On a clear day the snow-streaked peaks of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta can be seen from the city of Santa Marta. This cordillera is the highest coastal range on the planet and only 45 kilometers (27 miles) from the sea. Its three crown jewels are Pico Cristóbal Colón (5,775 m. / 18,942 ft.), Pico Bolívar (5,775 m. / 18,942 ft.) and Pico Codazzi (5,375 m. / 17,630 ft.). Much of the area—383,000 hectares of it—are protected lands, the Parque Nacional Natural Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, spread out between Magdelena, Guajira and Cesar Departments. It is the birthplace of 30 rivers. Wildlife like jaguar, mountain tapir, condor, páramo deer, paujil and mountain parrot inhabit the forests. Arhuaco, Kogui and other indigenous nations also call this home.

Most of the Sierra Nevada is closed to outsiders. The deeply folded terrain of the Sierra Nevada is no place to go alone; the security situation is uncertain, and many locals state the civil war is yet being waged there. Likewise, the indigenous are fiercely protective of these mountains, which they consider sacred land, and resent outsiders intruding into its depths. There are, however, several places we can visit, including Ciudad Perdida of Teyuna, the research station at San Lorenzo and the agro-ecological community of Los Cocos.