Volcano Travel · Tour
El Totumo Mud Volcano Full Day, Run by the Santa Catalina Community
Ratings collected by Viator and Tripadvisor
CartagenaEl Totumo is not a lava volcano. It is a fissure that vents mud, water and gas from deep underground, and what has built up around it is a cone about 15 metres (50 feet) high with a wooden staircase up one side. At the top there is the crater. It holds ten to fifteen people at a time, which sets the rhythm of the whole visit: you wait your turn, you climb down, and then the mud does something no swimming pool does. The slurry is dense enough that sinking is not an option. Your body is held up by the mud itself, somewhere between floating and being suspended. The minerals in it, silica, magnesium, calcium, sulfur and iron, are what the exfoliating and detoxifying claims rest on, for skin and for muscles alike. The length of the day is yours to set. The morning or afternoon option keeps it short and goes straight for the bath. The full VIP day adds a transfer to a beach club, with the sand and the facilities for the hours after. One detail that is not marketing: the entire tourism operation at El Totumo is run by the local community of Santa Catalina. What you pay for the visit stays with the families who live there.
What's included
- Local guide
- Driver/guide
- Snack
- Local taxes
Itinerary
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Av. Blas de Lezo, El Centro, Cartagena de Indias
Wait underneath the Pegasos monument, in the historic centre of Cartagena de Indias.
BackPackers
Hotel pick-up between 7:30 and 8:00 am in a minivan, shared with other travellers who are collected on the same run. Cartagena traffic can push the timing around, so patience helps; the pick-up happens either way.
Volcan de Lodo El Totumo
El Totumo is a mud volcano, not a cone that erupts lava: a fissure that constantly vents mud mixed with water and gas from deep underground. The cone is small, about 15 metres (50 feet), with a wooden staircase to the top. The mud is warm and highly viscous, carrying silica, magnesium, calcium, sulfur and iron, the minerals credited with exfoliating, detoxifying and therapeutic effects on skin and muscles. Density is the part nobody expects. The mud is too thick to sink into. Climb down into the crater and your body is held afloat without any effort at all, a strange sort of weightlessness that turns out to be very relaxing. The crater takes about 10 to 15 people at a time, so the sequence is stairs to the top, down into the mud, then back out.
La Boquilla
Included if you take the longer option: a club facing the beach, with facilities, where the rest of the day is spent on the sand at local pace.
Av. Blas de Lezo, El Centro, Cartagena de Indias
Not included
- Excess luggage charges (where applicable)
Good to know
- Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
- Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries
- Not recommended for pregnant travelers
- Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
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- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Children must be accompanied by an adult
- Vegetarian option is available, please advise at time of booking if required
- Passport name, number, expiry and country is required at time of booking for all participants
- Valuables Security: Upon arrival at the volcano, please keep your valuables secure. We make the vehicle we travel in available as a safe space where all guests can leave their belongings. The vehicle will serve as your secure location.
- Tipping and Local Community: The native community of this village relies solely on the commercial activity of the volcano. It is common for local residents to offer assistance with items you carry and subsequently ask for a tip. Tipping should be voluntary and at your discretion. To simplify the process and avoid solicitations, we highly recommend ascending the volcano without any personal items—just go in the clothes you intend to enter the mud with.
- Massage and Exfoliation: Once inside the volcano, there are local individuals who offer massages. Please make it very clear if you do or do not want this massage and exfoliation service.
- Cleaning Service: When exiting the volcano, a group of local women will offer to clean the mud off your body in a natural lake. If you do not wish to use this service, you are also welcome to clean yourself on your own.
- Extra Costs: Please note that any assistance you receive, regardless of whether it is offered by the guide or not, will incur an extra cost.
- Up to 15 travelers per booking.
- Mobile or paper ticket accepted
- Guiding available in: en, es.
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Ratings collected by Viator and Tripadvisor