---
type: Place
title: Minca
description: A small mountain town above Santa Marta known for coffee farms, waterfalls and doing very little — where Harry arrives after two days of hiking.
tags: [colombia, minca, mountains, coffee, waterfalls, jungle, food]
coordinates: {lat: 11.1428, lng: -74.1169}
timestamp: 2026-08-07T12:30:00Z
---

# Minca

A small town in the mountains above [Santa Marta](/places/santa-marta.md), in
[Colombia](/countries/colombia.md), reached by road from the coast. Harry arrives
after dark at the end of two days walking in
[Tayrona](/places/tayrona-national-park.md), 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](/tips/use-cold-exposure-and-breathwork.md).

*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 🇨🇴](/videos/W3IZFKlxjFs.md) —
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3IZFKlxjFs
- [Naked Spa in The Middle of Nowhere🇨🇴](/videos/rEyuZHcVMdg.md) —
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEyuZHcVMdg