20th - 29th April
We’re FULL!
We’re delighted that 37 people have signed up to take this amazing chance to change their own lives AND change the lives of people in our hospital.
For our fifth trek, we’ve chosen another challenging adventure. We set off in April 2024, through dense tropical rainforest to the 1500-year-old Lost City of Teyuna. This is a tough trek, full of natural beauty and cultural discovery, and is guaranteed to be a trip of a lifetime.
This video from the Trek to Petra gives you a flavour of what trekking for the Stars Appeal is really like:
In our four previous treks, trekkers have together raised more than £400,000. They’ve made a huge contribution to the £1million the Stars Appeal needs each year to help patients at Salisbury District Hospital and the NHS staff who care for them, by funding projects like these.
Trek to Colombia’s Lost City
Saturday 20th April – Monday 29th April 2024
Our trek is a challenging, beautiful, sociable adventure …
To reach the 1200 ancient stone steps that lead up to the Lost City, we trek on steep, sometimes overgrown and muddy trails, through lush jungle and river valleys, crossing clear streams. En route we pass indigenous Kogui communities, descendants of the City’s early builders; we sleep near these settlements in bunkhouses.
We have time to explore the uncrowded ruins and marvel at what would have been here in years gone by, before we return through the forest to our starting point. After a final day’s trekking in Tayrona National Park with a stunning Caribbean backdrop, we finish our adventure with a cultural day in colonial Cartagena.
- Challenging walking over 5 days, up to 12 hours a day
- Through rainforest and jungle, with some precarious heights (vertigo sufferers might need a hand) and river crossings (where we all might need a hand)
- Sociable evenings in communal camps
- Fabulous scenery, with birds and other wildlife in the jungle
- Refreshing rivers to swim in almost every day plus compulsory showers before getting to your bunk!
- Finish at Cartagena – an old colonial city on the coast, for culture, beach time and our celebration meal
- An adventurous way to raise funds for the Stars Appeal.
… where you’ll feel you earn every penny of your fundraising
- You need to be physically fit and mentally resilient to be able to walk every day, even if conditions are bad or you haven’t slept well
- It will be hot and humid, with daily rain probable, and we’ll be walking up to 12 hours a day on overgrown or muddy jungle paths, with around 3500m of ascent and descent
- This is a walk-in, walk-out route. There’s no possibility for rest days and, once on the trail, the only way out is by walking.
“Everyone was super friendly and supportive and the trek was one of my best experiences I have had“
– China Trekker for the Stars Appeal
“I definitely feel I earned every penny of my fundraising and I was so happy to do it.”
– Petra Trekker for the Stars Appeal
“Physically challenging – especially the heat and rocks – but we went as 38 individuals and came back as a family”
– Petra Trekker for the Stars Appeal
What’s your commitment?
- We ask every trekker to raise at least £1,500 for the Stars Appeal. We hope you’ll raise much more (our trekker average is £3k, and our most successful trekkers have raised more than £10k)
- Costs for the trek are
£399 non-refundable registration fee paid on sign up
£2200 trek costs payable by February 2024 = £2599 total
- You should also budget for £500-600 to cover insurance, visas (not required for UK nationals), airline supplements (est £228), crew tips (c$45) and trekking kit.
What support will you get?
While you’re training and fundraising:
- Dedicated Stars Appeal volunteer
- T-shirt and fundraising materials
- Fundraising tips from experienced trekkers
- Training guide & trekking tips from Discover Adventure
- Regular training walks organised by Stars Appeal trekkers
- Briefings, socials and a trekkers Facebook group
On the trek:
- Professional leaders, expedition doctor, local guides and crew
- Your new trek family
Contact us now to find out how you can join Stars Appeal Trek ’24
Important Details
Dates: The trek departs from the UK on Saturday 20 April 2024 and returns Monday 29 April 2024.
Health: For your own safety, and the safety of fellow trekkers, Discover Adventure require you to complete a medical form at registration. See the form here.
Fundraising: You must pledge to raise at least £1,500 for the Stars Appeal and pay your own trek costs. There is no option to fundraise for your trek costs.
Trek costs:
£2599 payable to Discover Adventure, including £399 non-returnable registration fee payable at sign up
£500-600 for insurance, visas, airline supplements, crew tips and trekking kit.