reach Minca. Also, having walked this way when I hiked Cerro Kennedy, I know that it’s mostly an uneventful main road.
Other ways to get to Los Pinos
If you want the views but less strenuous hiking, you could split the adventure over 2 days or cut out hiking all together with a moto taxi.
Staying at Sierra Minca Hostel
If you’re going to split the hike over 2 days, then you have to stay at Sierra Minca Hostel. I haven’t stayed at the hostel myself, but it looks like a lot of fun.
The views from the secluded site are incredible, there’s a swimming pool and, of course, you can chill out on the huge net and get those Instagramable pictures.
Another bonus of staying the night at Sierra Minca is that it’s only 1.5 km to Mirador Los Pinos. From the hostel, you could easily get to the viewpoint for sunrise, or any time of day for that matter.
Taking a moto taxi
MotoMink is the moto taxi company in Minca and you can get pretty much anywhere in the area with its services.
The office is right next to the main bridge in town where you can organise your moto taxi, or, alternatively, here are the contact details for the company.
A moto taxi from Minca to Sierra Nevada Hostel costs 35,000 COP ($8.5 US) and takes roughly 30 min. Here’s the full list of MotoMink’s services and prices.
What to bring on the Los Pinos hike
Trekking all the way from Minca is a long day. For a successful hike, bring the following:
- Water – at least 3 L. There’s nowhere to refill unless you buy somewhere along the way or ask at Sierra Minca Hostel.
- Snacks – I recommend high energy snacks like bananas and trail mix. You don’t have to bring lunch as there are restaurants along the way.
- Warm layers – it’s cold if hiking before the sun comes up.
- Head lamp – again, if hiking for sunrise, you’ll need this to see the trail.
- Waterproof layer – especially important if hiking to Los Pinos during the rainy season.
- Sunscreen – a good portion of the trail is exposed as is the viewpoint.
- Cash – you’ll need this to consume at any of the restaurants. I recommend bringing at least $30 US just in case.
When to hike to Los Pinos
The dry season in northern Colombia typically lasts from December – April and is the ideal period for hiking. During these months the weather is sunnier and warmer and trails are in better condition. There’s also a secondary, shorter dry season throughout June and July.
I’d say it’s also possible to hike to Los Pinos during the rainy season, but I don’t recommend it. The steep sections running through the fincas and banana plantations would be way more challenging when wet and the chances of decent views at the top would be slim.
More adventure travel guides on A World Over
That’s how to do the Los Pinos hike near Minca. It’s a challenging but fun hike adventure rewarded with beautiful jungle and coastal views.
Remember to take plenty of water and have cash in case you want to eat or drink near the viewpoint. Also have enough cash to get a moto taxi between Marinka Falls and Minca if you want to shorten the hike on the way back.
As much as I enjoyed the Los Pinos hike, my top recommendation in Minca is to hike Cerro Kennedy. And you can find all of my Colombia travel guides here.