Minca

A small town in the mountains above Santa Marta, in Colombia, reached by road from the coast. Harry arrives after dark at the end of two days walking in Tayrona, so his first impressions are of the evening only.

What it is known for: coffee plantations, waterfalls, and being a place people go to slow down. His first read is a chilled-out jungle town, and he says so before seeing any of it in daylight.

Getting around

• Small, and visibly a backpacker town — Harry notes the population is tiny and the trade is tourists.
• Motor-taxis are the transport. A ride out to the edge of town cost 10,000 pesos, about £1.50 (from video – unverified). The roads are largely unsurfaced and he remarks that you would want a good driver.

Staying there

He stays in a jungle lodge among bamboo, with a mosquito net, a view into the forest from the bed, and a river loud enough to sleep to — which is what he says makes it easy to sleep.

A sauna and waterfall spa

The best-known thing Harry does in Minca, and by his own account the best experience he had anywhere in Colombia: a private spa in the forest outside town, built around a wood-fired sauna and a private waterfall to plunge into.

He booked it by direct message on Instagram, asking simply for the best experience they offered, and was given a 9 a.m. start.

• A treatment of about 45–50 minutes to begin with — a full-body massage with breathwork worked into it, deep enough to be uncomfortable on a back that had been hurting, and using palo santo.
• Then rounds of sauna and waterfall, on the practitioner’s advice to start short and build: he does about 8 minutes at 60°C, 11–12 at 80°C, 10 at 90°C, and finally 15 minutes at close to 100°C.
• Four rounds over roughly four hours in total.
• The waterfall is deep enough that he cannot touch the bottom, and cold enough that after the sauna he calls it icy. Freshwater, so you can open your eyes in it.
• It is genuinely private — no one else there at all, and nudity is permitted.
• Green mint tea, water and a banana grown on site between rounds. He is emphatic about drinking a lot of water.
• The owners are a couple building a house on the site and, he says, focused on doing it sustainably.

The safety note he gives is the useful part: after 15 minutes at nearly 100°C, having poured water on the coals at the end, he comes out dizzy and stops for the day — saying plainly that he has done this many times at home and knows his limits, and that viewers need to know theirs. See use cold exposure and breathwork.

Obs: the spa’s Instagram is published in the video description and Harry recommends it on camera as somewhere to book, so it is not named here. The experience is recorded in full; the booking channel is not. He does not say what it cost.

Eating there

The restaurants carry a lot of Western food — burgers, pizza — alongside local dishes. Harry orders the local one on a companion’s recommendation.

• A large shared platter: several meats including sausage, chips, cheese, guacamole, sweetcorn, potato and avocado, described by the group as the sort of thing eaten after a heavy night. He calls it unlike anything he has had. It is not named on camera and is not named here.
• Around $8 for his portion (from video – unverified), which he rates as good value.
• Coca lemonade — lemonade made with coca leaf, which he had drunk before and rates highly.

Harry’s tips

• Message the place and ask for their best. He booked the spa day with a single Instagram message asking for the full experience, and got one built for him.
• Build the sauna intervals up rather than starting long, and drink constantly between them.
• Know your own limit before you go looking for it. He stops when he gets dizzy and says he only knew where the line was because he does this at home.

Source videos

• Hiking to a Nudist Beach in Colombia 🇨🇴 — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3IZFKlxjFs
• Naked Spa in The Middle of Nowhere🇨🇴 — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEyuZHcVMdg