Sunsets in Cartagena are short but sweet and I know the best spot in the city to enjoy them: Cerro de La Popa.
When people visit Cartagena, they typically don’t think about where the best place to watch the sunset is, and understandably so.
What usually steals the show for tourists are districts such as Getsemani and the Old City which are packed with beautiful and colourful Spanish colonial architecture. On top of this, with its plethora of bars and restaurants, Cartagena’s vibrant nightlife keeps visitors busy once the sun goes down.
However, you’d be missing out on a top experience if you didn’t head to the best place in Cartagena to watch the sunset during 1 of your nights there. The spot I’m talking about is Cerro de La Popa and from here the views are unmatched.
Table of contents
- What is Cerro de La Popa?
- How to get to Cerro de La Popa
- Watching the sunset from Cerro de La Popa
- More travel advice on A World Over
What is Cerro de La Popa?
Cerro de La Popa is a hill that lies central within the city of Cartagena de Indias, Colombia. In fact, it’s the only non-man-made high point within the city and it stands at 139 m.
The only other places to see Cartagena from this altitude would be from one of the modern high-rise apartment blocks in Bocagrande.
Atop Cerro de La Popa you’ll find a convent where Christian monks of the Order of Augustinian Recollects once lived. The convent was built between 1606 – 1611 and monks lived there until 1963. Nowadays the convent is a museum and from 8:30 – 17:30 Monday to Sunday you can go inside.
I wasn’t able to make it to the top of Cerro de La Popa in time to look around the convent. But seems as you pay the $3 US entry fee (2024 rate) to the premises regardless, I’d say heading there in time to check it out before the sunset is worth it.
How to get to Cerro de La Popa
Getting to Cerro de La Popa from any of the main tourist areas in Cartagena is easy, but there are some key safety things you need to know.
Firstly, take a taxi to Cerro de La Popa. While public transport is cheaper and can get you close to the hill, the neighbourhood at the foot of the hill is known to be dangerous to tourists and locals alike.
Several locals warned me about not walking there, even during the day. And a couple told me they knew people, also locals, who had been robbed there.
Uber is the cheapest way to get to Cerro de La Popa. From Getsemani, for example, a one-way trip should cost around 25,000 COP, or roughly $6 US. I was told that regular taxis will charge around double that.
The next key thing to know is that you should get a contact number for your Uber or taxi driver. Cerro de La Popa is well outside of the touristy zones of Cartagena so Uber/taxi drivers don’t usually drive around that area.
This means that getting transport back can be difficult if you don’t have a number to contact a driver. I took a number for our driver, and it’s a good thing I did because several Uber drivers cancelled on us even after we had been waiting a while for them.
Another way to guarantee that you have a ride back is to ask your driver if they’re willing to wait for you at the top of Cerro de La Popa until the sunset is over. You can negotiate a price for the return journey and the time they spend waiting for you.
If you’re going to do this and you don’t speak Spanish, then I highly recommend having an offline translator app on your phone. This will make discussing the price way easier.
Watching the sunset from Cerro de La Popa
Because Cartagena is close to the equator, the sun sets relatively fast. To enjoy the full show, I recommend getting to Cerro de La Popa at least 30 minutes before sunset and staying until around 20 minutes after. We asked the guards if we could stay until 19:00 and they were ok with that.
Some of the best sunset moments I’ve seen have been when the sky begins to change colour before the sun dips below the horizon and also the explosions of colour that can happen once the sun has fully disappeared.
I usually use the website timeanddate to check sunrise/sunset times.
From atop Cerro de La Popa you can see how vast Cartagena is. From one side of the convent, you see the large swamps and airport. And from the other you see the huge port and the city’s expanse. You can’t get this perspective of the city from anywhere else.
The best views are looking towards the touristy parts of the city and the new high rise buildings. This is the direction the sun sets in too. There is a wall you can sit on to enjoy the scene.
The wall is the prime spot to watch a Cartagena sunset, but it can get crowded. For this reason, I recommend watching the sunset from Cerro de La Popa on a weekday for the best chance of there being less people.
More travel advice on A World Over
So that’s my opinion on the best place to watch the sunset in Cartagena, Colombia. Cerro de La Popa is a beautiful spot and you’re sure to enjoy the views from atop.
When you head up to the viewpoint, if you find that the entry fee has changed, or there is some other update, feel free to leave a comment below. It’ll go a long way in helping me ensure this guide stays up to date for my readers.