UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Colombia
Colombia has 8 sites on the UNESCO World Heritage List (5 cultural, 2 natural and 1 mixed), the first inscribed in 1984 (Port, Fortresses and Group of Monuments, Cartagena). The map below plots every one of them alongside the rest of the List, and each site is written up in full further down the page.
- World Heritage Sites
- 8
- Cultural
- 5
- Natural and Mixed
- 3
- First Inscribed
- 1984
Map of World Heritage Sites in Colombia
CulturalNaturalMixedIn DangerLarge dots are in Colombia. Click a dot to read about the site.
Port, Fortresses and Group of Monuments, Cartagena
Colombia · 10.4167° N, 75.5333° W · 2 km from Cartagena
Situated in a bay in the Caribbean Sea, Cartagena has the most extensive fortifications in South America. A system of zones divides the city into three neighbourhoods: San Pedro, with the cathedral and many Andalusian-style palaces; San Diego, where merchants and the middle class lived; and Gethsemani, the 'popular quarter'.
Description from the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (CC BY-SA IGO 3.0).
Why Port, Fortresses and Group of Monuments, Cartagena Is Listed
- (iv)
- An outstanding example of a type of building or landscape.
- (vi)
- A direct association with events, ideas or beliefs of universal significance.
Los Katíos National Park
Colombia · 7.8000° N, 77.1500° W · 720 km² · 56 km from Turbo
Los Katíos National Natural Park (Spanish: Parque Nacional Natural (PNN) Los Katíos) is a protected area located in northwest Colombia which covers about 720 km2 (280 sq mi). The elevation ranges between 50 and 600 m (160 and 1,970 ft). It is a part of the Darién Gap, a densely forested area shared by Panama and Colombia, and is contiguous with the Darién National Park in Panama. The Pan-American Highway, when completed as proposed, would pass near or through Los Katíos. The park was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994 due to the extraordinary diversity of plant and animal species represented.
The topography of the Los Katios National Park is diverse, with low hills, forests and wet plains comprising its total area.
The two largest parts of the park are the Serranía del Darién mountains, which lie to the west, and the Atrato River floodplains in the east. The floodplains hold exceptionally fertile soil and consist of alluvial plains of two types. One consists of low-lying terraces that flood often and the other has high terraces that seldom flood. There are also low hills of up to 250 metres (820 ft) in elevation and others that are 600 metres (2,000 ft) high.
Adapted from Wikipedia: Los Katíos National Park (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Why Los Katíos National Park Is Listed
- (ix)
- An outstanding example of ongoing ecological and biological processes.
- (x)
- The most important natural habitats for conserving biodiversity.
More about Los Katíos National Park
UNESCO's Description
Extending over 72,000 ha in north-western Colombia, Los Katios National Park comprises low hills, forests and humid plains. An exceptional biological diversity is found in the park, which is home to many threatened animal species, as well as many endemic plants.
From the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (CC BY-SA IGO 3.0).
History
The region was originally inhabited by the Guna, an indigenous group who, after internal fighting, had to surrender the Choc region to the Katío-Embera and emigrated to Panama. The Darién region, to which Los Katíos belongs, was historically important for the first settlers who used the land bridge from North to South America some 20,000 years ago. In the post-Columbian period, the Spanish conquistadors Rodrigo de Bastidas, Alonso de Ojeda and Vasco Núñez de Balboa were the first to discover this region in 1501.
In more recent times, about one percent of the park in the Sautatá area was agriculturally developed and used primarily for the cultivation of sugar cane.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Los Katíos National Park (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Key Facts
| Established | 6 August 1974 |
|---|---|
| Area | 720 km² |
Facts from Wikidata Q305169 (CC0).
San Agustin archeological park
Colombia · 1.8844° N, 76.2961° W · 69 km from Popayán
The San Agustín Archaeological Park (Spanish: Parque Arqueológico de San Agustín) is a large archaeological area located near the town of San Agustín in Huila Department in Colombia. The park contains the largest collection of religious monuments and megalithic sculptures in Latin America and is considered the world's largest necropolis. Belonging to the San Agustin culture, it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995.
The dates of the statues are uncertain, but they are believed to have been carved between 5–400 AD. The origin of the carvers remains a mystery, as the site is largely unexcavated.
Adapted from Wikipedia: San Agustín Archaeological Park (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Why San Agustin archeological park Is Listed
- (iii)
- A unique testimony to a cultural tradition or civilisation.
More about San Agustin archeological park
UNESCO's Description
The largest group of religious monuments and megalithic sculptures in South America stands in a wild, spectacular landscape. Gods and mythical animals are skilfully represented in styles ranging from abstract to realist. These works of art display the creativity and imagination of a northern Andean culture that flourished from the 1st to the 8th century.
From the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (CC BY-SA IGO 3.0).
Geography
The archaeological park is located in the upper basin of the Magdalena River and its primary tributaries, in the municipality of the town of San Agustin in Huila in the eastern foothills of the Colombian Massif, from which emerge the three Andean mountain ranges traversing the country from south to north in the Andean Region. San Agustín is 520 km from Bogotá. The remains of the ancient cultural groups are scattered over an area of over 300 square kilometers, on plateaus located on either side of the canyon formed by the top of the Magdalena River. The park itself corresponds to a small area with a high concentration of graves and contains more than 600 statues of unknown origin.
History
The statues were first described by a Spanish monk, Fray Juan de Santa Gertrudis (1724–1799), who visited the countries of Colombia (then part of the New Kingdom of Granada), Ecuador and Peru in 1756–57 as a missionary. He passed through San Agustín in mid-1756, and wrote about the statues in his four-volume work Maravillas de la naturaleza (English: Wonders of Nature).
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: San Agustín Archaeological Park (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Santa Cruz de Mompós
Colombia · 9.2394° N, 74.4250° W · 1 km² · 35 km from Magangué
Mompox, officially Santa Cruz de Mompós, is a town and municipality in northern Colombia, in the Bolívar Department. The town initially grew from its proximity to the Magdalena River and has preserved much of its colonial character. It also played an important role in the independence of America from Spain. Today, Mompox depends upon tourism, fishing, and some commerce generated by the local cattle raising. The municipality has a population of 46,408 and is adjacent to the municipalities of Pinillos and San Fernando. The historic center of Mompox was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995, owing to its preserved colonial architecture and mixture of architectural styles.
Adapted from Wikipedia: Santa Cruz de Mompox (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Why Santa Cruz de Mompós Is Listed
- (iv)
- An outstanding example of a type of building or landscape.
- (v)
- An outstanding example of traditional human settlement or land use.
More about Santa Cruz de Mompós
UNESCO's Description
Founded in 1540 on the banks of the River Magdalena, Mompox played a key role in the Spanish colonization of northern South America. From the 16th to the 19th century the city developed parallel to the river, with the main street acting as a dyke. The historic centre has preserved the harmony and unity of the urban landscape. Most of the buildings are still used for their original purposes, providing an exceptional picture of what a Spanish colonial city was like.
From the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (CC BY-SA IGO 3.0).
History
Mampo (or Mompoj) was the local indigenous chieftain (cacique) of the Malibu culture, when the Spanish conquistadors arrived, and Mompox means "land of the ruler Mampo". The city was founded on May 3, 1537, by Alonso de Heredia, brother of Pedro de Heredia, as a safe port on the Magdalena. Santa Cruz de Mompox became quite prosperous as a port for the transportation of goods upriver into the interior. A royal mint was established here and the town was known for its goldsmiths. On August 6, 1810, it was the first town in Colombia to declare its independence from Spain under the motto, "Be free or die" (Ser libres o morir). The flag of Mompox, which is red with a white cross in the center, dates back to this time in 1810.
Simon Bolivar first arrived in Mompox in 1812.
Tourism
Mompox has been a popular tourist destination for its history, colonial architecture, and festivals. Each year, the town hosts the Mompox Jazz Festival as well as film festivals.
Tourism is also common during Holy Week celebrations, which start on Palm Sunday with a flower and candles parade to honor the dead followed by various other ceremonies associated with diverse religious events. All this, as well as its complex of ecclesiastical locales make Mompox a popular destination for religious tourism in Colombia.
Another reason to visit Mompox is its gastronomy, featuring a myriad of dishes based on cassava, corn, fish, achiote, and chili pepper.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Santa Cruz de Mompox (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Key Facts
| Established | 1537 |
|---|---|
| Area | 645 km² |
Facts from Wikidata Q740288 (CC0).
Visiting Santa Cruz de Mompós
Santa Cruz de Mompox (also known as Mompox or Mompós) is a city and a UNESCO World Heritage site in Bolívar, Colombia. It has beautiful colonial architecture which rivals Villa de Leyva’s.
Travel notes adapted from Wikivoyage: Santa Cruz de Mompox (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Tierradentro
Colombia · 2.5830° N, 76.0330° W · 59 km from Garzón
Tierradentro (meaning "Underground" in Spanish for their well-known tombs) is one of the ancient Pre-Columbian cultures of Colombia. It started to flourish around 200 BC in the mountains of southwest Colombia, and continued into the 17th century. The Tierradentro culture is particularly well known for its dense collection of elaborate pre-Columbian hypogea.
It is considered part of San Agustín culture rather than a separate culture.
The typical Tierradentro hypogeum has an entry oriented towards the west, a spiral staircase and a main chamber, usually 5 to 8 meters below the surface, with several lesser chambers around, each one containing a corpse. The walls are painted with geometric, anthropomorphic and zoomorphic patterns in red, black and white. Some statues and remains of pottery and fabrics can be seen scarcely due to grave robbery before the hypogea were constituted as protected areas. The details in the sculptures and pictorial patterns in the hypogea are similar to the neighboring San Agustín culture, although they occur at much higher density.
Adapted from Wikipedia: Tierradentro (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Why Tierradentro Is Listed
- (iii)
- A unique testimony to a cultural tradition or civilisation.
More about Tierradentro
UNESCO's Description
Several monumental statues of human figures can be seen in the park, which also contains many hypogea dating from the 6th to the 10th century. These huge underground tombs (some burial chambers are up to 12 m wide) are decorated with motifs that reproduce the internal decor of homes of the period. They reveal the social complexity and cultural wealth of a pre-Hispanic society in the northern Andes.
From the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (CC BY-SA IGO 3.0).
Visiting Tierradentro
Tierradentro is in the department of Cauca in Colombia. The Tierradentro Archeological Park is famous for its painted underground burial chambers, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Travel notes adapted from Wikivoyage: Tierradentro (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Malpelo Fauna and Flora Sanctuary
Colombia · 4.0000° N, 81.6000° W · 8,575 km²
Located some 506 km off the coast of Colombia, the site includes Malpelo island (350 ha) and the surrounding marine environment (857,150 ha). This vast marine park, the largest no-fishing zone in the Eastern Tropical Pacific, provides a critical habitat for internationally threatened marine species, and is a major source of nutrients resulting in large aggregations of marine biodiversity. It is in particular a ‘reservoir' for sharks, giant grouper and billfish and is one of the few places in the world where sightings of the short-nosed ragged-toothed shark, a deepwater shark, have been confirmed. Widely recognized as one of the top diving sites in the world, due to the presence of steep walls and caves of outstanding natural beauty, these deep waters support important populations of large predators and pelagic species (e.g. aggregations of over 200 hammerhead sharks and over 1,000 silky sharks, whale sharks and tuna have been recorded) in an undisturbed environment where they maintain natural behavioural patterns.
Description from the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (CC BY-SA IGO 3.0).
Why Malpelo Fauna and Flora Sanctuary Is Listed
- (vii)
- Superlative natural phenomena or exceptional natural beauty.
- (ix)
- An outstanding example of ongoing ecological and biological processes.
Chiribiquete National Park
Colombia · 0.7006° N, 72.8054° W · 27,824 km²
Chiribiquete National Natural Park (Spanish: Parque Nacional Natural (PNN) Serranía de Chiribiquete) is the largest national park in Colombia and the largest tropical rainforest national park in the world. It was established on 21 September 1989 and has been expanded twice, first in August 2013 and then in July 2018. The park occupies about 43,000 km2 (17,000 sq mi) and includes the Serranía de Chiribiquete mountains and the surrounding lowlands, which are covered by tropical moist forests, savannas and rivers.
Adapted from Wikipedia: Chiribiquete National Park (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Why Chiribiquete National Park Is Listed
- (iii)
- A unique testimony to a cultural tradition or civilisation.
- (ix)
- An outstanding example of ongoing ecological and biological processes.
- (x)
- The most important natural habitats for conserving biodiversity.
More about Chiribiquete National Park
UNESCO's Description
Chiribiquete National Park, the largest protected area in Colombia, is the confluence point of four biogeographical provinces: Amazon, Andes, Orinoco and Guyana. As such, the National Park guarantees the connectivity and preservation of the biodiversity of these provinces, constituting itself as an interaction scenario in which flora and fauna diversity and endemism have flourished. One of the defining features of Chiribiquete is the presence of tepees (table-top mountains), sheer-sided sandstone plateaux that outstand in the forest and result in dramatic scenery that is reinforced by its remoteness, inaccessibility and exceptional conservation. Over 75,000 figures have been made by indigenous people on the walls of the 60 rock shelters from 20,000 BCE, and are still made nowadays by the uncontacted peoples protected by the National Park. These paintings depict hunting scenes, battles, dances and ceremonies, as well as fauna and flora species, with a particular the worship of the jaguar, a symbol of power and fertility. The indigenous communities, which are not directly present on the site, consider Chiribiquete as a sacred place that cannot be visited and that should be preserved unaltered.
From the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (CC BY-SA IGO 3.0).
Geography
Chiribiquete National Park is located in the northwest of the Colombian Amazon in the departments of Caquetá and Guaviare. It is in the jurisdictions of the municipalities of Solano, Cartagena del Chairá and San Vicente del Caguán in Caquetá, and Calamar and San José del Guaviare in Guaviare. It is bordered by the Tunia River (Macaya River) in the northeast, which forms the Apaporís River after its confluence with the Ajaju River at a point called Dos Ríos.
The park's boundaries are formed by the Apaporís, Gunaré and Amú Rivers in the east, the Mesay and Yari Rivers in the south, and the Hiutoto, Tajisa, Ajaju and Ayaya Rivers in the west.
History
Chiribiquete National Natural Park was established on 21 September 1989.
The park was expanded from the previous 13,000 km2 (5,000 sq mi) to 28,000 km2 (11,000 sq mi) on 21 August 2013.
Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos announced that Chiribiquete National Park would be expanded by 15,000 km2 (5,800 sq mi) on 21 February 2018. The park was expanded to 43,000 km2 (17,000 sq mi) and declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO on 2 July 2018.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Chiribiquete National Park (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Key Facts
| Established | 1989 |
|---|---|
| Area | 27,634 km² |
Facts from Wikidata Q2603196 (CC0).
Visiting Chiribiquete National Park
Chiribiquete National Park (Spanish: Parque Nacional Natural Serranía de Chiribiquete; sometimes in English: Serranía de Chiribiquete National Park) is a national park in the Amazonia region of Colombia. The park is a mixed UNESCO World Heritage Site, designated as such in 2018.
Travel notes adapted from Wikivoyage: Chiribiquete National Park (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Shared With Neighbouring Countries
These sites cross the border. Each is written up on the page of the country UNESCO lists first.
World Heritage in Colombia: Quick Answers
- How many UNESCO World Heritage Sites are in Colombia?
- Colombia has 8 World Heritage Sites: 5 cultural, 2 natural and 1 mixed. 1 of them is shared with a neighbouring country.
- What was the first World Heritage Site in Colombia?
- Port, Fortresses and Group of Monuments, Cartagena, inscribed in 1984. The most recent is Chiribiquete National Park, inscribed in 2018.
- What are the natural World Heritage Sites in Colombia?
- Los Katíos National Park, Malpelo Fauna and Flora Sanctuary, Chiribiquete National Park (mixed).
- Are any World Heritage Sites in Colombia in danger?
- None of the World Heritage Sites in Colombia is on UNESCO's List of World Heritage in Danger.