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With its profound waters and strategic coastline, Cartagena was an ideal port city and therefore the perfect location for a colonial city. In fact, Cartagena quickly outgrew and overpowered Santa Marta, another maritime port about 180 kilometres up the coast that was founded 28 years prior in 1525.

Quickly famous for her wealth and prosperity, Cartagena became an attractive site for English and French pirates, including the famed Sir Francis Drake. In fact, just 30 years after her founding, Cartagena was pillaged and burned to the ground by a French nobleman. It was this devastating loss that led the Spanish to begin the construction of defensive walls around her borders. In the 17th Century, the Spanish Crown hired European engineers and invested the equivalent of trillions of dollars in surrounding Cartagena with 11 kilometres of walls, plus the castles and fortresses that define the city today.

Today, as you walk along, or even on top of, the walls that line the city, you can see that they were built of sharp coral brought in from the sea, a project that must have been grueling work. Actually, so many slaves suffered and died in the process of building Cartagena that legends say slave blood was used to create the concrete that holds the walls together.

Throughout the 16th and 17th Century, Cartagena suffered many more takeovers, always ravaging the city and resulting in high ransoms. Nevertheless, the Spanish always won her back and rebuilt their city stronger each time. Once the walls and fortresses were completed in 1756, Cartagena was virtually impossible to take over.  Thus, Cartagena thrived as a port city, where gold and silver from Peru and “New Grananda” (modern day Colombia, Panama, Venezuela, and Ecuador) was loaded and shipped to Spain.  Cartagena was also one of two ports permited to work in the slave trade, the other being Veracruz, Mexico. It was during this time that Pedro Claver began his Catholic ministry of the enslaved in Cartagena, a work which ultimately led him to be named a Saint in the late 19th Century.

The Cathedral of San Pedro Claver remains one of the main historic attractions in Cartagena and in the evenings, the plaza that was named after him is full of people relaxing at bars and cafes. On Friday and Saturday nights, its not uncommon to see a bride arrive to the church by horse and carriage while the entire plaza claps their hands in congratulations. Cartagena’s romantic charm makes it an alluring wedding destination for Colombians and foreigners alike!

In March, 1741, British and American colonial troops stormed Cartagena with 23,000 men (among them, George Washington’s brother, who later named his Mount Vernon estate after the Admiral who led the attack) against only 3,600 Spaniards. With help from natives and her defensive walls, the Spanish held off the British invasion attempt.

With the Spanish empire in major crisis, Cartagena de Indias declared independence from Spain on 11 November 1811.

In the mid- to late-1800s, as in many cities in the world, Cartagena was decimated by outbreaks of cholera, which, combined with several famines, threatened the disappearance of the city. This time period was the setting for one of Gabriel García Márquez’ most famous novels, “Love in the Time of Cholera,” and the movie version of the book was filmed in Cartagena in 2006. In fact, Garcia Marquez still maintains a house within the Walled City.

Cartagena had its struggles during the 1900s, but her beauty and charm always endured. In 1984, Cartagena’s historic walled city and fortress were designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Built within unmovable walls, Cartagena remains mostly unchanged since the colonial era. As you walk through the streets and plazas, the walls are full of a history so rich that you can feel it. All of this makes Cartagena, in many ways, the crown jewel of Colombia.

The most famous islands to visit from Cartagena are the Islas del Rosario, where white sand and corral reef creates the effect of a “sea of six colors.” Pristine beaches with crystal clear water offer excellent snorkelling and SCUBA diving opportunities. Close to the Islas del Rosario is the island of Baru, the largest island near the coast that is home to many natives and offers a longer coastline of white sand beaches with palm trees that hang over the shoreline. The heavily forested island is home to many species of exotic birds and flowers.
Forty-five minutes by land from Cartagena is the Totumo Volcano, which is famous for the nutrient-rich mud you can bathe in. If you don’t mind getting completely covered in mud, it’s an excellent skin treatment that leaves your skin feeling incredibly soft.

Near the volcano you can also take a tour of mangrove forests in a private canoe with a buga, or canoe-driver. Thin-trunked mangrove trees look like white branches growing out of a swamp and the paths between them create nicely shaded tunnels, through which you float on salt water that is no more than a few feet deep.

Year-round sun makes it easy to plan your holiday, as there is no bad season to visit Cartagena. Nonetheless, you should be aware that tourist seasons (mid-December through mid-January and Easter week) do generate greater crowds and higher prices.