Santa Cruz de Mompox, Colombia

Santa Cruz de Mompox, Colombia
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mompox_-_La_Pietra_di_Bolivar_e_il_rio_Magdalena.jpg
Author: O--o


Santa Cruz de Mompox, or simply Mompox, is a town on an island in the Magdalena River, in the Bolívar Department of Colombia.

Santa Cruz de Mompox was founded by Don Alonso de Heredia in 1537, to be a safe port on the river Magdalena. It prospered as a trading outpost cashing in on gold that was transported there, resulting in the establishment of a royal mint and gold workshops. The town began a slow decline by the 19th century, but the death kneel came in the early 20th century, when the river Magdalena began to shift its course, causing the port of Santa Cruz de Mompox to silt up.

Today the colonial architecture of Mompox can still be appreciated. In fact, the town has become a major tourist attraction, especially after it was inscribed as a World Heritage Site during the 19th session of the World Heritage Committee in Berlin, Germany, on 4-9 December, 1995. The core zone covers an area of 458 hectares surrounded by a 632-hectare buffer zone.

Church of Santa Barbara in Mompox
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Iglesia_santabarbara.JPG
Author: cesar pineda

World Heritage Site Inscription Details

Location: N 9 14 W 74 26 in Bolívar Department
Inscription Year: 1995
Type of Site: Cultural
Inscription Criteria: IV, V

Visiting Historic Centre of Santa Cruz de Mompox

You can take a bus from most of the major Colombian towns such as Medellin, Cartagena or Bogotá.

When you arrived in Mompox, you can explore on foot or take the motorcycle-taxi. There are several beautiful churches in Mompox, the most famous of which is Iglesia de Santa Barbara. However, most of the churches in Mompox are only open during mass, so that's the only time to view their interior. Their outside façade is best seen in the morning, with sunlight shining on them.

 Latest updates on Penang Travel Tips

About this website

Dear visitor, thank you so much for reading this page. My name is Timothy Tye and my hobby is to find out about places, write about them and share the information with you on this website. I have been writing this site since 5 January 2003. Originally (from 2003 until 2009, the site was called AsiaExplorers. I changed the name to Penang Travel Tips in 2009, even though I describe more than just Penang but everywhere I go (I often need to tell people that "Penang Travel Tips" is not just information about Penang, but information written in Penang), especially places in Malaysia and Singapore, and in all the years since 2003, I have described over 20,000 places.

While I try my best to provide you information as accurate as I can get it to be, I do apologize for any errors and for outdated information which I am unaware. Nevertheless, I hope that what I have described here will be useful to you.