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Home » Artisanal Bread in Minca, Colombia

Artisanal Bread in Minca, Colombia

By Lia Garcia | Updated on: May 21, 2020

Fresh baked artesanal bread in Minca, Colombia
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The smell of fresh baked bread and lush, rich chocolate. Quiet classical music.  A high arched ceiling, dark exposed wooden beams against bright white. Artistically placed vintage treasures. A tiny, carefully selected menu, changing from day to day: artisanal bread with cream cheese; coffee from a local farm; thick fudgy oat cookies; gooey brownies baked with fresh cacao, also from a local farm.

Are we in San Francisco? No, we’re in an artisanal bakery in Minca, Colombia: a tiny village in the midst of jungle-covered mountains, an hour outside of Santa Marta and 6 hours from Cartagena, Colombia.

Duni is a foodie find in little Minca that would fit into most modern city settings. With its carefully curated, locally sourced farm to table menu, it would fit perfectly into a New York, San Francisco, or London setting: a quiet reprieve for the busy hipster to enjoy a coffee and some truly outstanding fresh-baked bread while browsing the internet. As it is, the only hipsters here are fellow travelers and the owner’s fashionably dressed children, and while we are browsing the internet as we enjoy our bread, it’s also the only currently functioning WiFi in the tiny town of Minca.

Carefully selected books and ice cold purified water in Duni, Minca', Colombia's only artisanal bakery.
Carefully selected books and ice cold purified water in Duni, Minca’s only artisanal bakery. We were thrilled about the water. Purified water is a luxury when travelling in Colombia!

We sit outside on the little patio of Duni, sipping our coffee, surveying the mountains to our left, the dirt path leading to the iglesia and some tiny mercados straight ahead, and a crumbling colonial home to our right.

The peaceful, sleepy little town of Minca is a Colombian treasure that is just beginning to be discovered by travelers and backpackers. Lush with mountain views and thick with jungle vegetation dotted with waterfalls and swimming holes, Minca is the gateway to the famed Ciudad Perdida trek – Colombia’s answer to Macchu Picchu. For travelers gearing up for or recovering from the trek, Minca is the perfect town to relax and take in the incredible sunset – and some soft, airy fresh baked bread.

READ THIS POST
Why You Should Visit (and Fall in Love With) Minca, Colombia!

We ask one of the owners of Duni, Tatiana, a little bit about the cafe. Turns out that she and her business partner, Janni, opened Duni only 5 days before we arrived, and there are big plans for expansion: an organic food shop, fresh sandwiches, myriad new menu items. 2017 Update: Duni is now an artisanal cafe in addition to a bakery!

Artisanal goods for sale at Duni Bakery in Minca Colombia.
Artisanal goods for sale at Duni Bakery in Minca Colombia.

As we talk, steaming focaccia bread cools tantalizingly behind her. Tatiana explains that not only are the ingredients from local farms, but Duni is also sourcing from the local Sierra tribe, descendants of the Tairona Indians, who have been living in this area since well before the Conquistadors invaded South America (click here for more information).

READ THIS POST
Parque Tayrona, Colombia: How to Get There & Where to Stay

The indigenous population is alive and well still, existing much as they always have but integrated into the blossoming tourist culture here: you can meet them on the way to Parque Tayrona, where many of them live; hire one of them as a guide to trek to the ancient “lost city” of Teyuna (though it was in fact abandoned during the invasion of the Conquistadors, not lost as its name implies);  or catch glimpses of them playing soccer or walking through Minca in their traditional garments of all white, carrying beautiful handmade woven bags.

A traditionally dressed Tayrona Indian dropping off supplies at Duni. The Tayrona Indians are indigenous to the area near Minca, Colombia and are still living and thriving here as they have been for centuries.
A traditionally dressed Tayrona Indian dropping off supplies at Duni. The Tayrona Indians are indigenous to the area near Minca, Colombia and are still living and thriving here as they have been for centuries.

With such exceptional quality, we were expecting Duni to be out of our price range. Not so. We were pleased to find that breakfast at Duni fit perfectly into our budget: A coffee, quarter-loaf of bread with soft cream cheese, and a cookie cost 10.500 COP – roughly $3.50 USD.

We returned the next day on our way back to Cartagena for a passion fruit juice, a cinnamon roll, iced coffee, and a half loaf of bread to take with us on the road. They were all delicious!

How to Get to Minca Colombia

Getting to Minca is an adventure in and of itself, but it’s not as difficult as it sounds.

From Cartagena, take a bus or collectivo to Santa Marta – we recommend air-conditioned Berlinasur, 40.000 COP per person (about $14) which you can pick up at the Marbella estacion (just ask any taxi driver).

From Santa Marta, any form of transportation can get you the 45 minutes to Minca: collectivo, taxi, or public bus, prices vary. We took a public bus from Estacion Minca, at Carrera 11 y Calle 12 in the Centro area of Santa Marta for 8.000 COP per person (about $3). You will get dropped off in the center of town.

READ THIS POST
A Traveler's Guide to Transportation in Colombia

To find Duni, simply walk to the Iglesia in the center of Minca, and turn left after you walk past the Iglesia. Duni is just up the small path. We found it on our way to our hostel, Casa Loma Minca.

Beautiful Pozo Azul is a serene swimming hole tucked in the lush jungle of Minca, Colombia.
Beautiful Pozo Azul is a serene swimming hole tucked in the lush jungle of Minca, Colombia.

Other Things to Do in Minca Colombia

There are a ton of amazing things to do in Minca! We’ve written a whole post about our love for this surprisingly amazing little town in Colombia, which you can view here: why you should visit Minca Colombia.

To round out a terrific day trip to Minca, we suggest hiking to La Finca Victoria, the local coffee and chocolate farm. To find the farm, from the main junction in town, turn left (as though you’re returning to Santa Marta), walk over a bridge and pass the police station, and then take the first right. Walk for about an hour and a half to the farm. After a tour and a tasting, take a mototaxi (the most fun kind of transportation in Colombia) or hike back.

READ THIS POST
The Best Minca Hostel: Casa Loma in Minca, Colombia

Or there’s Pozo Azul, a waterfall in Minca – actually, 3 swimming holes and a waterfall – where you can do some beginner-level cliff jumping! Pozo Azul is a 2-hour walk or a short moto-taxi ride from central Minca.

If you’re visiting Minca for a few days (which we highly recommend) one of the best places to stay in Minca is at  Casa Loma Minca! This is one of our absolute favorite hostels in Colombia (and one of our favorite hostels ever, actually).

Minca is off the beaten path, but well worth a trip while exploring the Caribbean coast of Colombia!


Hey, we’ve got a ton of other resources for Colombia that you’ll want to look at before your trip!

  • What to Pack for Colombia
  • The Best Hostels in Colombia
  • Colombia Itinerary: Ultimate Guide to 1 Month of Backpacking Colombia
  • 30 Things Nobody Tells You About Backpacking in Colombia
  • A Complete Guide to Transportation in Colombia
  • The Best Colombian Food: What to Eat in Colombia

If you are looking for more tour tips during your visit to Colombia the amazing guys over at ViaHero will connect you with a local person who will share all their juicy knowledge and help you plan your perfect itinerary. Check it out here.

Have you ever discovered a tiny hidden gem where you least expected it? Leave us a comment below!

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Our Top Travel Tips & Resources

Here are our favorite travel tips & resources for saving money and planning travel logistics! For more tips, check out our travel tips resource page or our guide to planning a trip.
  • Booking Flights: To score flight deals, search on Google Flights or Kayak. Money-saving tips: fly mid-week or on the weekend; fly carry-on only on a budget airline; and take red-eyes or early morning flights.
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  • Travel Insurance: We always, always, ALWAYS buy travel insurance for international trips, and we STRONGLY suggest it - visit our Travel Insurance Guide to find out why. We recommend either World Nomads or SafetyWing for international travel insurance. SafetyWing is one of the few policies that covers Covid-19, and they have excellent monthly policies that are perfect for Digital Nomads and long term travelers!
  • Travel Credit Card: We book all of our trips on our favorite travel credit card. Not only do we earn cash back that we can spend on more travel, but the card offers fantastic travel perks like travel insurance, trip delay and cancellation coverage, lost baggage reimbursement, and rental car coverage, which helps protect us on our travels. Learn more here.
  • Vaccines & Meds: We use the travel guides on the CDC website to research recommended medications and vaccines for international trips. We always recommend getting every vaccine recommended by the CDC! You can get them at your primary care doctor's office or a walk-in pharmacy.
  • Tours: We love booking guided tours, especially food tours and walking tours, to get a local's perspective and a history lesson while sight-seeing! We book our tours using Viator and GetYourGuide.
  • Transportation: We use Rome2Rio to figure out how to get from place to place, and book local transportation online using Bookaway wherever we can. When we book a rental car, we use DiscoverCars to compare rental companies and find the best deal.
  • Luggage Storage: Whenever we're checking out early or taking advantage of a long layover, we use LuggageHero to safely store our luggage while we're running around. Use the code PRACTICALW for 2 hours of free luggage storage on us.
  • VPN Service: A VPN keeps your digital information (like website login details, bank info, etc) safe, even when you're connected to an unsecured network while traveling. Plus, it lets you use Netflix & other streaming sites abroad! We use NordVPN. Use the code WANDERLUSTPROMO when you sign up!
  • What to Pack: Here are the travel essentials that we bring on every trip. We also have packing lists for hot weather, cold weather, and many more. Take a look at all of our packing guides!

Colombia Colombian Food Foodie Travel Minca

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Divya says

    April 29, 2017 at 7:47 pm

    Hi Lia and Jeremy! I’m Divya and I’m visiting Minca next month and I can’t wait to check it out, especially try their phenomenal bread 😉 Thank you for the wonderful tips 😉 X

    Subscribed to your posts! X Happy travels!

    Reply
    • Lia says

      April 30, 2017 at 1:47 pm

      Thanks Divya! I’m glad our posts about Minca were helpful! We LOVED Minca – have an awesome time!

      Reply

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