la popa monastery

I would highly recommend a visit to the Popa. The monastery is beautiful, but the most interesting thing are the incredible views towards every part of Cartagena.

This is the place to go and see a 360 degree of the city of Cartagena. It is best to go in the afternoon, near the sun set.

We arrived there early in the morning, so it was still empty, which was nice for photos but also gave us the time to really get to know la popa. The place is not very big, so you probably won't need more than 30-45 minutes to get to know everything. I personally enjoyed the view, seeing the old and the modern, the rich and the poorer parts of Cartagena. I recommend taking a taxi and not one of the bus tours (but that's a general recommendation for Cartagena)

Well worth the visit by taxi or city tour. Panoramic view and nice to understand the history of the patria. Nice chapel to reflect and rest. Although the local Christians make pilgrimages to the shrine, I don't recommended tourists walking alone. Long and questionable walk, ONE NEEDS safe transportation.

Although the views are good, the church did not impress me. The chapel itself did not have a sense of age.the 20 minute ride to get here is hardly worth it!

Worth the inexpensive cab trip just for the view of the Old City contrasting with the modern area of Boca Grande. Small displays but nicely done.

The views from here are amazing. The monastery itself is small, but worth taking a peak. There are also photo opportunities with locals.

It has been two months since I visited La Popa Monastery on an afternoon tour of Cartagena and the only thing that remains etched in my memory is the view. The 400-year-old monastery, restored in 1964, spreads across a 500-foot hill, the highest point in Cartagena. This vantage point yields a spectacular view of the Caribbean, new and old Cartagena and a general panorama of the area. Beyond that, the building is quite average.The monastery began as a small wooden chapel and expanded from that. Today its main features are a courtyard, chapel and museum. The typical Spanish courtyard contains many potted plants, from beautiful flowers to palms. I considered this to be the best architectural detail. The gold altar with its statue of the Virgin of Cartagena is quite lovely but certainly not even close to the design of top altars worldwide. The rather odd museum holds an eclectic mix of items, including a display of old money.When we visited, crowds of tourists filled the building and the viewpoint. Based on the large number of buses in the parking lot, I would say that most came on tours. There were also many taxis. I do not think that public transport comes here. I estimate that it would take at least half an hour to ascend the twisting road to the monastery on foot, a rather uncomfortable undertaking in the heat and humidity.If you are really into views, I would recommend coming here. Otherwise, give it a miss and spend more time in the old walled city, which I found to be the highlight of our visit to Cartagena.

Amazing 360 degree view of all of Cartagena. Beautiful wood altar and simple church with Patron Saint of Cartagena there as well as bones of the founder. Not too sure why they have a foreign currency display. Well worth the visit for the view

I happened to arrive there the day of the annual Candelaria festival. Taxis won't take you there that day, once it gets too close to noon, or when the procession down the hill starts. Do you go in the morning and catch sweet views of the city, and see the pretty golden altar in the old monastery. The ride up the hill is chaotic and messy. Squatters have created makeshift homes all along the road up the hill. There is a messy but lively market right before the gates to the monastery. It is hot up there, but pretty. Go once. Or maybe go there in the afternoon right before sunset. Cabbies will take you up there for about $60,000 (30 bucks). They'll wait for you to get your fill and then take you back downtown. Its worth it, once. I can't wait to see how accessible it will be once the Transcribe is built.

La Popa sits atop the highest hill in Cartagena per the wishes of the government to clear and clean the area using money collected from the locals. In addition to having one of the most beautiful views of the city, it also boasts one of the most beautiful cloisters in all of Colombia. According to legend, the Convent was founded when Fray Alonso Paredes, an Augustinian monk was fasting in the desert, had a dream in which the Virgin Mary directed him to go to the tallest point of Cartagena and build a monastery. Naturally he did as he was instructed, and when he arrived, he discovered a pagan sect which worshiped image of a black goat named Busiraco had already built a shrine in that location. Fray Alonso Paredes flung the icon from the top of La Popa, and replaced it with the image of the Virgin de la Candelaria, which stands today. If you decide not to take a tour bus, be sure to come here by taxi; robberies and attacks have been reported for those who've tried to walk, which is why you may see police stationed along the road.

Don't miss this breathtaking panorama of Cartagena, bays, ports and ocean. We followed advice to negotiate with a cab driver the take us there; WAIT 30 minutes while we took pictures (there is a small parking lot up top) and return us to el centro. Be sure to have this instruction in SPANISH. Mornings are probably better for clear skies and less traffic enroute. The whole door to door trip took maybe 1 hour. We paid 50,000 CP and got our moneys worth. Convent is small but picturesque.

The views were lovely, once you had driven through the barrios and up the hill to the monastery. Once there, the chapel was quite charming, although filled to the rafters with visitors (just like me!) and to be honest the rest of it was a little odd. A collection of money taking up one wall, old gowns on hangars behind plastic cupboards, some old black and white pictures....you get the picture. Bunch of old tat in a beautiful old building with stunning views. And lots of local young women taking pictures probably inappropriate for a monastery!!

This hilltop monastery has the best view of Cartagena and the ocean. English is spoken widely and there are a lot of guides to explain the history to you. We took it in as part of our city tour. Our guide was excellent.

It's a great place up the hill to see the entire city. Have to pay to go inside, but since you're here, you might as well visit inside. It has quite a pretty garden and a small cathedral with some ornate decorations.