Paraiso Secreto Hostel: a ‘Secret’ Paradise in Colombia’s Caribbean Isla Grande 📍 After Playa Blanc la we decided to go to one more island before heading back to Cartagena. We got a boat to the island with two Argentinians with the hope that they were staying somewhere affordable as we had nothing booked and had no idea about this island!! To our surprise we arrived in what can only be described as a backpackers paradise!! Paraiso Secreto is a collection of seven wonderfully colourful hostels, which have taken over a group of abandoned mansions on Isla Grande, less than an hour off the coast of Cartagena. As the story goes, the island was the 1970s holiday destination of choice for families of the then-prominent emerald mafia. They constructed the seven, near-identical grand mansions for themselves, along with two pools, a bar, restaurant and private beach. For reasons unknown, the buildings have spent the last decade untouched, gradually becoming engulfed by the jungle. It wasn’t until 2015 that Juan Carlos Román, equipped with his machete, hacked away at the overgrown greenery, and reclaimed the architectural masterpieces from the island, opening a business that allowed 7 hostels from all over Colombia have their own slice of paradise!! This place really is a secret paradise 🌴