Mompox, an excellent choice to travel

Mompox, also known as the museum city, for the appearance of being detained in a past time, also offers ecological and religious tourism plans.

During Easter, Mompox captivates travelers, who become the faithful witnesses of the devotion and Catholic traditions that are lived with fervor in this town anchored in the middle of the Magdalena River. This towns’ heart beats at its own pace, one in which Altars, images, crucifixes and rosaries remain fixed in the minds of their inhabitants and also captivate the soul of travelers.

What to do in Mompox?

Magical realism floods everything in here. Gabriel García Márquez, in his novel 'El general en su laberinto', refers to the glorious past that is perceived by walking through its streets and stopping at the corners to hear the stories told by people. Also unforgettable, is a boat trip through the Pijiño swamp, where you can see the great diversity of birds and flora of the region.

How to arrive?

• Water route: By boat from Cartagena, taking the Canal del Dique towards the Río Magdalena.
• Duración: 6 hours and a half.
• Land route: From Cartagena to Banco Magdalena o Magangué, taking the ferry.
• Duration: 8 hours.

Unique experiences

"A refined sample of Spanish colonial architecture in the New World". This is how UNESCO describes the Historical Center of Mompox, the vital axis around which religious tourism revolves in this destination. Its narrow streets, through which the Holy Week processions pass, bear witness to the Catholic expressions that trap travelers.

You cannot miss

Walking through the streets and appreciating the colonial architecture of its buildings, getting to know the art of filigree in gold, and exploring nearby swamps, are among the plans for travelers in Mompox.

Ciénaga de Pijiño

The feeling of amazement at finding Mompox, a jewel of colonial architecture in the middle of nowhere, is also experienced after a trip down the river to the Ciénaga de Pijiño. During the journey, which is covered in large motored canoes, birds and reptiles are observed. On the way back, passengers can be entertained at dusk with the spectacle offered by the sun when it dives in the Magdalena River.

Mompox atmosphere

The heat in Mompox is overwhelming, so a good way to cool off is to lie in a hammock under the shade of a tree and wait for the breeze coming from the Magdalena River to blow. In this town, a good plan is to relax, to let the imagination fly while walking slowly at the streets where the white facades of windows with grilles protrude.

What to eat in Mompox?

The menu at Mompox includes mojarras, catfish and bocachicos that are prepared fried, in casseroles, and in sancocho (a type of soup); pork, beef and duck meat, as well as butifarra (typical sausage) and the traditional arepa e’ huevo.

You have to try them!

The cheese in layers and the lemon candy, which is made following a recipe that has passed through several generations, enrich the variety of dishes that visitors find in Mompox.

Easter in Mompox

The celebrations of Easter, which in Mompox are carried out since 1564, have not lost brightness after so many years. In fact, it is a really moving fervor with which the locals adorn the images that are loaded in the processions, making the streets of the town a place to remember the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

A visit to the cemetery of Mompox

Renowned for its white tombs, garnished with various statues of angels and artificial flowers that surround them, the Mompox cemetery is a place worth spending a few hours. In there, the tombs are stacked on top of one another forming vaults and funeral walls, and during Easter the traditional serenade for the dead is celebrated.Easter in Santa Cruz de Mompox is full of multiple manifestations of faith, popular religiosity, symbols, ceremonies, rituals, customs, curiosities and details that not only make it unique in America, but are also the living reflection of the solemnity, grandeur, pomp and beauty. All of this thanks to the strenght of the natives, to their persevering fidelity to the tradition and to the Andalusian heritage that their ancestors left them.