Parque Nacional Natural Tayrona

Caribbean bliss is epitomized in Tayrona National Park: thick rainforests, palm trees for days, and a beautiful meeting of the sea and the Sierra Nevada Mountains. You can trek your way through the park via a myriad of trails with twists and turns revealing some of the most stunning shores along the way. You even have the option of spending the night within the park between three different campgrounds. I have a knack for walking aimlessly until I get tired, so I ended up at a site called Cabo San Juan—the farthest (and most sought after) campsite. Here, you can sleep in a hammock with a sea breeze or opt for a tent just steps from the shore. I could rant on and on, but I’ll leave it at this: Tayrona blew my freakin’ mind.

I never knew the downright majestic splendor that is a palm tree forest until I stepped foot into Tayrona National Park. Add this spot to your Colombia itinerary and find glimmering stretches of energetic waves, plentiful wildlife, and hammocks that you can spend the night in. Cabo San Juan is a camp area smack dab in the middle of the protected wilderness with tents and a hammock hut that’s perched atop a hill overlooking the ocean. It’s like living in Jurassic Park. The amenities are almost nonexistent, but the views and setting are all that you need for an incredible night in the jungle. Despite being a widely renowned national park, I found it easy to get off the beaten path here and experience truly untouched nature. A lapse in proper map reading and some unguided curiosity landed me on a completely empty beach without any footprints or trace of humanity. My advice? Take the random paths. And don’t forget cash like I did; hammocks are only payable by pesos!