Tayrona National Park, nestled on the Caribbean coast, is frequently listed as a must-visit destination in Colombia. It’s a great place for birding, and nearby some other top-notch birding destinations (Minca and La Guajira). Short on time? This post has a one day itinerary for your best shot at viewing birds and other wildlife.

Want more information? Check out my comprehensive guide to Tayrona and the surrounding area, including information on getting there, accommodation options, alternative day trips, a detailed experience of exploring Tayrona, and of course, the birds you can see!

The entrance fee varies throughout the year (link to official website):

High season:

• Dec 1st to Jan 31st
• June 1st to July 31st
• Semana Santa (varies depending on when easter falls)
• Local holidays – look them up

Fee: $73,500 COP

Low season is anytime outside of these dates and the cost is $62,000 COP. I went in early March and the weather was great. Hot and humid, of course, but sunny and not muddy (rainy season is typically during the northern hemisphere’s fall).

NOTE: Tayrona is closed during the month of February every year

You’re supposed to have the yellow fever vaccination to visit the park. From research and personal experience, it seems that this is never asked for. Pro tip: you can get the vaccination for free at the Bogota airport!

You’ll need to pay the entrance fee in cash, plus anything you want to buy in the park (food, snacks, bathroom). On top of the entrance fee, I’d bring around 75,000 extra per person. This is probably a bit on the high side, but just in case. You don’t want to be stuck without money.

This post assumes you’re already in the Tayrona area (if you’re not start here).

Walk to the main road from your accommodation and wait for a green and white bus heading west (towards Santa Marta). When you get on, tell the driver Calabazo. They’ll let you know when to get off, or keep and eye on where you are on Google Maps (tip: download offline areas).

If you only have one day to visit Tayrona National Park, you still have an opportunity to see some spectacular wildlife.

There are two main entrances: Calabazo and the more popular El Zaino. The lines can be super long at El Zaino so you must get there early (like 7am) otherwise you may not be let into the park due to daily limits.

The best hike to do is from Calabazo to Cabo San Juan and exit through El Zaino. Entering through Calabazo gives you a better chance at encountering wildlife due to the fact that it is much less crowded. We only passed a handful of people during the first half of the hike.

After paying the entrance fee, you can either hike mostly uphill along a dirt road for the first several miles or you can hire a person to take you up on their motorcycle. I had debated whether or not we should walk or take a motorcycle because I had read there can be good wildlife spotting on both this road and the road from the El Zaino entrance. I’m SO GLAD we took the bikes because we were exhausted by the end of the day. The cost was $20k COP each.

It’s best to go from Calabazo to El Zaino because it is predominantly downhill. We passed several people who were going the other way, hiking uphill for hours in the afternoon heat. Don’t let that be you, unless you really love to suffer. 

That being said, the hike was definitely tough and long regardless. We started hiking around 8am and got our first view of the ocean a little before 11. Granted, we were going slow to look for birds and wildlife.

AllTrails, a website that has maps of hikes worldwide, says it’s 19 miles. I don’t think it’s quite that far, especially if you take the motorcycle on the first purple section on the left and the van on the right purple section (in the map at the top).

During this first half of the hike (before getting to beach) is when we saw pretty much all the wildlife. We didn’t see much on our hike out.

I got this horrible video of two Lance-tailed Manakins performing a mating dance! It was so exciting. I had seen this in a nature documentary before and the crew had spent days trying to find this bird so I felt very fortunate to have not only heard it just off the trail, but to get to see them dance too.

We also saw Howler monkeys and a Keel-billed toucan! I’ll include a full list of birds at the bottom of the post. We didn’t see Titi monkeys in the park, but we did at out hotels.

We finally made it down to the first beach, Playa Nudista by 11:20. It’s another 10-15 minutes to Cabo San Juan, which is one of the only beaches you can swim at. It’s also the main place to camp (although there are others that are less crowded) and there’s a restaurant.

The restaurant prices were higher than average, but the portions were huge (plus you’re hours away from the road so to be expected). My mom and I got some smoothies and split the meal even with all our hiking. You’ll need cash to pay for food and the bathroom. We got in the ocean for a bit and rested up before completing the hike out.

I thought the hike out was going to be easier and flat. It was to an extent, but it was still long and hard. Apparently we’re just very slow because even the elderly and the very young (toddlers) were passing us. It was honestly quite comical.

At the end of the trail, there are mini buses that will take you back to the road. By that point, we would’ve gladly paid $100 to be carried home, but fortunately it was only about $4 USD each. We packed into one with a bunch of other sweaty tourists and then caught another bus along the main road to get back to our hotel. Including the travel and lunch time, the hike took us about 10 hours.

So there you have it! One day in Tayrona National Park. It was a long day, but overall it was a good experience. Even though it’s very touristy, I still recommend visiting Tayrona. If you’re able to spend a night or two on the park, you’ll likely see a lot more wildlife.

Brown Pelican
Keel-billed Toucan
Lance-tailed Manakin
Magnificent Frigatebird
Osprey
Orange-chinned Parakeet
Plain-brown Woodcreeper
Yellow-headed Caracara

It’s not the most impressive list for a full day of birding, but if you have longer to spend in the area you’ll see a lot more.