![]() My sticky discomfort was forgotten in the excitement of coming face-to-face with the presence of the people who refer to themselves as humanity’s “Elder Brothers”. Harold explained these were Kogi ceremonial huts. Barely visible amidst the dense vegetation was a clearing on which sat two round thatched structures. Suddenly our guide Harold paused and pointed off to the left. I envied her agility and resigned myself to the fact that my middle-aged gait better resembled the pokey packhorses we had passed earlier. As I plodded along, suddenly a barefoot young girl on horseback crested the hill ahead and cantered by, her long black hair streaming behind her. My hair was damp and sweat streamed down my face. My own trek in it included hours along a rutted, muddy trail inside of a steamy jungle. Tayrona National Park is Colombia's most important ecological reserve the trails through its lush tropical greenery is the equivalent of a highway for the locals whose presence here pre-dates the park's creation in 1964. Kogi representatives recently began to emerge from their self-imposed isolation high in the Sierra Nevada to share their message to respect the earth. The Kogi have long avoided contact with other people but concerns about dramatic, negative changes in their beloved mountain landscape have prompted a new approach. Those not living in the Heart of the World are called “Younger Brothers,” who were sent away long ago Harold explained that the Kogi's mythology teaches that they are “Elder Brothers” of humanity and living in the “Heart of the World,” the Sierra Nevada of Santa Marta. The collective memory of this cultural history has shaped the world view of the Kogi. Photo: Dwayne Reilander, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Those that survived moved further into the highlands, and today's Kogi society springs from them.Ī portrait of a Koguis Tribesman on one of the terraces at Ciudad Perdida, Colombia. until the 17th century, when encounters with Spanish colonizers ultimately decimated their society. The Tairona are believed to have inhabited the Sierra Nevada from about 200 B.C. The National Park gets its name from the region's original inhabitants, the Tairona, who are the forebearers of the Kogi. The Kogi civilization has existed since the Pre-Columbian era and today they have a population of approximately 12,000 people. Reaching an altitude of 5700 meters above sea level just 42 km from the Caribbean coast, the Sierra Nevada is the world's highest coastal range. The Kogi are a Native American group indigenous to Colombia’s Sierra Nevada Mountains. The Kogi Offer a Warning to Younger Brothers Harold also offers his personal perspective on the region's metamorphosis from a narco battleground to a blossoming eco and cultural tourism destination. ![]() Let us take you beyond the stunning beaches and into the history, lifestyle and culture of the Kogi with the insights of local guide Jaruen "Harold" Enrique. Yet for culture-lovers and those curious about the area's way of life, Tayona is a rewarding destination that has a rich ancient heritage and a more recent past as a place of successful social transformation. ![]() About an hour from Santa Marta, Tayrona National Park is known for its spectacular Caribbean coastline huge biodiversity that includes about 770 plant species, 108 types of mammals and 300 kinds of birds and a rugged topography that attracts backpackers, hikers, and snorkelers. Tayrona National Park is a 15,000-acre nature preserve at the northern tip of Colombia, located within what is the ancestral home of the indigenous Kogi people. ![]()
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