Visiting Capurganá, Colombia’s Most Remote Beach Town

It was my second trip to Colombia that made me fall in love with it. Of course, you never forget your first time. My first time was filled with salsa in Cali, museums in Medellin, and colonial architecture in Cartagena. I ticked all the tourist boxes and loved every second of it.

But, my second time was different.

I had heard people talk about Capurganá. It was completely isolated from the rest of the country, really hard to get to, and more beautiful than you could ever imagine. Naturally, I knew I had to go.

Ten hours later I was safely in Turbo, my jumping off point.

To say that Turbo is unattractive is an understatement. It is run-down and uninspiring and I couldn’t wait to leave. Luckily, I didn’t have to wait long. I left the bus terminal at 5:30am and headed straight for the pier. By 8am I was in a boat heading for Capurganá, a small town on Colombia’s border with Panama.

Three hours and a heavy bout of sea sickness later, I stepped off the boat and set foot in Colombia’s most remote beach town. As I took in my surroundings, the memories of my night bus and morning boat dissolved.

To the same extent that Turbo was one of the least attractive places I have ever been, Capurganá was among the most attractive. Golden sand, flanked by the lush, virgin canopy of the Darien Jungle, gleamed under the endless sunshine. The sound of engines was replaced by the clip-clopping of horses pulling carts. There was nothing here but a small town surrounded by the most dazzling nature I’d seen in a while.

I beelined down the road, lined with multi-colored, ramshackle houses, straight to a woman selling empanadas. They were filled with fish and the one I bought was demolished in about 15 seconds. I’ve seen sharks eat more gracefully that I had just done. But, I was super hungry and they were unbelievably good.

Bright and early the next morning I set off for a two hour hike through the emerald jungle to a tiny village called Sapzurro. Along the way I got some sensational vistas from the top of a hill of the turquoise bay and never-ending jungle that spread out below me in all directions.

Sapzurro was startlingly beautiful. It had the best beaches I had ever seen, with pearly sand and not a single other person in sight. I kicked back here and drank it all in before carrying over another hill to La Miel, which sits on the other side of the border, in Panama.

La Miel was yet another breathtakingly beautiful beach town. The sea here was glimmering turquoise and there was a beach bar serving up devilishly strong Coco Loco cocktails. A couple of these certainly made the hike back interesting.

The next day was dedicated to the water. I strapped on an oxygen tank and was whisked away to Cabo Tiburon (Shark Cape). The coral reef here was untouched and glowing with pink, orange and green plant life. That alone would have made the dive worthwhile. But, it was the nurse sharks that stole the show for me. Toothless, and therefore harmless, several of these majestic creatures swam leisurely past me.

I take partial responsibility for this. Travel bloggers are constantly exposing hidden gems. The more publicity they get from people like me, the sooner they become un-hidden. But, Capurganá has the blessing of its remote location to protect it from mass-tourism.

Capurganá is hard to get to.

No matter how eagerly I urge you to visit, you will still have to spend a significant chunk of your time getting to and from the town. And, it’s not like it is on the way to somewhere else. Only the most dedicated of travelers make it to Capurganá and that is part of what makes it so magical.

Are you up for the challenge?