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Puerto
Berrio
This municipality in
the valley of the
middle Magdalena was
founded on January 16,
1881 and developed
through the efforts of
the workers who built
the railroad. The
inhabitants of this
city are generally
engaged in trade,
stockbreeding and
fishing. Its river
port communicates with
all of the other ports
on the Magdalena
River. Near the port
is the area known as
“El Caballo” or
“the Nare Narrows”,
the only one to be
found in the middle
and lower Magdalena
River and fought over
by patriots and
royalists during the
struggle for
independence. This is
followed by a large
shipyard, where the
river once again opens
out broadly. The
dark-colored waters of
the Carare, arriving
under the name of the
Minero River empty
into the Magdalena,
bringing with them
age-old memories of
the miners who
discovered the magic
of emeralds in the
hills of Fura and
Tena. To the right of
the Magdalena River
lies the Opón
current, the old salt
route that led the
expedition of Jiménez
de Quesada in 1536 to
the very Valley of the
Alcázares in the
Bacatá savanna.
El
Banco
This port in the
Department of
Magdalena was
originally inhabited
by the Chimilas, who
left behind them
handsome pre-Colombian
ceramic works in
testimony to their
everyday lives. The
Spaniards, on their
arrival, conquered
them and seized their
lands, opening the way
for the town’s
foundation under the
name of Nuestra
Señora de la
Candelaria de El
Banco, which was later
raised to the category
of municipality in
1871. On the
southwestern bank near
the municipality lie
the majestic Zapatosa
swamps, immortalized
in song by José
Barros, “as
Guillermo Cubillos’s
pirogue, which
stretched to the
beaches of love in
Chimichagua”.
Magangué
This rich
stockbreeding
territory in the
department of
Bolívar, dotted with
swamps, offers an
important river
connection that takes
visitors from Yatí to
the bar of the noisy
ferry on its idyllic
route, permitting them
to sail along any of
the branches that
stretch from the main
river in all
directions toward the
surrounding territory.
Plato
The founding of this
city in 1620 is
attributed to Brother
José Nicomedes
Fonseca. It is well
known due to the
legend of the
caiman-man, which
tells the story of a
man who liked to spy
on women bathing in
the river. To admire
them without being
seen, he decided to
ask a wizard to
prepare a magic potion
that would turn him
into a caiman. By
accident, one day he
broke the bottle
containing the magic
unguent, leaving his
transformation only
half finished, turning
him into half man and
half caiman. He is
remembered in Plato’s
traditional feasts or
the festival of the
caiman-man.
Calamar
Strategic point for
those wishing to sail
the Canal del Dike, an
important colonial
engineering work that
covered the former
territory of the
Calamarís and that in
its 114 km or 70.8
mile course leads to
the city of Cartagena,
passing through the
place known as “pasacaballos,”
the straits that
served as the entryway
to the lovely island
of Barú. The
municipality of
Calamar was founded on
January 1, 1848 and
its rich farm lands
are sown with cotton,
rice, millet, bananas
and tobacco. The city
center shows signs of
republican
architecture and a
glorious past built on
commercial activity
and development of the
Colombian industry
that is associated
with the Magdalena
River.
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“The
only reason I would like to be a child again
is to be able to sail the Magdalena in a boat
once more. Those who did not do so at that
time cannot even imagine what it was like
…”
Gabriel
García Márquez
From its source in
Lake Magdalena in the southern part of the
country through its voyage to conquer the
Caribbean Sea, the Great Magdalena River is
reborn for all Colombians in the certainty
that it will sow in their hearts the desire to
sail its waters and to evoke, step by step,
the odysseys of the pioneers who believed they
would find in its torrents the hope for a
better future. A thousand tales, a thousand
stories, a thousand legends can be divined
about the Great Magdalena River inspired by
those who with the wisdom of their words have
passed down its secrets over the centuries.
In homage to what has
been the country’s main river route since
its discovery in 1501 and with the dream of
rediscovering its brooks, branches and
islands, our route will start at the
municipality of Puerto Triunfo in the
Department of Antioquia. From there, we will
travel downstream on the Magdalena River to
visit Puerto Nare and Puerto Berrío;
Barrancabermeja in the Department of
Santander; El Banco in the Department of
Magdalena; Mompox in the Department of
Bolívar; Plato in the Department of
Magdalena; Calamar and Barranquilla in the
Department of the Atlantic and the Dique Canal
and Cartagena in the Department of Bolívar.
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How
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The
Magdalena River can be navigated for 800 km or
almost 500 miles from the port of Honda to
Barranquilla.
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Points
on the Route |
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 Puerto
Triunfo
This port, whose main sources of income are
agriculture, fishing and stockbreeding, was
founded in 1977 and declared a national
tourist resource on November 30, 1983. Its
important tourist sites are the clear river
canyon, the waterfall cavern, the condor’s
cavern, the caiman’s mouth, the tapir’s
grotto, the bucket falls and the honey river.
Visitors can enjoy typical waterside recipes
at the port, taking advantage of its
geographic importance as a point of regional
and cultural convergence.
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 Puerto
Boyacá
A Boyaca municipality whose savannahs are
devoted to stockbreeding. These lands were
originally inhabited by the Palaguas of the
middle Magdalena, who belonged to the Carib
linguistic family. Founded on December 14,
1957, the municipality witnessed sweeping
changes and participated in the country’s
development, thanks to its location on the
right bank of the great river. Oil refining is
another important economic activity for the
port city because the oil refinery operates on
the opposite bank at Puerto Pita.
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 Puerto
Nare
The location of Puerto Nare municipality
permits tourists on the route to sail the Nare
River and enter the canyon of the same name.
At the mouth of that canyon lies La Playa, an
appropriate spot for rest and recreation.
Upriver, at the outlet of the Nus River,
tourists can visit the caverns with their nine
chambers of stalagmites and stalactites and
the limestone mine located at the site known
as “narices,” enjoying as well the lovely
mountain landscapes in this part of the
Magdalena River Basin.
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 Barrancabermeja
Dozens of “oil machines” hinting at the
wealth in the interior of these lands
accompany the traveler to this territory on
the eastern bank of the Magdalena River lying
at a height of 75 m or 247.5 ft.a.s.l. It was
discovered by Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada,
when he arrived at the native settlement known
as La Tora. With the organization and start-up
of the oil refinery, the city altered its
economic traditions and started on an
oil-generated development. Its attractions
include the San Silvestre swamps and the oil
Museum located at “the center,” as the
bulking center is known, where the crude oil
refining process is also initiated. The river
in its course passes a succession of
stockbreeding and farming savannahs which,
because of their proximity to the mountains of
San Lucas on the left bank, are an important
site for observing the large numbers of
seabirds to be found there. Before Puerto
Wilches, the Magdalena River opens out into
the Morales and Papayal branches, forming
islands that give way to the largest of the
country’s river islands, the well-known and
historical island of Mompox, also known as
Margarita.
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 Santa
Cruz de Mompox
This handsome colonial city is located on
Margarita Island, formed by the waters of the
Loba, Mompox and Chicagua branches. The
territory has always been extremely important
for the country’s development. During the
conquest, it served as a strategic enclave for
the exploits of the intrepid conquistadors
who forged inland in search of the treasure of
El Dorado. At its height, it was considered
the most important port on the Magadalena
River. On November 3, 1812 it was awarded the
title of Ciudad Valerosa, or Courageous City,
for having been the first to declare absolute
independence from Spain. The Liberator Simón
Bolívar set out from these lands with 400
Momposians to undertake the Admirable
Campaign, giving rise to his well-known phrase
“ It if is to Caracas that I owe my life, it
is to Mompox that I owe the glory of having
freed my birthplace.” Its architecture has
been carefully conserved and with it its
distinctive characteristics, such as the
wrought iron grilles, clay tiled roofs,
elaborate fronts, balconies, hallways, patios
and garden, that make it unsurpassable, and
the Church of Santa Bárbara, with its typical
Mudejar balcony, molding and Baroque figures
and its famous octagonal tower that ends in a
crown-shaped dome. The beauty of all the above
is complemented by the layout of the streets
that follow the river’s course in romantic
flourishes. Its typical cuisine conserves many
old favorites: guarrú with clove and
lemon; unfermented chicha, a maize drink, or
masato, a drink made from banana or cassava; a
lemon sweet; meat carimañolas; casabitos
and the famous queso de capas. Visitors
can ask about the many regional legends and
stories that are told, such as those of the
“mohán de la peña,” “ ño mauco,”
the proverbial laziness, the white donkey and
the “catabrito enterrador.” Local gold and
silver filigree work is very fine and recalls
the wealth of the Zenú culture, which in the
past occupied the great Momposian depression
and which, despite the passing of the
centuries, is still considered noble among the
best-known families in the city.
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 Cartagena
de Indias
In 1533, Pedro de Heredia founded this
city, originally inhabited by the Calamarí
who belonged to the Carib linguistic group and
were great warriors who fought against the
Spanish conquest. It kept its name of
Cartagena de Indias until the beginning of the
republican period. Forts, bullwarks,
batteries, walls and sentry boxes were thrown
up around Cartagena to protect it from the
unceasing attacks of pirates and continue to
watch over the city. Even so, its traditional
narrow streets filled up with handsome homes
with projecting balconies and baked clay tile
roofs. The growth of the city has been fueled
by tourism and it offers visitors hotel,
restaurant, recreational and water sport
facilities, among them diving at the Rosario
Islands, one hour from Cartagena. In 1985,
UNESCO declared it a World Heritage Site under
the title of “Port, Fortress and Monumental
Complex of Cartagena de Indias.”
Its major tourist attractions include the
Barbacoas swamp, the beaches of Bocagrande and
Marbella, the Ánimas Bay, the laguito, La
Popa Hill, the Forts of San José, the palace
of the inquisition, the castle of San Felipe
de Barajas, the castle of San Fernando, the
clock tower, the House of the Marquis of
Valdehoyos, the Church of the Cabrero and the
Manga district, among many others.
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 Barranquilla
Although raised to municipal category only in
1876, its history is far older. European
settlement in the city brought with it
commercial experiences unknown earlier, such
as storehouses and factories. The arrival of
the railroad at Sabanilla and the opening of
Puerto Colombia made it in its heyday one of
the world’s longest wharves. It also
witnessed the founding of the Scadta airline,
known today as Avianca, the oldest in South
America. Its most outstanding tourist sites
include the metropolitan cathedral, the
metropolitan football stadium, the
Barranquilla zoo, the Amira de la Rosa Theater
and the Romantic museum. The republican
architecture of the traditional district of El
Prado is also worthy of note.
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