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- Bogotá, Colombia
Mompóx
Heritage Destination
Fairs and festivals
Nature
Bird watching
Religious
History and culture
Mompox
What to visit
Unparalleled experiences!
What you can't miss
Recommendations
Mompox
Declared a heritage town thanks to its beauty and cultural value, it is one of the most authentic corners of the country, which allows you to be completely transported to the Colombian past and the magical world of the Colombian Nobel Prize winner; Mompox, this colonial town is so similar to Macondo that here you can feel the atmosphere of One Hundred Years of Solitude. A magical place, where reality and fiction come together (fantasy of magical realism), it offers numerous spaces to explore and share. Its name comes from the indigenous Malibu language, from the man who was Cacique before the conquest, "Mompoj", and since the 18th century it has been called Mompox or Mompós.
Mompox is located 248 kilometers from Cartagena de Indias, and can be arrived by land, river or air. Mompox in colonial times was one of the most important ports of the country and where trade grew enormously until the river was changing its course and for this reason we still have a population so preserved in time in infrastructure and customs.
What to visit
Colonial Streets and Magdalena River Banks Strolling through its streets is definitely the best plan to understand and perceive the charm of this beautiful heritage town, as well as interacting with its people and learning their stories as they go about their daily lives. And for walking or biking, you can't miss the Albarrada Street, so called because it was built as a retaining wall for the river floods.
Santa Barbara Church (1613)The church is the most representative building of Mompox, with its lions and big-eyed griffins, a strange abandoned bell tower and a population of bats and swallows that enter and leave the temple during Sunday mass.
Palacio San Carlos (1660)The visitor can also arrive at the curious municipal cemetery, with tombs and niches stacked one on top of the other, forming a wall of tombs around a central chapel.
Mompox Cathedral or Immaculate Conception ChurchThis semi-romantic style building was built in 1839 over the original one built by Pedro de Heredia in 1541.
Filigree Workshops The Momposina Filigree is a goldsmith technique inherited from the fusion between pre-Columbian aboriginal techniques and the techniques of the Spanish colonizers with notable Arab influence. Internationally recognized, during the visit we will experience and design a jewel. You will test your skills.
The Pijiño Swamp, is an area of 1,350 hectares, fed by the water of the Magdalena River where you can make river tours of approximately two hours, which will allow you the sighting of twenty species of birds and meet some species of reptiles such as the famous babilla caiman and iguana. You will be able to enjoy a unique wetland ecosystem of great richness and diversity in both flora and fauna.
Museum of Religious Art which, on the initiative of the locals, guards the treasures that they have traditionally protected together.
The Municipal Cemetery of Mompox Believe it or not, it is also a relevant tourist place, due to its unparalleled and white beauty. It keeps the history about the life of the characters that rest in it and a series of majestic monuments around which on Wednesdays the elegant "Serenade to the dead" is performed by the locals.
San Juan de Dios Hospital founded in 1550 is also a place to appreciate, as it is considered the oldest hospital in America. The Municipal Palace or Cloister of San Carlos has a very special charm because it was built in 1600 and was erected as a school and then as a convent. The mansions such as the Casa de los Apóstoles, the Casa de los Portales de la Marquesa and the Casa del Ayuntamiento are of incalculable value because they hold artistic treasures and definitive historical moments such as the signing of the Act of Independence in 1810.
Unparalleled experiences!
To be in Mompox and live the experience of staying in one of the boutique hotels with colonial architecture, its high ceilings to combat the heat, large patios to the back where the gatherings of the time were made; read fragments of the books of our writer Gabriel García Márquez, is to be able to go back in time, to take a ferry that takes us along the Magdalena River to meet with a population full of history and culture, was the birthplace of great families who eventually migrated to Cartagena and Barranquilla. When you pass by the boardwalk along the river you will find the stone of Bolivar our liberator who found in the town a special place to find followers and continue to the north of the country. You will discover the importance of black poetry, thanks to the African influence this region has great linguistic roots and rhythms that you will only find in the old Santa Cruz de Mompox.
What you can't miss
In the midst of this rich colonial environment, between squares and parks, the Mompox Jazz Festival has become a tourist attraction that, in the month of September, receives the most representative music personalities. This festival enriches the landscape and culture, as it has become the stage where Latin jazz is combined with many other Caribbean rhythms. The Independent Film Festival which takes place in December and the Mompox Sacred Music Festival in April, are also very attractive for travelers.
Holy Week in Mompox is a tradition that has been maintained through the centuries. In the best Sevillian style in its form and aesthetics, the week begins on Palm Sunday and on Holy Wednesday a march full of candles and flowers is held to pay homage to the deceased. On Holy Days, traditional processions are held in the evenings to accompany the Liturgy of the Holy Days.
Located privileged for trade between Cartagena de Indias and the interior of the country, in Mompox gold and silver property of the Spaniards was kept, for this reason it began to work since then, the art of filigree, goldsmith technique that involves the weaving of gold and silver threads in jewelry. Today, as a result of the creations of the most renowned artists in this field, our momposina jewelry is very popular in the great cities of fashion such as Paris, Milan and New York.
You will be able to take home the famous Mompox handicrafts consisting mainly of clay tools for use in the kitchen and glass ornaments. Sweets, jellies and jams will also delight your trip to Mompox.
In Mompox the gold and silver property of the Spaniards was kept, for this reason the art of filigree, a goldsmith technique that consists of weaving gold and silver threads in jewelry, began to be worked. Today momposina jewelry is very popular in the great cities of fashion such as Paris, Milan and New York.
You will be able to take home the famous Mompox handicrafts consisting mainly of clay tools for use in the kitchen and glass ornaments. Sweets, jellies and jams will also delight your trip to Mompox.
Recommendations
- We recommend you to wear very cool clothes to resist the heat, being a coastal city, its climate is tropical, humid and dry. Its climate ranges between 24 and 33ºC.
- How to arrive to Mompox:
- Aerial: The District of Mompox has the San Bernardo de Mompox Airport. It is located on the outskirts, very close to the urban perimeter, with relatively easy access from anywhere in Colombia's Heritage City. There are no commercial flights, but if you wish to make the trip with the agency you can hire a charter flight.
- Terrestrial: From the City of El Carmen de Bolívarin order to take a bus from Expreso Brasilia, take the Transversal de los Contenedores route (today, Ruta del Sol III), which deviates at the height of Corregimiento de La Gloria, Magdalenapassing through the municipalities of Santa Ana, Talaigua Nuevo until arriving at the Municipal Head of the Villa de Mompox.
Yatí-Bodega Road Interconnection. This is currently one of the most important infrastructure works in the department of Bolivar. It is an interconnection that will link Magangué with Mompox, which is currently under construction. The construction, which will take 4 years, will cost close to 250,000 million pesos and will have a length of 12 kilometers, starting in Corregimiento Yatí, Magangué until arriving at the port of Bodega, Cicuco. - Fluviales: The main access waterway to the District of Mompox is the Magdalena River as it passes through the Mompox Branch.
Mompox has a Fluvial Terminal connected to the Old Fluvial Port of Mompox where different vessels arrive, mainly from Magangué, El Banco, Santa Ana and Barrancabermeja. - Terrestrial: From the cities of Barranquilla, Santa Marta or Cartagena you can take a door to door transportation in shared service or private service hired by your travel agency to arrive directly to the city of Mompox. The trip takes approximately 6 hours.
In case you wish to make the land and river tour to live the experience on the Magdalena River, the transportation will leave you at the Magangué dock so you can take the ferry at the departure time, the tour will last (40 minutes approximately) until you arrive at one of the docks, where you will again have to take a vehicle to arrive in Mompox.