Two Backpackers

Mud Bath in Volcano Totumo, Colombia

| by Aracely on February 7th, 2024 | 11 Comments » | Adventures, Colombia, South America

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Just an hour outside of Cartagena, Colombia you can visit Volcano Totumo and experience a volcanic mud bath.

We booked our tour through our hostal, Casa Viena.  The cost was $20 USD and it included transportation to the volcano, entrance fee, and a snack. When we arrived, our van pulled up next to a hill about 50 feet tall (15M).  We were all eager to have some fun in the mud!

To enter the mud bath you must first climb up some steps and then descend via a wooden slippery latter into what feels like a huge pot of thick gray soup.  Upon entering you are greeted by other brave souls who are completely covered in the substance and enjoying the sensations of the being engulfed in mud.

The mud surface is 25×25 feet.  In some sections the mud feels warm and around the edges it feels quite chilly.  While floating we laughed with others about the experience and played with the gray liquid.  It is almost impossible to dunk someone, since the mud is so thick. Most will never find the bottom, but if you are tall enough, you can wiggle your bottom up and down and possibly touch the bottom, which is still muddy.

There are always other men working there that either take your cameras and take pictures of you or offer you massages in the mud. If you have a video camera or SLR, don’t hesitate to hand it off to the guys for some great pictures of you enjoying the mud. To have them take your picture or rub you down with mud the costs is $2 USD for each.  The experience is lots of fun and something we never felt before.

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After 45 minutes (it’s timed) of fun in the mud everyone washes off in the nearby river. After getting clean, we were served fruit and a fruit drink or you can by your own beer and snack in one of the small shops. Leave your white bathing suits at home, or else they won’t be white anymore. Make sure your bathing suits are snug, because the mud is so heavy that some did flash us the moon as they climbed out of the pit.

Bathing in the mud of Volcano Totumo is a great way to pass the afternoon if you are in Cartagena.

For Budget Travelers

Politely say no to the women approaching you in the river hoping to wash you off for another $2 USD and instead opt to have pictures taken for the same cost.  If you think you might want to enjoy a drink after the experience as most do, bring your own and store it in the van.  You will revisit the van before everyone purchases their drinks so it won’t be a burden.

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Tags: blogsherpa, cartagena, Colombia, mud bath, South America, volcano totumo