Volcano El Totumo: A Day Trip to the Mud Baths

About an hour outside of Cartagena is one of my favorite destinations - Volcano El Totumo. This is a hilarious trip and one you will surely never forget because of both the beauty of the destination and the totally unique/bizarre experience. Be prepared, this is no she-she spa experience, this is a cool, natural, outdoor adventure!

Take a cab from Cartagena for about an hour towards Santa Marta. The ride takes you through typical tropical rainforests, mountain scenes and a taste of the countryside that lies between Colombia’s major cities. As you approach the volcano, you might wonder where, exactly it is. It isn’t a towering mountain, but as legend has it, a priest sprinkled holy water on the site to tame it from a wild volcano to what it is today - a small hill/volcano full of healing mud. As you first look at it you may wonder “what on earth am I doing here?” But carry on - it is awesome!

The cab will drop you off and you will leave all of your belongings behind. Dressed in only your bathing suit (and perhaps toting your camera) you will ascend a hundred or so somewhat rickety steps to get to the “summit”. The locals running the show have it all wired. They will hold your hands, get you safely to the edge, keep your camera dry and take pictures, and even provide a mud massage if that is your pleasure. There are ladders down into the mud and miraculously, you will float as you lie on your back and let the warm mud cover your hair and body. Again, the folks in charge do a great job of managing the number of people in the mud baths at any one time, sending folks floating into the middle if needed, to make room for more. If you have never had the feeling of weightlessness, this is about as close as you can get without being in a special NASA center. It is a surreal feeling to have no floor to stand on, and while the mud is thick enough to support you, it is thin enough that you can’t get any leverage to try to get yourself sitting up. Lie back, relax, and enjoy the tropical sun and this totally unique experience.

Once you get out, you will carefully descend the steps (with slippery feet, this can seem treacherous, and everyone expects you to travel slowly). Once at the bottom, the next phase of the adventure begins on the shores of a small lake where local ladies will help scrub and rinse off all from the mud bath. This is another experience you can’t get anywhere else - these ladies will happily provide a great rub down, or let you wade into the shallow waters to rinse yourself.

As you walk back towards the restaurants and waiting cars, your skin is amazingly refreshed. It is hard to say exactly what the healing powers of the mud bath are, but the trip is sure to leave you glowing, inside and out. Towel off, change your clothes if you want, and settle in for a traditional Colombian lunch while you post your fabulous photos to make your friends at home jealous!