Tucked away deep within the Sierra Nevada mountains of Santa Marta is la Ciudad Perdida, or the Lost City. The Lost City is composed of remains from the Tayrona civilization, an ancient pre-Columbian civilization. This civilization existed from the first century A.D. and had significant growth around the eleventh century A.D. The Tayrona civilization had many trade routes and knowledge of medicinal plants and architecture. The Lost City was believed to be constructed around 700 A.D., long before Machu Picchu, the Incan ancient city of Peru. When Spaniards started to colonize the Caribbean coast of Colombia, they eventually found and pillaged the Tayrona civilization, pushing communities to flee to higher parts of the Sierra Nevadas.
So why is it called the Lost City, you may ask? The reason is that from 1600 A.D., or around when the Spanish discovered the Tayrona civilization, until nearly 4000 years later, the city went untouched! It wasn't until 1975 that the Lost City was discovered by guaqueros, or grave robbers, who battled over the treasures left at the ancient grounds. How long ago was the city discovered? Can you do the math?
